Puff pastry

Makes enough for 12 sausage rolls or 12 individual pie lids

135 g (4¾ oz) unsalted butter, cut into 1.5 cm (⁵/₈ inch) dice, plus an extra 500 g (1 lb 2 oz) unsalted butter, chilled

675 g (1 lb 8 oz/4½ cups) plain (all-purpose) flour, sifted, plus extra for dusting

1 tablespoon fine sea salt

1 tablespoon strained fresh lemon juice

300 ml (10½ fl oz) iced water

Put the 135 g (4¾ oz) butter in a food processor with the flour and salt. Allow to sit for a few minutes, so the butter softens slightly, but it is still cold.

Pulse until the mixture crumbs and resembles sand. Combine the lemon juice and iced water and drizzle over the crumbs, then pulse a few times until the mixture comes together into a smooth dough. Gather together and pat into a disc about 15 cm (6 inches) wide and 2 cm (¾ inch) thick. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes, or leave overnight.

The next step will be to fold (laminate) your pastry with the 500 g (1 lb 2 oz) extra butter, but first you will need to remove the butter from the fridge and leave it until it becomes pliable — but it should still be cold.

Place the butter between two sheets of baking paper, then use a rolling pin to gently pound the butter into a 20 cm (8 inch) square, about 1 cm (½ inch) thick.

Remove the pastry from the fridge. Using even strokes, roll it out on a lightly floured work surface to a 20 x 40 cm (8 x 16 inch) rectangle, with the short sides left and right. Place the butter square close to one short edge of the pastry, then fold the remaining pastry over to cover it completely. Pinch the edges of the pastry together to seal in the butter. Turn the pastry 90 degrees, then roll it away from you in even strokes until you have a 20 x 90 cm (8 x 35½ inch) rectangle.

Fold both short ends of the pastry in, to meet in the middle. Now fold one side of the pastry over to meet the other, as though you are closing a book. Look at the pastry and imagine the smoother side is the spine of the book, and the opposite side are the pages; remember this. Dust the pastry lightly with flour, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.

Repeat this rolling, folding and chilling process three more times, but each time you roll, you must ensure that the ‘spine’ of your pastry is on your left before you start — this will ensure that your pastry is turned 90 degrees each time you roll. After the last roll, you will need to rest the pastry for 24 hours.

Use within 1 day of resting, or freeze for up to 2 months, wrapped in plastic wrap inside a snaplock bag or sealed plastic freezer-friendly container.

note To make this pastry easily, you will need a work bench or table more than 90 cm (35 inches) deep and wide. If not, you’ll have to fiddle around by rolling your pastry out horizontally in front of you, rather than away from you — which is a little awkward, but can be done!