Pastry-making is largely about controlling layers and tenderness. Laminated dough is created by repeatedly folding butter into dough to create hundreds of alternating layers; during baking, water in the butter turns to steam and separates those layers. Croissants require 27 or more layers, while puff pastry requires 729 or more. To make puff pastry, a cold butter block (the beurrage) is wrapped in dough (the détrempe), then folded through a series of turns—typically six single letter folds or four double book folds—with refrigeration between each. Rough puff, or blitz puff, is a faster version that mixes cold butter chunks directly into flour before folding, producing fewer distinct layers but in much less time and working well for pie toppings and turnovers. The key difference between puff pastry and croissant dough is that puff pastry contains no yeast and rises solely from steam, while croissant dough includes yeast for a lighter, bread-like interior and requires fermentation between lamination steps.
Choux pastry is unique among doughs because it is cooked before baking. Butter, water, and flour are heated together on the stovetop, then eggs are beaten in off the heat. When piped and baked, the high moisture content turns to steam and expands the cooked starch-and-egg network, while the eggs' proteins set during baking, creating a hollow shell—perfect for éclairs, profiteroles, cream puffs, and gougères. Choux must be piped and baked immediately to capture the steam effect.
Shortcrust pastry is the tender, crumbly dough used for pie crusts, tarts, and quiches. The term "short" refers to the texture created when fat coats flour particles and inhibits gluten development. Two classic French variations exist: pâte brisée, a basic shortcrust of flour, butter, water, salt, and sometimes egg, used for savory tarts and quiches; and pâte sucrée, a sweet tart dough made by creaming butter and sugar before adding eggs and flour, producing a cookie-like, sturdy base for fruit tarts. Both rely on the biscuit method: cutting cold fat into dry ingredients until pea-sized pieces form, then adding liquid with minimal mixing to keep the dough tender and flaky.
Several techniques help pastry succeed. Blind baking—pre-baking a crust before adding filling—uses parchment and pie weights or dried beans to prevent puffing, with partial blind-baking for fillings that cook briefly and full blind-baking for no-bake fillings. Docking, pricking small holes in the dough with a fork, allows steam to escape and prevents puffing when a flat surface is desired, as in tart shells or crackers. Pie crust shrinkage is most often caused by overworking the dough (which develops gluten) or insufficient resting; the dough should rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before rolling and again after fitting it into the pan, and never stretched to fill the pan. Par-baking—partially baking a crust or bread product—ensures the bottom of a pie is fully cooked and prevents a soggy bottom when wet fillings are added later.