Our first introduction on the GFC to making pastry! Here we will make a rough puff pastry, which can be made in larger quantities and used for lots of dishes from pies and puffs to sausage rolls and tarts.

For a tart to serve 4 people

150g butter
80ml very cold water
pinch salt
200g plain flour

Cut the butter into 2cm cubes and put them in the fridge. Measure the water into a jug, dissolve the salt into it and put into the fridge as well. Chill both for about 10 minutes.

Measure the flour onto flat work surface and spread into a rectangle about 1cm thick. Scatter the butter cubes over the flour and toss a little flour over the butter so that your rolling pin won’t stick, and begin rolling. When the butter starts flattening out into long, thin pieces, use a bench scraper, spoon or palette knife to bring up the sides of the rectangle so that it is the size that you started with. Repeat the rolling and scraping 3 or 4 times. Try not to work with your hands as they will warm the dough up, and we want it to stay cool.

Make a well in the centre of the buttery flour and pour all of the water into it. Using a dough scraper, palette knife or spoon, scoop the sides of the dough into the centre, cutting the water through the dough. Keep scraping and cutting until the dough is a shaggy mass and shape into a rectangle.

Lightly dust the top with flour and roll out the rectangle until it is half as large again, then scrape the top, bottom and sides together to the original size and re-roll. Repeat 3 or 4 times until you have a smooth and cohesive dough. Transfer the rectangle of dough to a baking tray, cover and chill for about an hour or until you are ready to use it.

This recipe is shared as part of the Good Food Club. We are very grateful for funding from The National Lottery Community Fund, distributed by the Landworkers’ Alliance, which has allowed us to offer a pilot of the Good Food Club this year. Thanks to National Lottery players for making this possible.