Homemade Pastry from Scratch: Your Ultimate Guide to Effortless Baking Joy

Embark on a delightful culinary adventure and discover how to make pie pastry from scratch. It’s a journey far easier and more rewarding than you might imagine, promising not just delicious results but also an incredibly fun and satisfying experience in the kitchen.

Welcome back to my cherished Cooking with Friends series! This spring, with my cookbook projects demanding much of my time and focus, I’ve had the distinct pleasure of inviting some of my most talented and favorite blogger friends to share their culinary wisdom and inspiring recipes with all of you. It’s my heartfelt hope that you’ll derive as much enjoyment and inspiration from cooking and baking alongside them as I consistently do.

Today, we are absolutely thrilled to host the brilliant Mardi Michels from eat. live. travel. write. Mardi is truly an exceptional individual, boasting a remarkable array of accomplishments: she dedicates her professional life as a full-time French teacher, has cultivated a vibrant online presence as a long-time blogger, and is on the exciting cusp of becoming a published author. Her life journey has taken her across continents, including enriching experiences in France and Hong Kong, before she ultimately chose Toronto as her beloved home. Mardi possesses a unique gift for demystifying complex baking techniques, making them accessible to everyone. Today, she steps into our virtual kitchen to emphatically demonstrate that creating beautiful, flaky, and delicious pastry from scratch is not only entirely within your grasp, but also incredibly rewarding. Prepare to be inspired and delighted!

Reflecting on my extensive blogging journey, which now spans over eight years, one profound realization stands out: the immense knowledge I’ve gained concerning food, the art of cooking, and most significantly, the craft of baking. If you had posed the question eight years ago, asking whether I identified more as a cook or a baker, my unequivocal response would have been “cook.” Yet today, while I still thoroughly enjoy both culinary domains, I find that more people perceive me as a baker. This transformation often catches me by surprise, primarily because in my pre-blogging days, I was a quintessential “store-bought pastry kind of girl.” The very thought of tackling homemade pastry or bread filled me with trepidation; I simply believed it was an insurmountable challenge, far too difficult for me to master.

My pivotal “lightbulb moment” regarding pastry arrived during the summer of 2012. I distinctly recall watching Kate Hill, the renowned chef from The Kitchen at Camont in Gascony, France, effortlessly prepare an apricot tart entirely from scratch. Her approach was so casual, so seemingly simple, that it was then and there I truly grasped that making pastry at home wasn’t just achievable, but it was also incredibly fun! There’s an undeniable satisfaction in crafting something so beautiful and versatile with your own hands. Moreover, when you proudly declare that you’ve made pastry *from scratch*, it’s almost guaranteed to impress everyone around you. That very summer, inspired by Kate’s serene demonstration, I ventured into making pastry repeatedly. I baked a delightful pie, a charming galette, and even a hearty rustic quiche – and I was utterly hooked. Kate was even kind enough to let me video her process, clearly demonstrating that this culinary skill requires no magic, just a little practice and confidence!

There is something genuinely meditative and immensely gratifying about combining a few humble ingredients – flour, butter, water – and working them with your hands to create a perfect blank canvas. This versatile dough can then transform into an endless array of both savory and sweet delights. Indeed, pastry has become my absolute favorite thing to make these days! And let me be clear, I’m not entirely purist – my freezer typically holds a couple of rolls of all-butter puff pastry, which are lifesavers for those unexpected culinary emergencies. But for the vast majority of my baking, I proudly opt for homemade.

Despite the inherent simplicity and profound satisfaction, so many people still harbor a deep-seated fear of pastry – a fear I once knew all too well. In the adult cooking classes I regularly teach, homemade pastry consistently emerges as the one item everyone confesses they prefer to buy. Yet, almost without fail, when they witness firsthand just how accessible and easy it is to prepare, their disbelief is palpable! Similarly, in the kids’ cooking classes I lead, parents are often utterly astonished to learn that we craft pastry from scratch, genuinely believing it to be beyond the capabilities of young chefs. Well, I am here to tell you, unequivocally, that it is absolutely possible for anyone to master. Just take a look at some of the truly beautiful pastry creations my boys’ cooking club has proudly produced over the years, proving that with a little guidance and a willingness to try, anyone can become a pastry maker:

Mini Tomato and Goat Cheese Tartlets

Rustic Apple Galettes

Mixed Berry Galettes

Mini Jam Tarts

Quite impressive, wouldn’t you agree?

The enthusiastic boys in my cooking club even played a crucial role in helping me test and perfect recipes for my upcoming cookbook (In the French Kitchen with Kids, Appetite by Random House, due Summer 2018). This extensive testing included a significant number of pastry recipes. While I knew they could succeed with my direct guidance, the real question was: could they achieve the same fantastic results with just a recipe and minimal supervision? I dedicated an entire term of the club to observing them cook solely from my written instructions, meticulously taking notes and refining my guidance based on how they interpreted each step. As a recipe writer, this was an incredibly eye-opening experience, offering invaluable insights into clarity and precision. More importantly, it undeniably demonstrated that children, with proper instructions, can absolutely make pastry from scratch. And this isn’t limited to simple tart doughs – they successfully tackled more intricate varieties such as choux pastry and even rough puff pastry!

Feeling inspired to try your hand at an easy pastry recipe that promises a definite “wow” factor? These classic blueberry galettes are not only stunning but also remarkably simple to prepare, making them the perfect project for the upcoming blueberry season! Imagine fresh, juicy blueberries nestled in a flaky, golden crust – a truly irresistible treat.

Mardi Michels is a dedicated full-time French teacher, inspiring elementary school-aged boys with the beauty of the French language and culture. She is also the acclaimed author behind eat. live. travel. write – a captivating blog that chronicles her extensive culinary adventures, both near and far. Born in Australia, Mardi has embraced a global lifestyle, working as a teacher in diverse locations such as Hong Kong, England, and France, before finally settling and making Toronto her cherished home. Over the past decade, she has devoted every summer to immersing herself in France, meticulously honing her cooking and baking skills, exploring various wine-producing regions, and deepening her appreciation for French gastronomy. In 2014, Mardi and her husband acquired an historic property in Southwest France, which they lovingly restored and now operate as a charming vacation rental property known as maison de la fontaine. As an integral part of her teaching role, she passionately runs two popular cooking classes each week for boys aged 7-14: Les Petits Chefs and Cooking Basics, fostering a love for culinary arts from a young age. Mardi proudly serves as a Food Revolution Ambassador for Canada, advocating for food education and healthy eating. In her spare time, she shares her expertise by teaching various cooking and baking classes throughout Toronto. Currently, Mardi is passionately working on her highly anticipated first cookbook,In the French Kitchen with Kids, set to be published by Appetite by Random House in Summer ’18!

Don’t miss out on Mardi’s incredible culinary insights and adventures! Make sure to follow her through her blog and on social media:

Blog: http://www.eatlivetravelwrite.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/eatlivtravwrite/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eatlivtravwrite/
Twitter:https://twitter.com/eatlivtravwrite/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/eatlivtravwrite/
Maison de la fontaine (a holiday home in the heart of Southwest France): www.neracvacationrental.com