Learn How to Bake Pies and Tarts with BBC Good Food

Avoid the dreaded ‘soggy bottom’ and get practical pastry tips for homemade pies

Do you long to make a delicious apple pie from scratch? Or create a rough puff pastry with a bottom you can be proud of?

This course covers the techniques, skills, and baking science behind making perfect sweet and savoury pies and tarts with shortcrust, puff pastry, rough-puff, and hot water crust pastry.

You’ll also discover pastry tips and techniques on everything from rolling and shaping to blind baking and crimping.

Learn the ins and outs of making pastry

Pie and tart making is a skill on the up as hobbyists and professional bakers alike are increasingly taking to social media to share their elaborate creations and grow their following.

On this course, you’ll be equipped with the skills and knowledge to make a range of pie and tart recipes using pastry.

Discover homemade pastry recipes, from shortcrust pastry tarts to hand-crimped pies

As you dive into pastry making, you’ll learn why making pastry from scratch is useful for recipes from a range of global cuisines.

Each week, you’ll get to grips with a different type of pastry, learning tips for getting it right and having the chance to apply what you learn through a different delicious recipe.

You’ll examine each stage of the recipe in detail, and learn how and why each part of the recipe and pastry making process works.

Try your hand at pastry techniques like blind baking and decorative pie crusts

As well as learning the ins and outs of making the typical pastry types, you’ll build your baking knowledge in areas like choosing the right ingredients, kitchen equipment, troubleshooting techniques and how to alter a recipe.

You’ll also learn the popular pastry techniques of rubbing in, rolling, shaping, blind baking, crimping and glazing, as well as learn about decorative techniques and the addition of flavour to pastry.

This course is designed for anyone who wants to improve their skills and techniques when it comes to savoury and sweet pastry-based dishes.

This may include: Baking enthusiasts: Whether the pandemic has ignited your love of baking or you’ve been baking for years, you’re looking for new recipes to try and to better understand the science behind your pastry bakes. Intermediate bakers: You’ve already invested time into learning to bake but want to quantify and improve your skill level by adding new abilities, like pastry baking. Baking nerds: You already have commendable baking skills but want to ensure you know everything you can. You’ve taken baking classes before and enjoy the interactive and social elements of learning in a group. Wannabe chefs: You have basic cooking skills but want to learn more rounded techniques, and build your confidence and knowledge before venturing to cooking school.

This course is designed for anyone who wants to improve their skills and techniques when it comes to savoury and sweet pastry-based dishes.

This may include: Baking enthusiasts: Whether the pandemic has ignited your love of baking or you’ve been baking for years, you’re looking for new recipes to try and to better understand the science behind your pastry bakes. Intermediate bakers: You’ve already invested time into learning to bake but want to quantify and improve your skill level by adding new abilities, like pastry baking. Baking nerds: You already have commendable baking skills but want to ensure you know everything you can. You’ve taken baking classes before and enjoy the interactive and social elements of learning in a group. Wannabe chefs: You have basic cooking skills but want to learn more rounded techniques, and build your confidence and knowledge before venturing to cooking school.

• Describe the mechanics of cooking, and in particular baking.
• Investigate the behaviours that they will create around them as they cook, the cultural role that baking plays in life and how to become better cooks.
• Research and collect recipes that they want to try based on being able to evaluate the written instructions.
• Learn how to ‘read’ or interpret a recipe to see if it is workable, and to annotate it, to improve i
• Be brave when cooking, explore new flavours and experiment with different ingredients.
• Reflect on failure if it happens, assess possible causes and modify techniques.