Help My pastry hasnt worked What have I

Help! My pastry hasn’t worked! What have I done wrong? ?

SHORTCRUST PROBLEM: Pastry is hard and tough CAUSES= • The ingredients were too warm • Over kneading and heavy handling • Incorrect proportions of ingredients e. g. too much water in shortcrust, too little in flaky • Oven temperature too cool • HOW TO PREVENT= chill ingredients, handle lightly, weigh and measure accurately, check oven temp

SHORTCRUST PROBLEM: Pastry is blistered CAUSES= • Uneven addition of water • Oven temperature too hot • Fats insufficiently and unevenly rubbed in to the flour • HOW TO PREVENT= mix water in evenly, check rubbing in technique, check oven temp

PROBLEM: Pastry is fragile and SHORTCRUST crumbly when cooked CAUSES: • Too much fat • Over-rubbing the fat into the flour • Too little water • HOW TO PREVENT= weigh fat accurately and choose correct fat, do not over work pastry

PROBLEM: Pastry has shrunk during SHORTCRUST cooking CAUSES= • Pastry has been stretched during preparation and rolling • HOW TO PREVENT= let the pastry relax, handle lightly

Flaky/rough puff PROBLEM: Pastry has not flaked well CAUSES= • Oven temp too cool, so fat has melted and run out of the pastry before being absorbed by the starch. Steam has not been produced quickly enough • Mixture was too dry • Pastry has been rolled and folded unevenly with uneven addition of fat • Fat has melted during preparation and the pastry has not had sufficient time to rest in a cool place • HOW TO PREVENT= check oven temp, add sufficient liquid, roll evenly, allow to rest

Flaky/rough puff PROBLEM: Pastry has risen unevenly CAUSES= • Fat has been added unevenly • Pastry has been rolled and folded unevenly • Pastry was tilted in the oven • HOW TO PREVENT= add fat evenly, and ensure folding is even, check oven shelf is level

Choux PROBLEM: Pastry has not risen well CAUSES= • Insufficient cooking time, therefore the steam has escaped and the pastry collapsed before it set • Incorrect oven temperature • Insufficient beating • HOW TO PREVENT= accurate cooking time and oven temp, beat eggs in thoroughly