Drawing a pattern in pastry
Often in the kitchen, in pastry-making, or in baking, we need to trace a pattern on a pastry.
It's just a question of aesthetics but it has its effect after baking on a galette, pithiviers, pâté en croute (terrine in a pie crust), etc.
It's just a question of aesthetics but it has its effect after baking on a galette, pithiviers, pâté en croute (terrine in a pie crust), etc.
33 K 4.1/5 (26 reviews)
Keywords for this post:PastryPatternsDrawingAestheticTracingGildingKnifeLast modified on: May 23th 2019
Drawing a pattern in pastry
It is not very complicated in principle, in general the dough is gilded with a brush and dorure, and then with the tip of a knife you trace the chosen pattern, before either putting it in the oven directly (puff pastry, shortcrust pastry or sweetcrust pastry (pâte sablée)), or putting it in a warm place (milk rolls or croissants, ...).
It's simple in principle, but it deserves some precisions and 1 or 2 tricks, because it's easy to get it wrong.
How to do it?
First of all, we agree, you have to "gild", that is to say to pass some gilding with a brush in a fine and regular layer on the top of the dough. This is important for the colouring when baking of course, but also because by doing this you will create a colour contrast between the dough, golden, and the incisions you will make afterwards, which will show the light, non golden dough. It is this contrast that will give a beautiful pattern when baking.
Then you have to draw the pattern, usually you use a small sharp knife, and that's the trick: you mustn't use the blade of the knife normally (as if you were cutting something), but upside down, that is to say you must use the back of the blade, the one that is thicker and does not cut. And that's because you don't want to split the dough, and in the process risk going through it, but just groove it with the thick side of the knife blade.
And if possible, don't hold the knife by the handle (as on this picture), because you have too much strength and you risk to crush the dough when you should be "airy", but rather hold it by the blade, between thumb and forefinger, handle up, almost like a pen.
Once you have learned this gesture, give free rein to your creativity in terms of decoration and draw the pattern of your choice: grid, spiral, flowers, grid,...
To sum up: To trace a pattern on a pastry before baking, the best way is to use the thick side of the blade of a small knife, holding it upside down, by the blade, pinched between the thumb and the index finger.
It's simple in principle, but it deserves some precisions and 1 or 2 tricks, because it's easy to get it wrong.
How to do it?
First of all, we agree, you have to "gild", that is to say to pass some gilding with a brush in a fine and regular layer on the top of the dough. This is important for the colouring when baking of course, but also because by doing this you will create a colour contrast between the dough, golden, and the incisions you will make afterwards, which will show the light, non golden dough. It is this contrast that will give a beautiful pattern when baking.
Then you have to draw the pattern, usually you use a small sharp knife, and that's the trick: you mustn't use the blade of the knife normally (as if you were cutting something), but upside down, that is to say you must use the back of the blade, the one that is thicker and does not cut. And that's because you don't want to split the dough, and in the process risk going through it, but just groove it with the thick side of the knife blade.
And if possible, don't hold the knife by the handle (as on this picture), because you have too much strength and you risk to crush the dough when you should be "airy", but rather hold it by the blade, between thumb and forefinger, handle up, almost like a pen.
Once you have learned this gesture, give free rein to your creativity in terms of decoration and draw the pattern of your choice: grid, spiral, flowers, grid,...
To sum up: To trace a pattern on a pastry before baking, the best way is to use the thick side of the blade of a small knife, holding it upside down, by the blade, pinched between the thumb and the index finger.
Lasts posts
The importance of sieving
In recipes that use a fine powder (flour, powdered sugar, etc.), you'll often see the advice to sift before using it. To sift is to pass the powder in question through a sieve (a very fine strainer) before incorporating it into your recipe. It's often advice, but is it really useful?September 3rd 20251,295
The grease spray
As soon as you have something in a recipe that sticks to the mold, the question always arises as to how difficult it is to remove from the mold. There's nothing more frustrating than breaking your cake when unmolding it, because part of it has stuck in the mold. The classic way to avoid this is...August 26th 20254,4465
Cake moulds
When we make a cake, or a cake of the same rectangular shape, we usually take out our usual mould and tell ourselves that the recipe is anyway "for a cake", but is it really that simple?August 25th 20254,7645
Thinning out herbs
If you need to add a long-stemmed herb (tarragon, mint, verbena, thyme, etc.) to a recipe, you'll probably only need the leaves and not the stem, so you'll need to remove the leaves. Leaf removal means keeping only the beautiful leaves, and eliminating the ugly stems and leaves, but how do you do...August 8th 20252,9705
Add a bay leaf
Bay leaf: small in size, but big in flavor. You'll find it in hundreds of recipes, and it's often added to cooking meat, in a sauce or broth, usually accompanied by other herbs or products. It's a staple of Provençal, Mediterranean and Oriental cuisine, but not the only one. Usually, in a...July 31th 20253,0765
Other pages you may also like
The importance of sieving
In recipes that use a fine powder (flour, powdered sugar, etc.), you'll often see the advice to sift before using it. To sift is to pass the powder in question through a sieve (a very fine strainer) before incorporating it into your recipe. It's often advice, but is it really useful?September 3rd 20251,295
Cake moulds
When we make a cake, or a cake of the same rectangular shape, we usually take out our usual mould and tell ourselves that the recipe is anyway "for a cake", but is it really that simple?August 25th 20254,7645
Well-cooked meat
Have you ever noticed that if you like your meat well done, it invites strange looks? For instance, in a restaurant, when asked “How would you like that cooked?” If you reply, “Well done,” it is almost as if you are swearing….May 21th 201132 K 14.4
The art of the charlotte
In cooking, a charlotte is a delicious moulded dessert, with biscuits around the outside that have been soaked in a flavoured syrup, filled with a light cream or mousse. The charlotte is left to set in the fridge before being turned out and served in slices. It is very light and a lovely sweet...February 27th 201344 K4.3
The window-pane test in bread-making
The home bread-makers often ask themselves “Have I kneaded my dough long enough?” . A good question, as dough that is insufficiently kneaded will not rise properly or will fall flat when the top is slashed, which is very frustrating. To know when the dough is ready, one can rely on the length...June 16th 202194 K 23.9
Post a comment or question
Follow this page
If you are interested in this page, you can "follow" it, by entering your email address here. You will then receive a notification immediately each time the page is modified or a new comment is added. Please note that you will need to confirm this following.
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Alternatively: you can subscribe to the mailing list of cooling-ez.com , you will receive a e-mail for each new recipe published on the site.