Plenty of puff

WHEN it was first suggested I go on a pastry-making course, I thought it might be a waste of time.

After all, I find pastry-making so easy. I simply take the packet out of the freezer, snip it open and away I go.

Even Delia Smith urges us to use frozen pastry in some of her recipes.

I recall the patron saint of cooks stating on TV that life was too short to make your own filo. Would real, home-made pastry taste any better?

And, more importantly, would it be worth all the extra effort?

Bettys Cookery School’s pastry master Paul Deans seems to have all the answers.

He is adamant that, for many years, we in Britain have lost our way with pastry-making. His face contorts into a horrified grimace as he describes some of the hideous-tasting meat pies, full of hydrogenated fats and various additives, that he has come across on our high streets.

But standards are slowly improving, he says, urging us to aspire to the standards of the continent, where pastry-making is revered as an art form.

Paul, and the other tutors, Shelley and Lisa, have their work cut out with the 17 of us on this course, held in Bettys’ purpose-built spacious kitchen complete with a large demonstration area and plasma screen. Most of us confess we don’t make pastry. And those of us who do admit it rarely turns out right.

In just a few hours, we are told we will make our own puff pastry, wholemeal pastry and choux pastry in order to produce pear and stilton tartlets, little cheese choux puffs and a raspberry mille feuille. I can’t help thinking Paul is asking the impossible.

It emerges most of those on the course have been given it as a gift, for Christmas or birthday presents, often by particularly clever wives or husbands who, if they’re lucky, may receive a lifetime supply of delicious home-made pastries and tarts in return.

As one mother-of-four says: “I don’t need any more stuff. I urge my husband and children to give me experiences instead. I have been on a few other courses like this and they’re much more valuable than something like a handbag.”

Most have travelled quite a distance to get here, with none from the local area. Some have driven or taken the train from Newcastle, Manchester, Sheffield, Nottingham and Liverpool. One woman even flew over from Belfast.

There is a gynaecologist, a GP, a radiographer, an anaesthetist, a parole officer and a company director working next to me. Since they are all clearly in stressful jobs, I wonder if part of the attraction is that they find a course like this therapeutic. “I love being in the kitchen. I work very hard and this is how I relax,” says the anaesthetist.

But, as well as enjoying the experience, Paul is determined to ensure we also produce something that tastes delicious. He believes in simple, honest cooking using the best quality ingredients, such as pure butter: “Butter is king in our bakery,” hesays.

Properly-made pastry, he says, can turn a basic recipe into something truly special. But there is nothing mysterious about it, he says.

We start with the puff pastry which, Paul assures us, is not as daunting as it looks. “Pastry is simply a way of supporting a filling to get it into your mouth,” he says, helping the least confident among us put it in perspective. “But remember, a good quality pastry should eat more like a biscuit,” he adds.

Paul’s passion for pastry is catching.

“You have to treat it with love, care and respect,” he says, recommending that we work our dough slowly by hand rather than using a mixer. “You experience a sense of touch, a real feel for how it should be.”

He enthuses about the little bit of magic developing in our hands.

“What is happening is that the gluten in the flour is unravelling, splitting into strands and spreading through your mixture until you have a soft, smooth dough which is not splitting.”

It is a chemical process, he explains, which is why it is so important to weigh ingredients precisely and ensure temperatures are spot on for perfect results. At the bakery, which supplies the pastries, breads and cakes for Bettys’ famous Cafe Tea Rooms, Paul refuses to accept anything but the highest standards.

Products with the slightest defect won’t go out.

We have several breaks for snacks and a delicious light lunch, during which everyone enthuses about what they have learnt. “It is just so relaxing, I love it,” says the gynaecologist, who has just enjoyed a stress-free ten minutes slowly kneading her dough.

While we leave our puff pastry to chill, we start on the choux, which I have never tackled. It’s easier than I think. Now I can’t wait to get home and make chocolate profiteroles.

ONCE we get started on our wholemeal pastry tartlets, we pick up all sorts of useful tricks, like scrunching up a circle of greaseproof paper to line the cases easily, rather than doing complicated cut-outs, and using a pastry peeler to shave off any burnt edges on our wholemeal tartlets. We also learn how to make the black, treacly sauce, reduced from balsamic vinegar, olive oil and sugar, used to scrawl arty, decorative lines on plates.

I arrive home with an impressive array of home-baked goods. The mille feuille, assembled using rectangular sheets of puff pastry, layered with raspberries, jam and cream, looks stunning.

The children wolf down the cheesy choux buns in seconds. The pear and stilton tarts disappear soon after. I made lots of individual pies with the huge slab of puff pastry I had left over. And everyone, including my particularly fussy husband, agreed the pastry tasted immeasurably better than anything I have ever produced from the freezer.

Shame on you, Delia.

■ Bettys Cookery School, Hookstone Park, Hookstone Chase, Harrogate HG2 7LD, bettyscookeryschool.co.uk, 01423-814016 Upcoming courses include: A Middle Eastern Feast: Wednesday, May 6, 11-2pm Tasty Tapas: Wednesday, June 10, 6.30-9.30pm WIN A PLACE Bettys is offering a prize of two places on the Middle Eastern Feast course. All you have to do is name the capital of Saudi Arabia. Answers plus your contact details on a postcard or the back of an envelope to Bettys Cookery Course Competition, Features, The Northern Echo, Priestgate, Darlington DL1 1NF. The closing date is Monday, April 13 and usual Newsquest competition rules apply.