I find rolling pastry out to all the same thickness a real problem, whats the trick?

[coco4242]

I end up with an uneven thickness which then obv bakes unevenly.

Is there a way to achieve an even thickness all the time?

Its the one thing that always stops me making my own pastry. I just cheat and buy ready rolled.

You make it into a ball, roll it once, then turn a quarter turn, roll again, turn again, etc, keep going till you get the right thickness.

Thank you Pootles - you may have changed my baking life forever!

Don't get too excited, I can't actually make pastry to save my life - but I can make it even

It's the only thing my home ec teacher actually taught me.

Buy ready rolled

I swear that is the only way I can produce pastry that is edible and "pretty".

I know Carpe, but there is a small part of me that wants the homemade pastry that everyone says is so much nicer than shop bought.

Firstly, do you roll on the pastry directly, or do you sandwich it between 2 sheets of cling/greaseproof or similar? The latter makes it SOOOOOO much easier! Chill the pastry before rolling too. And again, once it's been rolled, in the pan.

And when rolling, don't go backwards and forwards. Start at your body, and roll away. Then again at your body, and away (a few times). Then turn the pastry a 1/4 turn, and roll again.

Also there's that Joseph and Jospeph rolling pin, with circles at the end, that help you get an even height.

Do you let it rest before rolling? Ching film and in the fridge for half an hour. Then the quarter turn technique. Do your dc have play dough you can practise with (using a toy rolling pin)? That's how I learnt to roll out as a child.

A trick I learnt from jewellery making class(!). Put two things the desired thickness either side of the pastry you are rolling. in class we used a pack of playing cards and took out as many as we wanted for the right thickness. So let's say you think 7 cards is about right. put 7 cards each side of the pastry and roll. You can't help but roll out to that thickness because the rolling pin rests on top of the cards. Do keep turning the pastry though.