Delia Smith Flaky Pastry​ Recipe

This buttery Delia Smith Flaky Pastry is made with frozen block butter (or margarine), plain flour, a pinch of salt, and ice-cold water. This recipe creates a light, crisp dough with golden layers that melt in your mouth. It is the perfect base for savory meat pies or sweet fruit tarts and makes enough for one medium pie crust.

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Delia Smith Flaky Pastry Ingredients

• 75g block butter or block margarine (must be frozen)
• 110g plain flour
• Pinch of salt
• 2-3 tbsp cold water

How To Make Delia Smith Flaky Pastry

1. Freeze the fat: About 45 minutes before you start, weigh out the butter. Wrap it in foil and place it in the freezer. It needs to be rock-hard.
2. Prepare the flour: Sift the flour and salt into a large, roomy mixing bowl.
3. Grate the butter: Remove the butter from the freezer. Hold it by the foil wrapper to keep it cold. Using the coarse side of a grater, grate the butter directly into the flour. Dip the butter into the flour often to keep it from sticking to the grater.
4. Coat the fat: Use a palette knife (a flat, dull knife) to gently mix the grated butter into the flour. Do not use your hands yet. Try to coat all the butter shreds with flour.
5. Add water: Sprinkle one tablespoon of cold water over the mixture. Continue mixing with the knife. Add 1 to 2 more tablespoons of water gradually.
6. Form the dough: Once the mixture starts to clump, use your hands to bring it together. If it is too dry, dab a tiny bit more water on it. The bowl should be left clean.
7. Chill the dough: Place the dough in a plastic bag and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
8. Roll the pastry: Place the dough on a lightly floured surface. Roll the rolling pin backward and forward (not side-to-side). Give the dough a quarter-turn often to keep its shape.

Recipe Tips

• Keep Everything Cold: The secret to flaky layers is temperature. The butter must be frozen, and the water must be cold. When the cold butter hits the hot oven, it creates steam, puffing up the pastry.
• Don’t Overwork It: Handle the dough as little as possible. If you knead it like bread, the gluten will develop too much, and the pastry will be tough and chewy instead of crisp.
• Use the Foil Trick: Holding the frozen butter by the foil wrapper prevents the warmth of your hands from melting the fat while you grate it.
• Resting is Key: Chilling the dough for 30 minutes allows the gluten to relax. This prevents the pastry from shrinking when you bake it.

What To Serve Delia Smith Flaky Pastry

Since this is a base recipe, you can use it to create many delicious dishes.

• Classic Meat Pie: Use this pastry as a lid for a stew of beef, ale, and vegetables.
• Fruit Galette: Roll it out into a rustic circle and fill the center with spiced apples or berries.
• Sausage Rolls: Wrap the pastry around seasoned sausage meat for a savory snack.
• Quiche: Blind bake this crust and fill it with eggs, cheese, and spinach.

How To Store Delia Smith Flaky Pastry Leftovers

Refrigerate: You can keep the raw ball of dough in the refrigerator, wrapped tightly in plastic, for up to 3 days before rolling and baking. Freeze: This pastry freezes very well. Wrap the raw dough tightly in plastic wrap and then foil. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw it completely in the fridge before rolling it out.

Delia Smith Flaky Pastry Nutrition Facts

• Calories: 235 kcal
• Total Fat: 15g
• Saturated Fat: 9g
• Cholesterol: 40mg
• Sodium: 150mg
• Total Carbohydrate: 21g
• Dietary Fiber: 0.7g
• Sugars: 0g
• Protein: 3g

Frequently Asked Questions

• Can I use margarine instead of butter? Yes, the recipe works with block margarine. However, butter typically provides a richer flavor and a better golden color when baked. Do not use “spreadable” tub margarine, as it has too much water.
• Why is my pastry tough? Pastry usually becomes tough because it was overworked or too much water was added. Be gentle when bringing the dough together and only add enough water to bind the ingredients.
• Do I have to grate the butter? Grating the butter is the “quick flaky” method. It distributes the fat evenly without melting it. If you don’t grate it, you would need to use a traditional “rubbing in” method, which takes longer and risks warming the butter.

Try More Recipes:

• Delia Smith Fish Pie​ Recipe
• Delia Smith Cottage Pie​ Recipe
• Delia Smith​ Coq Au Vin Recipe