Fat

You must decide what kind of fat to use and whether you want flaky or crumbly pastry. The recipes given here are made with butter because it has the best flavor, but some experienced bakers swear by and adore the flavor of lard. Some bakers prefer shortening, despite its inferior flavor, because it’s easier to use than butter or lard and makes flakier pastry. But to make flaky pastry with butter isn’t hard. There are three methods, used alone or in combination, that guarantee flaky crusts: leaving the butter in relatively large pieces in the pastry dough (this precludes using the food processor); folding the pastry dough over itself to create layers (a simple version of the method used for puff pastry); and using a combination of cream cheese and butter. The amount of butter you use also has an effect. The more butter you use, the more delicate the crust will be. But pastry dough containing a lot of butter is difficult to roll out—if slightly too cold, it is too hard to roll and may crack; if slightly too warm, it melts and gets sticky.