Non Examination Assessment 1
Brief- Fats is one of the main ingredients used to make pastry. Investigate the working
characteristics, the functional and chemical properties of a range of fats that can be used to
achieve a perfect pastry.
NEA Assessment 1
Section A
The role of fat in making pastry is to give texture to the final product. Depending on what fat
you use, will also have a certain flavour. Fats also contribute to the flakiness of the pastry
being layered in between the sheets of the dough. Butter has a variety of functions in baked
products such as cakes, biscuits and pastries. Butter serves the function of imparting
flakiness. The flakiness is caused by the release of carbon dioxide bubbles. As the product
is being cooked, the bubbles are formed as the particles of butter melt and the size of the
baked pastry is proportional to the percentage of solid fat. When making pastry, mixing the
butter into the dough increases flakiness. Butter is 18-20% water-in-oil emulsion. It is best to
mix the butter with dry ingredients first or for cakes cream it with sugar first.
Margarine is mainly used in cakes and pastries. Margarine contributes to a flaky texture and
can also contribute to improving the eating quality of the product as well. It is important to
use margarine in baking as it ensures the end product is easy to eat, making it one of the
important ingredients in making pastry. This is because margarine creates a barrier between
the gluten molecules, stopping them from crossing when liquid is added. Margarine gives
tenderness to the final product. Without it a dough of flour and water is tough when baking it.
It coats the flour particles so that they don't stick together. This provides tenderness and
improved texture.
Lard is pig fat used as a flavour- neutral product. Lard is similar to butter, hydrogenated
vegetable oil and beef tallow. Lard produces a flakier crust than butter since it contains more
water. Lard is mostly recommended when making shortcrust pastry and is mainly used as
well. When making pastry people often use half lard and half butter in order to get flakiness
and a good texture.
Plan of action
For my plan of action I will make the lard and butter, vegan butter and margarine and just
salted butter in the first practical and I will make the salted butter and margarine, vegan
butter and lard.
In practical one, after I have put in one of the doughs in the fridge to set I will make the other
doughs one after the after. Also when one of them has been rolled out once and put back in
the fridge I will know that the ones that haven't been rolled I would know which one will need
to be rolled. In practical two I will try to do the same steps as in the practical one. However I
think these steps will be easier since I’m only making two types of shortcrust pastry.
The control variables: 25g lard and 25g butter
When I am making the different shortcrust I will take notes on any modifications I have done
e.g. not measuring something accurately, putting something extra or keeping them in the
oven for longer so that it will cook more.
1
, Non Examination Assessment 1
Ingredient list
● 50g fat/25 + 25 (salted butter, lard, vegan butter and margarine)
● 100g plain flour
● Cold water
Equipment list
● Large bowl
● Measuring jug
● Rolling pin
● Palette knife
● Baking tray
● Shape cutter
Hypothesis
I predict that butter and lard or just lard will be the best fats to make shortcrust pastry
because butter makes a crisp, rich shortcrust pastry with a good flavour, lard makes a very
short pastry but give excellent results when combined and they are mostly recommended
when making shortcrust pastry.
2
Brief- Fats is one of the main ingredients used to make pastry. Investigate the working
characteristics, the functional and chemical properties of a range of fats that can be used to
achieve a perfect pastry.
NEA Assessment 1
Section A
The role of fat in making pastry is to give texture to the final product. Depending on what fat
you use, will also have a certain flavour. Fats also contribute to the flakiness of the pastry
being layered in between the sheets of the dough. Butter has a variety of functions in baked
products such as cakes, biscuits and pastries. Butter serves the function of imparting
flakiness. The flakiness is caused by the release of carbon dioxide bubbles. As the product
is being cooked, the bubbles are formed as the particles of butter melt and the size of the
baked pastry is proportional to the percentage of solid fat. When making pastry, mixing the
butter into the dough increases flakiness. Butter is 18-20% water-in-oil emulsion. It is best to
mix the butter with dry ingredients first or for cakes cream it with sugar first.
Margarine is mainly used in cakes and pastries. Margarine contributes to a flaky texture and
can also contribute to improving the eating quality of the product as well. It is important to
use margarine in baking as it ensures the end product is easy to eat, making it one of the
important ingredients in making pastry. This is because margarine creates a barrier between
the gluten molecules, stopping them from crossing when liquid is added. Margarine gives
tenderness to the final product. Without it a dough of flour and water is tough when baking it.
It coats the flour particles so that they don't stick together. This provides tenderness and
improved texture.
Lard is pig fat used as a flavour- neutral product. Lard is similar to butter, hydrogenated
vegetable oil and beef tallow. Lard produces a flakier crust than butter since it contains more
water. Lard is mostly recommended when making shortcrust pastry and is mainly used as
well. When making pastry people often use half lard and half butter in order to get flakiness
and a good texture.
Plan of action
For my plan of action I will make the lard and butter, vegan butter and margarine and just
salted butter in the first practical and I will make the salted butter and margarine, vegan
butter and lard.
In practical one, after I have put in one of the doughs in the fridge to set I will make the other
doughs one after the after. Also when one of them has been rolled out once and put back in
the fridge I will know that the ones that haven't been rolled I would know which one will need
to be rolled. In practical two I will try to do the same steps as in the practical one. However I
think these steps will be easier since I’m only making two types of shortcrust pastry.
The control variables: 25g lard and 25g butter
When I am making the different shortcrust I will take notes on any modifications I have done
e.g. not measuring something accurately, putting something extra or keeping them in the
oven for longer so that it will cook more.
1
, Non Examination Assessment 1
Ingredient list
● 50g fat/25 + 25 (salted butter, lard, vegan butter and margarine)
● 100g plain flour
● Cold water
Equipment list
● Large bowl
● Measuring jug
● Rolling pin
● Palette knife
● Baking tray
● Shape cutter
Hypothesis
I predict that butter and lard or just lard will be the best fats to make shortcrust pastry
because butter makes a crisp, rich shortcrust pastry with a good flavour, lard makes a very
short pastry but give excellent results when combined and they are mostly recommended
when making shortcrust pastry.
2
