Avoid the dreaded ‘soggy bottom’ and get practical pastry tips for homemade pies

Do you long to make a delicious apple pie from scratch? Or create a rough puff pastry with a bottom you can be proud of?

This course covers the techniques, skills, and baking science behind making perfect sweet and savoury pies and tarts with shortcrust, puff pastry, rough-puff, and hot water crust pastry.

You’ll also discover pastry tips and techniques on everything from rolling and shaping to blind baking and crimping.

Learn the ins and outs of making pastry

Pie and tart making is a skill on the up as hobbyists and professional bakers alike are increasingly taking to social media to share their elaborate creations and grow their following.

On this course, you’ll be equipped with the skills and knowledge to make a range of pie and tart recipes using pastry.

Discover homemade pastry recipes, from shortcrust pastry tarts to hand-crimped pies

As you dive into pastry making, you’ll learn why making pastry from scratch is useful for recipes from a range of global cuisines.

Each week, you’ll get to grips with a different type of pastry, learning tips for getting it right and having the chance to apply what you learn through a different delicious recipe.

You’ll examine each stage of the recipe in detail, and learn how and why each part of the recipe and pastry making process works.

As well as learning the ins and outs of making the typical pastry types, you’ll build your baking knowledge in areas like choosing the right ingredients, kitchen equipment, troubleshooting techniques and how to alter a recipe.

You’ll also learn the popular pastry techniques of rubbing in, rolling, shaping, blind baking, crimping and glazing, as well as learn about decorative techniques and the addition of flavour to pastry.

What topics will you cover?

Pies and tarts explores the techniques, skills and baking science that are needed to bake a series of savoury and sweet pastry based dishes. The course covers making shortcrust, puff pastry, rough-puff and hot water crust. Techniques include rubbing in, rolling, shaping, blind baking, crimping and glazing. It also looks at decorative techniques and the addition of flavour to pastry.

The course also includes:

How to read and amend a recipe
What to look for in ingredients
Bakeware and kitchen equipment tips
Troubleshooting techniques including ‘avoiding a soggy bottom’
How to get creative with pastry

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Learning on this course

On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.

What will you achieve?

By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...

Describe the mechanics of cooking, and in particular baking.
Investigate the behaviours that they will create around them as they cook, the cultural role that baking plays in life and how to become better cooks.
Research and collect recipes that they want to try based on being able to evaluate the written instructions.
Learn how to ‘read’ or interpret a recipe to see if it is workable, and to annotate it, to improve i
Be brave when cooking, explore new flavours and experiment with different ingredients.
Reflect on failure if it happens, assess possible causes and modify techniques.

Who is the course for?

This course is designed for anyone who wants to improve their skills and techniques when it comes to savoury and sweet pastry-based dishes.

This may include: Baking enthusiasts: Whether the pandemic has ignited your love of baking or you’ve been baking for years, you’re looking for new recipes to try and to better understand the science behind your pastry bakes. Intermediate bakers: You’ve already invested time into learning to bake but want to quantify and improve your skill level by adding new abilities, like pastry baking. Baking nerds: You already have commendable baking skills but want to ensure you know everything you can. You’ve taken baking classes before and enjoy the interactive and social elements of learning in a group. Wannabe chefs: You have basic cooking skills but want to learn more rounded techniques, and build your confidence and knowledge before venturing to cooking school.

Who will you learn with?

Miriam Nice

BARNEY DESMAZERY

As the longest standing member of the team, skills editor Barney has written thousands of recipes for BBC Good Food. Barney is also Good Food's resident bread baking expert. Follow @barney_desmazery

Lulu Grimes

I am the group managing editor at BBC Good Food and olive. I have worked extensively in food media in London and Sydney and have taught food writing at City University and Leith's.

Cassie Best

Cassie is food director for BBC Good Food. She trained as a chef at Leiths School of Food and Wine before joining BBC Good Food 10 years ago. She enjoys baking and creating family focused recipes.

Who developed the course?

BBC Good Food

BBC Good Food is the no 1. food media brand in the UK comprising the monthly food magazine launched in 1987, leading food website, and bi-annual BBC Good Food Shows.

About this ExpertTrack

Improve your home baking skills as you learn the techniques to master tasty recipes and understand the science behind baking.

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