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

2. PROBLEM: Pastry is hard and tough
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

3. PROBLEM: Pastry is blistered
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

4. PROBLEM: Pastry is fragile and crumbly when cooked
SHORTCRUST
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

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

6. PROBLEM: Pastry has not flaked well
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

7. PROBLEM: Pastry has risen unevenly
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

8. PROBLEM: Pastry has not risen well
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