Wholemeal spelt flaky shortcrust pastry

Makes 700g Cakes, Bread and Pastries

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Method

Cut the butter into 1cm cubes and chill in the freezer for a couple of minutes. Put the flours and salt in a mound on your kitchen worktop and scatter the chilled butter over the top. Use a rolling pin to roll the butter into the flour, gathering the flour back into the middle as you go with a spatula. Keep rolling until the mixture is crumbly with shards of butter the size of rolled oats still visible.

Make a well in the middle and add the chilled water. Use a dough scraper or knife to gently cut the flour into the water, gathering up any leaks as you do, until you have an even, crumbly texture. Use your fingertips to gently push it all together into a rough, slightly sticky dough. If it feels dry, add more water, 1tbsp at a time, until there are no floury bits left.

Roll out or press the dough into a rectangle 2–3cm thick. Fold one-third of the dough into the middle, then the other third over the top of that, as if folding a letter. Rotate the dough 90 degrees and roll it out again into a rectangle 2–3 cm thick, then repeat the letter fold.

Rotate and roll out once more into a rectangle 2–3cm thick and do one last fold. Wrap and put in the fridge for at least 1 hour, or overnight. The pastry will keep for 4–5 days in the fridge or up to 3 months in the freezer.

This recipe was taken from the October 2021 issue of Food and Travel. To subscribe, click here.