Flaky Buttery Pastry

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Trust me when I say making this flaky buttery pastry is easy-peasy. No fuss involved and you will feel instant gratification when you taste it.

There is nothing more satisfying than making a pie or tart from scratch – pastry, filling and all the trimmings. I’ll be honest I opt for convenience when it comes to puff and phyllo pastry. Seriously I just don’t have the time or energy to make those from scratch and prefer using store-bought. However this flaky buttery pastry is not time consuming and involves no labour intensive techniques.

It requires simple ingredients that is in your pantry. Plus you can use it for sweet and savory pies. I omit the sugar when I make the pastry for a savor pie, I omit the sugar.

I’ll tell you my little secret when using this pastry – I don’t blind bake it.

Tips for making Flaky Buttery Pastry

• Use butter and not margarine. Although it might look similar, there is a distinct difference between the two. Butter’s high fat content is what makes this pastry so flaky and buttery. It also gives it a more richer flavor.
• The butter must be cold and you need to use ice water. The coldness gives it that flaky texture.
• Cut the butter into the flour by either using a fork or pastry cutter. If you use a food processor make sure that you do not overmix otherwise the pastry will be tough.
• The dough must have a crumble texture and you should still see pieces of butter in it.
• Once you transfer the dough to a floured surface, knead slightly but do not overwork.
• Form a ball, cut in half, clingwrap and chill in the fridge for 2 hours or if you are not going to use it immediately freeze.
• After rolling out the pastry and pressing it into the pie dish, prick holes with a fork in the base as chill in the refrigerator for 15 – 20 minutes. This method will allow you to add your filling without blind baking your pastry first.

Flaky Buttery Pastry

Perfect for sweet or savory pies and tarts

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Chill Time 2 hours hrs

Total Time 2 hours hrs 10 minutes mins

Ingredients

  

• 2½ cups cake flour
• 2 tsp castor sugar (omit if you make a savoury pie)
• ½ tsp salt
• 250 g cold unsalted butter (cubed)
• ½ cup ice water

Instructions

 

• Place flour, salt and sugar in a mixing bowl and whisk through.
• Add butter and either use a fork or pastry cutter to cut butter into flour. Alternatively use a food processor but do not overmix. The dough need to resemble a crumble texture.
• Gradually add the ice water and stir into the flour-butter mixture using a spoon or spatula.
• Transfer the dough to a floured surface and gently kneed.
• Form a ball and cut it into half.
• Clingwrap each half and refrigerate for 2 hours or freeze for later use.