Help with freezing shortcrust pastry

[OpheliaBumps]

I need to make 4 dozen mince pies in a very small window of time, so I thought I'd make and freeze the pastry in advance to save time.

I'm not sure of the best way to freeze it though - in a block, rolled out, or rolled and cut into discs ready to assemble the pies.

Has anyone got any advice please?

It doesn't really matter, you could do it any of those ways.

It depends on how much time you've got.

I suppose if you freeze it in discs you'll have to put something between each one. Otherwise they could stick and tear when they thaw.

I guess, on balance, I'd go with freezing the block.

I have only ever made the pastry and frozen in a block, easy enough to defrost and roll out, but I guess you could try to cut it into discs and then freeze, might have to put greaseproof paper between the shapes to make sure that they defrost okay, which could be a faff?

Good luck though :o

X-posted!!

A tip for using frozen shortcrust if you have a food processor. Cut the pastry into chunks and feed them one at a time through the tube with the blade turning. It will chop the pastry and leave it soft enough to roll out, while still remaining cool.

Btw, I just form mine into a lump and wrap in cling film, rather than in a neat 'jus-rol' type block.

Thanks everyone I didn't expect replies so quickly!

You're right it'll be a pain layering cut discs, think I'll go for a block (which will actually be a ball, I'm not going to the effort of shaping it into a block).

I like the food processor tip, but I'd be wary of it ending up overworked, I might try that on a test batch when I've got time to correct any mistakes

I freeze mine in the bun trays. Once frozen you can take them out of the trays if you need the trays for something else. Then just cook from frozen.

French do you use a lower temp or the same as normal, and how much longer is cooking time? Freezing the pies when oven ready will make life much easier when I come to cook them.

I always make mince pies ready to cook and then freeze in the trays.

Thank you frenchfancy! Why on earth didn't I think of removing them from said tray so I can do some more???

They cook beautifully from frozen.

op - I cook at the same temp, just an extra few minutes. I egg wash just before they go in.

Thanks taff, I'll get making them this week, and cook them from frozen - that's great, it means I'll get a bit of time to myself between finishing my training course and providing mince pies for our annual family get together.