How to 22: Make Vegan Shortcrust Pastry with Oil

Making shortcrust pastry that holds together can be a challenge unless you know how...

A lot of the time, vegan shortcrust pastry made with oil can be difficult- it often turns out hard to handle, and if you- like us-don't like margarines, even vegan ones, then it can be a very messy and disheartening experience. But help is at hand! We have been working on a wholefood vegan shortcrust pastry recipe for a long time, and here, for this month's how-to, is our best result to date...

The quantities here make a cauliflower-sized ball of about 750g; enough for a batch of pasties or a flan.

300g wholemeal flour

140g plain white flour

22og coconut oil

100ml olive oil

a pinch of salt (optional)

• Melt the oils together.
• Meanwhile, put the flours and salt (if using) into a bowl.
• Blend 1 level tab of the flour mixture with the melted oil. A balloon whisk is fine for this, or you could use a blender.
• Rub this into the rest of the flour.
• Mix in about 50ml cold water (may vary according to your type of flour) and form into a ball without kneading it.
• Wrap and chill it for at least half an hour, and it should be quite easy to handle if it hasn't been allowed to dry out.
• For mess-free rolling and cutting out, try rolling between sheets of clingfilm rather than a flour-dusted surface.

What will you make with your shortcrust pastry? Pies and pasties? Jam tarts? Or maybe something a little more sophisticated?