Perfect pastry from a pro ...

It’s that time of year again when you start planning what is going on the Christmas menu this year and deciding on what to make at home and what to buy from the shop.
Glenn Futter, new head chef at La Cachette, Elland.Glenn Futter, new head chef at La Cachette, Elland.
Glenn Futter, new head chef at La Cachette, Elland.

The key element to think about is what you can prepare in advance so that you are not stressed out on the big day! You also want to enjoy time with the family too.

One of the easiest things that you can prepare before hand is pastry. It is so versatile in what it can be used for therefore I would insist that this is made at home.

This is a skill worth perfecting just for this reason.

Glenn Futter, new head chef at La Cachette, Elland.Glenn Futter, new head chef at La Cachette, Elland.
Glenn Futter, new head chef at La Cachette, Elland.
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Once you have tasted homemade pastry you will definitely not go back to shop brought versions- I guarantee that!

During this festive period you are more likely to use pastry for sweet dishes than savoury therefore it has to be crumbly butter pastry, so fragile that it collapses in the palm of your hand.

It is important to get the pastry right as it will be the decider on if the whole dish is a success or not!

Also you will never have wastage because if you make too much then all you have to do is freeze the additional pastry and use it again when required

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There are many different methods to making pastry, and all c hefs have their own reasons why certain ingredients are used.

Rest assured that this method will produce lovely pastry for whatever you use it for.

Firstly you will need to collect a few ingredients together and measure them out.

Ingredients

226g of plain flour

156g softened butter

75g of icing sugar

2 egg yolks.

Method

lSieve the flour and icing sugar into a bowl

lAdd the softened butter and rub in till a crumb is formed

lThen add in the egg yolks

lGently incorporate till a dough is formed

lWrap in cling film and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes and then it is ready to use.

lAlternatively freeze if not using straight away.

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Please ensure that you join us for the next edition as we will be using this pastry and making homemade mince pies ready for the festive period.

Glenn Futter is the head chef at La Cachette restaurant in Elland. You can find more about the restaurant and the food it serves at www.lacachette-elland.com

Go online at www.halifaxcourier.co.uk this weekend to see a video of how it’s done.