Making pastry - soft butter or cold

[TheSteveMilliband]

Pastry is something I've always struggled with. It shrinks, it's not properly crisp, too thick etc.
I tried michel roux's short crust which worked a bit better but unusually it specifies room temp butter rather than cold. Looking online, Delia does the same. I can't work out the rationale, and wonder what way is best? Why faff with cold if room temp is easier and works as well?

Any pastry queens (or indeed kings) have any advice for a novice?

I use cold, pastry is also best handled as little as possible.

The easiest way to make it is in the food processor so it isn't handled at all. It's also quickest and most consistent. Whizz fat with flour until it looks like breadcrumbs, add water and pulse until it comes together in a ball. Job done!

If you are struggling with shrinkage make sure you wrap your pastry and rest in the fridge for half an hour before rolling out.

Cold is supposed to stop the fats melting. I chop mine into little pieces cold. I also have very cold hands which helps. If I want nice short pastry I do half lard and half butter. Lard is really easy to rub in too.

Thanks coola and kitten. I have tried chilling / food processing but maybe I overwork it....must try again. Can't understand roux /delia method, but it did seem to work. What temp,do you cook at?

Hot, around 200 - 220 depending on the contents. For pie, 200C

Cold. Used to rub my pastry by the back door.

Does that sound weird?

Ah, hotter than recipe I have. Am thinking it might shrink less if hotter ?

Exit, just a little

Cold is best for pastry. It takes longer to rub the butter in to the flour, but is worth it imo. You will need a bit of water for shortcrust - that should be iced. And if you have time, rest it in the fridge for an hour before rolling.

I have very cold hands by nature and make excellent pastry

Light touch for pastry. Don't overwork it or knead it at all. Go quickly. It will all be fine.

Cold, I put mine in the freezer , cubed for about 15 mins.

Butter from fridge is too hard IME, butter at room temp is too soft in the summer. Rest of the year it's fine. Possibly this is because I uses Kenwood Chef, which has a mixer thingy rather than chopping blades quizzing around. Water shd be cold. IIRC, cold butter is fine with tap water, but room temper butter works better with water that has bben in the fridge for a while. Wrap pastry closely in cleaving pastry to rest

If you make it in the food processor use pulse rather than constant whizz and stop the second you hit crumb, and then the second it forms up.

Wrap in film, straight into the fridge for 30 mins, then roll without any further working and bake in a hot oven.

Cling film and leave to rest in fridge for 1h - 2 days before rolling it out. Only cut off and roll out what you think you'll need, eg 2/3 for pie dish, rather Han handling and rerolling it all. The re-rolled bits are far more likely to shrink.

Rinse hands in cold water for a few minutes if you're feeling hot before handl

ing the dough.

(WTF? No idea what happened to my post.)

Will def.try again, food processor on pulse and cold butter (will try freezer trick thanks). Seem to remember a recipe (may have been for a shortbread style pastry) where you cut out rounds, put them in flan dish and kind of squished them together ( I guess stops the dough from stretching).

I soft freeze and then grate my butter.

Agree with what others say about resting infridge for an hour.

I love, I fear I may have hot hands! Will give cold water wash a try. Lots of tips here, thanks everyone

I love, hadn't thought of using a mixer, what attachment do you use / does it crumb easily?

I have hot hands and for a low-fi option cut the butter into the flour with a bluntish knife. I also run the tap so the water is cold cold rather than just out of the cold tap cold. I use the knife til the last possible moment and only really put my hands on it to test then transfer between bowl and board.

My dad was a baker and pastry would just relax when he walked in the room.

I use butter straight from fridge and grate it into flour - rub in with fingertips, moving quickly and feeling only the flour not any grease. I'm not good at much but hot damn my pastry is sublime.

Oh yeah! If you have a kitchenaid or similar, you can soften cold butter in it without it getting hot, perfect for working into pastry....

I also freeze butter then grate it.

I keep a couple of blocks ready in the freezer.

I don't like grating butter, otherwise I would use it straight from fridge.

For shortcrust-type pastry the K-beater is perfect for rubbing-in fat & flour (also makes brilliant crumble topping - I never do that by hand any more) and then I may switch to the dough hook, depending on how it's feeling. For more doughy pastry, eg suet crust, I go straight in with the dough hook, no rubbing in.