There’s something magical about that golden moment when your fork cuts into warm pastry. Soft, crisp, and full of buttery drama that just melts in your mouth. Whether you’re a crust connoisseur or just here for the cream puffs, learning the different types of pastry names and their types is like unlocking a secret pantry of delicious possibilities.
From sweet shortcrusts to flaky showstoppers, each dough has a different tale to tell. So grab your rolling pin, cause we’re about to go on a delicious, dough-lightful journey through the top 10 most popular types of pastry:
1. Shortcrust Pastry: As Easy As a Pie!
Best for: Pies, tarts, and quiches
Best Paired With: Apple pie, lemon tart, quiche Lorraine
Shortcrust is the go-to dough for bakers who like to keep things simple and scrumptious. With its high butter content and no-fuss method, this pastry is as easy as pie…crust.
Texture: Crumbly, buttery, tender
Pro tip: Keep ingredients cold and avoid overworking the dough to maintain flakiness.
2. Puff Pastry: Flake It ‘Til You Make It!
Best for: Tarts, turnovers, and baked buns
Best Paired With: Vol-au-vents, palmiers, beef Wellington
Puff pastry is the Beyoncé of baking! It’s complex, fabulous, and worth every fold. Thanks to lamination (a fancy word for folding in butter until your arms fall off), you get hundreds of flaky layers that rise like magic in the oven.
Texture:Light, layered, and puffy perfection
Pro tip: Chill your dough between folds to maintain sharp, defined layers.
3. Filo (Phyllo) Pastry: Paper-Thin and Full of Win!
Best for: Layered desserts and savoury parcels
Best Paired With: Baklava, spanakopita, börek
Filo is the drama queen of the pastry world. It’s thin, temperamental, but oh-so-worth it. Brushed with butter or oil, it bakes up into shatteringly crisp sheets that are made for sweet syrups and savoury surprises.
Texture: Crispy, delicate, and dramatic
Pro tip: Working quickly is key. Filo dries out in minutes if exposed to air.
4. Choux Pastry: Rise and Swirl
Best for: Puffs, éclairs, and anything you can fill
Best Paired With: Éclairs, Profiteroles, Cream puffs
Choux (say: “shoo”) is the pastry that puffs up without yeast or baking powder. It’s just steam-powered fabulousness. It’s cooked on the stove, piped like a pro, and filled with everything dreamy.
Texture: Light, airy, and totally hollow ( but in a good way)
Pro tip: Let your dough cool slightly before adding eggs to prevent curdling.
5. Rough Puff Pastry: Puff in a Hurry
Best for: Sausage rolls, cheese straws, weeknight wins
Best Paired With: Turnovers, pinwheels, savoury pastries
Think of rough puff as puff pastry’s chill cousin. It’s the same great flavour, but with fewer folds and way less stress. It’s great when you need a flaky fix but don’t want a full butter workout.
Texture: Flaky, buttery, halfway to full puff.
Pro tip: Great for home bakers looking for puff pastry texture without the hours of folding or lamination.
6. Flaky Pastry: Layered Without the Labour
Best for: Pies and hand-held wonders
Best Paired With: Pasties, turnovers, pot pies
Flaky pastry is made with visible bits of butter that melt into the dough while baking, creating uneven (but deliciously rustic) layers. It’s got attitude, and the texture to match.
Texture: Crisp, crumbly and full of charm
Pro tip: It’s faster than puff pastry, but still delivers excellent results for pies and snacks.
7. Suet Pastry: Old School and Full of Soul
Best for: Steamed puddings and winter warmers
Best Paired With: Steak & kidney pudding, jam roly-poly
Made with shredded suet (animal fat), this rich and hearty pastry is traditional British comfort food at its finest. It’s the kind of pastry British grandmothers swore by, and you should too.
Texture: Dense, moist, comfort-packed
Pro tip: Suet pastry is best when steamed rather than baked.
8. Hot Water Crust: Dough with a Backbone!
Best for: Raised meat pies and proud pie towers
Best Paired With: Pork pies, game pies
This one’s tough stuff — hot water crust pastry is poured-and-stirred magic that you shape with your hands like edible clay. It stands up to juicy fillings and keeps its crust cool under pressure.
Texture: Firm, moldable, holds a hefty filling
Pro tip: Best worked while warm, as it becomes harder to shape once cool.
9. Danish Pastry: Twists, Swirls, and Sugar Highs
Best for: Breakfast bliss and coffee shop moments
Best Paired With: Cheese Danishes, cinnamon swirls, fruit braids
Danish pastry is puff pastry’s sweet, yeasty cousin. Rich with eggs and milk, it’s all about twists, turns, and sugary centres. Perfect for lazy mornings and impressive brunches.
Texture: Sweet, soft, layered
Pro tip: Proofing time is key — allow it to double before baking.
10. Pâte Sucrée: Sugar, Spice, and Everything Precise
Best for: Fancy tarts and stylish pastry cakes
Best Paired With: Lemon tartlets, ganache tarts, pastry-based cakes
Meet the diva of shortcrusts – Pâte sucrée. It is sweet, stable, and totally photogenic. It’s the base of choice for elegant French-style desserts that look as good as they taste.
Texture: Sweet, crumbly, keeps its cool
Pro tip: Chill the dough thoroughly before rolling for clean, sharp edges.
Baking Thoughts
There you have it — the flaky, fluffy, fabulously diverse world of types of pastry. Whether you’re making sweet treats, savoury snacks, or a pie that means business, there’s a dough for that.
Each of these types of pastry brings its own flavour, texture, and technique. Once you find your favourite, you’ll never look at store-bought crusts the same way again.
