No cook gets it right all the time, see my post Curse on my Cookery for reassurance. Becoming proficient at cookery requires perserverence and learning through errors. One aspect of cooking that had me beat for quite a while was pastry making, but gradually perserverence paid off and I learned a few tricks to ensure success at least most of the time. Here are my list of common problems and solutions:
Pastry too hard
Too much water is usually the enemy of good pastry. Add water very very gradually and stop as soon as the dough binds and before it gets sticky. Too much handling also causes a tough pastry. Handle gently and don't roll too hard, it squeezes all the air out. When rubbing in, try to do it with a light touch. Don't forget to sift the flour. A great way of cheating your way to a short pastry is use half plain flour and half self-raising flour.
Using a food processor is great for pastry but you may need even less water to bind the pastry as the machine does it so efficiently.
Pastry cracks as it rolls
This is caused by too little water.
Pastry shrinks when baked
This can also be caused by too much water. Another reason is not leaving the pastry to relax in the fridge for half an hour before rolling.
It is difficult to transfer from worktop to tin
The easiest solution to this problem is to roll it out on silicone paper. You can then use the paper to transfer it to the tin and leave the paper there if you are going to bake the case blind. It leaves the worktop nice and clean too.
Pastry is soggy on the bottom
If the case is baked blind, between removing the baking beans and paper and putting in the filling, return to the oven for five minutes to dry out. If the recipe does not require blind baking as in a fruit pie for example, sprinkling a little semolina on the bottom before adding the fruit may help prevent the juices from making it soggy.
Side of pastry case cracks during blind baking
This happened to me today when I made a quiche. I took my case out of the oven and there was a vertical crack right up the side of the case. Leaving it is not an option with a liquid filling. I put a little flour in a glass and gradually mixed in some water until I had a paste. Then with a flat knife I used this paste to seal the crack on the inside of the case, a bit like plastering a wall. It only took a very small amount. I then returned it to the oven to dry it for five minutes. I filled and baked as normal. When I served the quiche I took care to serve myself the cracked section. Only a little extra crunchiness was discernible.
Edge of tart case burns
Bake in the middle of the oven. Oven temperatures vary so an oven thermometer is always useful as a way of checking your oven's performance. When baking blind, put in enough paper to overhang and thereby protect the edge.
Other comments: Try to stay relaxed, stress will make you handle the pastry too roughly. Sometimes the problem may be down to ingredients. Flours vary and some are more absorbent than others. Buy a good quality flour and stick with a brand that gives good results. A damp kitchen is not good for flour either, be careful to store in a dry place. In my experience butter always turns out a superior pastry to margerine.
