Everyone
deserves a well-earned break now and then and if you’re
the type of person who would like to combine a trip abroad
with a delicious cooking experience, this is the prize for
you!
The
secret to good pastry making is five fold and the tips
given here can be transferred to most pastry and bread
recipes:
Ensure
that ingredients are measured exactly, the smaller
the amount made the greater the disaster for smaller
mistakes made
Always
sieve the flour at least three times, this is not
to remove any lumps as commonly thought, but to evenly
distribute the gluten content. If it is not evenly
distributed then the pastry can shrink when cooked
in the areas where there is a concentrated gluten
content
Add
a little lemon juice; this encourages the gluten strands
to relax and shorten
Work/handle
the pastry as lightly as possible, when rubbing in
the butter in short pastries use your fingertips only
and lift them into the air, this allows air to get
into the pastry and make it lighter, more delicate
Each
and every time the pastry is handled allow it to rest
for at least an hour; after making, after rolling
etc. This allows the gluten strands to relax again,
as each time you handle the pastry you stretch them
out (remember the elastic band simile)
The
secret to good pastry making is five fold and the tips
given here can be transferred to most pastry and bread
recipes: 
