Solutions to common pastry making problems
| Problems | Causes | Solutions |
|---|---|---|
| Poor lift | Flour too weak | Use a stronger flour |
| Oven too cold | Bake at 230°C (450°F) | |
| Over dusting | Brush flour from pastry during turning | |
| Dough too soft | Dough should be same hardness as EOI Flex, EOI Pastrex or Perfex Ready Bits. If the dough is too soft it won’t have the strength to push the fat in the dough to laminate evenly. | |
| Breakdown of laminations | Reduce thickness of pastry slowly through pastry brake. | |
| Too much lift | Insufficient turns | Check the turns by marking paste after each turn |
| Oven too hot | Bake at 230°C (450°F). | |
| Greasy pastry (evidence of fat on tray after baking) | Margarine harder than dough | Use EOI Flex, EOI Pastrex or EOI Perfex Ready Bits at 20°C. |
| Insufficient turns | Plasticise before use if necessary. Check the turns by marking paste after each turn. |
|
| Toppling during baking | Careless folding of pastry | Keep sides straight and corners square whilst turning to ensure good laminations. |
| Insufficient resting between turns | Give longer resting periods. | |
| Insufficient rest before baking | Check the turns by marking paste after each turn. | |
| Shrinkage during baking | Oven too hot | Bake at 230°C (450°F). |
| Insufficient resting between turns | Give longer resting periods. | |
| Insufficient rest before baking | Allow 1 hours rest before baking. | |
| Too much scrap pastry | Reduce pastry scrap to 10-15% of rework. |
DO NOT refrigerate margarines.
For best results store at 20°C
Suitable for the following products:
Shortex 12.5kg
Traditional vanilla flavour margarine for all short pastry, sweet crust and quiche bases.
Flex Ready Bits Hard 15kg
Premium hard grade all vegetable shortening ready bits for use in all puff pastry lines. This product is virtually Trans Free and is suitable for vegetarian and vegan use.
Flex Ready Bits Medium 15kg
Premium medium grade all vegetable shortening ready bits for use in all puff pastry lines. This product is virtually Trans Free and is suitable for vegetarian and vegan use.
