Ready made pastry.

I have an easy way without buying ready made - my trusty old Kenwood Chef does it perfectly.
Ditto crumble mix. ?

I gave up making pastry years ago.

I’m afraid the bought stuff is soooo much better than mine?

Life is to short to faff about making puff pastry. Ready made every time.

I always use ready made pastry. All the chefs on TV say it's just as good as homemade.

I've never been able to make pastry, I've always bought it chilled or frozen. I can bake, I can cook, but pastry, no.
Who wants a pie you have to cut with a hammer and chisel?

I always buy ready-made pastre, but always check it is butter only and NOT palm oil.

Same here LadyGracie. I always buy pastry and always feel guilty. Daft I know but I do.

I use both, I make my own in my food processor as my thumbs have Arthritis and I can’t do it anymore, but Puff pastry is always a packet of ready rolled, but I roll it out a bit thinner.

I must admit to being a tad embarrassed the other week when I gave my friend a home made meat pie.

She rang to compliment me on the ‘gorgeous pastry’ and asked how I made it!!! I had to blushingly confess it was from Tesco’s chiller cabinet (other brands are available ?)

She’d never even heard of it before ? but was straight out to buy some.

My mum made pastry all the time so I learnt from her just watching. In domestic science class was shown how to make rough puff pastry the folding method. I knocked mine up in minutes no effort at all the teacher told me off! She took nearly the lesson as always making it look complicated.
If it’s easy for you fine but I think homemade tastes best I do however buy filo because life is too short.

My own pastry is so awful, sticks to the roof of your mouth! What is the best shortcrust pastry to buy? Many thanks?

I make my own shortcrust but will buy puff pastry. I tried the readymade shortcrust tasted lovely but I found it very thick I prefer it a bit thinner.

Buy puff pastry every time and no guilt here! It's a wonderful invention I think.

Nanlovesshopping; can't advise on that as haven't bought shortcrust - I use Mary Berry's recipe for both sweet and savoury for that and it works for me.

Witzend

I have an easy way without buying ready made - my trusty old Kenwood Chef does it perfectly.
Ditto crumble mix. ?

Which attachment do you use to get the breadcrumb texture, I didn’t think the K beater would work? I love to make a crumble but either get out my heavy food processor or use a ready made packet mix!

Even a 1970s cookery book I still use, says it’s not worth bothering to make puff pastry, when the ready-made is as good, or better, than anything you and your rolling pin can produce.

I’d never bother trying to make puff, not that I’ve used it for ages. My mother often made vol au vents with puff pastry - I wish I could remember whether she actually made it herself. She was a good cook so I wouldn’t be surprised, but if ready made was available in the 60s I expect she’d have bought it.

tanith

I make my own shortcrust but will buy puff pastry. I tried the readymade shortcrust tasted lovely but I found it very thick I prefer it a bit thinner.

I like the ready made shortcrust that comes in a block rather than the ready rolled out, I can then have it as thin or thick as I like. I also roll bought puff pastry a bit thinner if necessary for what I am making.

Teacheranne

Witzend

I have an easy way without buying ready made - my trusty old Kenwood Chef does it perfectly.
Ditto crumble mix. ?

Which attachment do you use to get the breadcrumb texture, I didn’t think the K beater would work? I love to make a crumble but either get out my heavy food processor or use a ready made packet mix!

I just use the K beater, same as for shortcrust pastry. Same amounts of fat and flour as for pastry, or with some oats substituted for some of the flour, and the same weight (or a bit less nowadays) of sugar as for the fat and flour.

Fat and flour (or oats and flour) first, sugar added once it’s nice and crumbly.

I don’t have a food processor, so it’s the Kenwood or do it by hand - I haven’t made pastry by hand (or made a cake for that matter) by hand for donkey’s years.

I don’t often make a lemon meringue pie, but the whisk is brilliant for whipping up the meringue. I don’t suppose I’d ever bother if I didn’t have that. Dh would mourn the loss - LMP is his favourite!

Ready made pastry is brilliant for one handed cooking. I love it ?

Lots of TV chefs now advise using ready made pasty. We always do.

Making pastry has always defeated me even attempts in the food processor.
Last Christmas I bought puff pastry and made sausage rolls with them. I used various types of sausages from the local butcher and they were a big success. No guilt from me!
The Christmas previous to that I did have success with shortcrust pastry using a method I’d seen on TV. With this version you melt the butter in a pan add water and pour it into the flour and work in with hands. I was sceptical but it worked a treat.

Yes Kate1949 even Dame Mary advocates shop bought!

Ready made every time. Think of all the spare time to use sitting doing nothing, bliss.

I cook most things from scratch, but I have no guilty conscience about taking short cuts when I feel like it, and that includes shop-bought pastry. I love cooking and baking, but I've never had a great deal of success making my own pastry. My mum made lovely pastry, but she always said you needed cold hands - so maybe that's where mine isn't perfect. Filo pastry in particular though - who has the time or the patience to make that from scratch?

Shortcrust pastry is so easy it seems like a sin to buy ready made, but. although I have made puff pastry and flaky pastry (there is a difference) in the dim and distant past I have used ready made for decades.

I've always used Jus Rol blocks (I promise this isn't an advert...) but this year for the Christmas sausage rolls Mr M bought Sainsbury's ready rolled puff pastry and it wasn't, IMO, as good. Not as 'puffy'. I don't know if it was because it was a different brand, or because it was ready rolled, not block.

Witzend

I have an easy way without buying ready made - my trusty old Kenwood Chef does it perfectly.
Ditto crumble mix. ?

Totally agree with you! Good old trusty Kenwood!