How To Make Traditional Flan Pastry

Master this easy peasy recipe and I guarantee it will open up a sea of recipes only limited by your imagination:)
Think of the possibilities: flans, pasties, individual pies, children’s lunchtime snacks and more.

You now have a stepping stone for all you family baking and you can control the fat content and sugar content of all the fillings.

You will need:
250g Plain Flour
125g Butter
1 Egg (medium size)
Sprinkle of Caster Sugar

What to do:
• Put the flour in a mound on a clean work surface, this would be better if it was marble as the coolness of the marble makes the pastry easier to handle. Make a well in the centre.
• Break the butter into little pieces and pop them onto the well along with the egg and sugar.
• This is the part I like:) Using your CLEAN fingertips, mix all the ingredients in the well together.
• As you do this gradually collect the flour from the edges of the well, rubbing the mixture gently through your fingertips until everything is all mixed together and what you have resembles a sandy colour and looks rather like breadcrumbs. This is known as ‘rubbing in’
• Now I REALLY like this part… Gradually add up to a total of 40mls of cold water. Now the secret is NOT to add it all at once, otherwise you could end up with a soggy mess. Add it gradually as eggs are never uniform in size, and you may have under or over done the butter or flour measurements.
• Be patient, add enough water to make the pastry in to a light, smooth ball that doesn’t stick to the work surface or your hands.

Now you have a traditional flan pastry mix

This traditional flan pastry can be used in several ways:
• You can line a flan dish with the pastry and bake it blind, you do this by putting a piece of cooking paper on to the base of the pastry and then covering the paper with baking beans or dried uncooked rice, add just enough to weight down the pastry so it doesn’t ‘rise’ up too much. Pop the flan into a pre-heated oven and bake until it just begins to colour. Remove from the oven, remove the paper and beans/rice allow to cool then add the filling of your choice.
• this mix can be used for sweet or savory fillings
• the mix can be used as a pie crust – a topping only
• the mix can be used for the base and the tip of a pie
Infact the uses are only restricted by your imagination!! ENJOY.

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