Baking 101: The 5 Key Pastry Doughs, Plus Every Single Type of Pastry You Need to Know

All pastry doughs are made up of flour, water, and fat. Sometimes the fat is butter, sometimes it's shortening, sometimes it's lard, sometimes it's even oil. Regardless, every variety of pastry dough is made with these core ingredients, and the ratio of those ingredients, and the way in which they are combined to form a dough, determines the end result. Here are the five most common varieties of pastry dough and how they're used:

1. 1. Flaky Pastry: The most rustic and simple of all the pastry doughs, flaky pastry is used for sweet and savory pies, quiche, sausage rolls, and turnovers. It benefits from a hands-off attitude because the flakiest of doughs is the result of pea-sized chunks of butter and gentle hand work. Overworking this dough will yield tough and crumbly pastry, which is the last thing you want in a homemade pie.
   
2. 2. Shortcrust Pastry: A much more forgiving and foolproof variety of pastry, shortcrust pastry is resilient if overworked. This dough is much more cohesive than flaky pastry, because it's often used as the sturdy base for tarts. In fact, this dough is so sweet and sturdy, it's not too dissimilar to shortbread cookie dough.
   
3. 3. Puff Pastry: This is a flaky pastry characterised by fat and air being trapped between the layers of the dough to give a delicate, layered, and crisp finish. This time-consuming pastry is considered a go-to for pastry chefs, and worth the time to make. It is often used for pie crusts, as wrapping for meats, as well as vol-au-vents, cream horns and mille feuilles. Learn how to make puff pastry here.
4. 4. Choux Pastry: Choux pastry, or pâte à choux, is made of flour, water, butter, and eggs—it’s texture is thick and sticky. Instead of using a rising agent, the batter is beaten together on the stovetop until it forms a thick mass. The process traps steam, which gets released in the oven, creating a puff pastry. This creates a crispy outer shell and hollow interior that can be filled with a variety of fillings and is used for eclairs and profiteroles.
5. 5. Filo Pastry: This type of pastry is made in very thin sheets and used as a casing for numerous delicate savoury and sweet dishes such as baklava and börek in Middle Eastern and Balkan cuisine.

1. 1. Cinnamon Roll: A cinnamon roll is a sweet rolled pastry made with a yeasted dough, gooey cinnamon-sugar filling, and topped with cream-cheese icing. They're commonly eaten as a breakfast pastry in Northern Europe and the United States. In Denmark, cinnamon buns are known as Kanelsnegl, or "cinnamon snails," that has the same spiral shape but typically lack the cream-cheese icing.
2. 2. Morning Bun: Morning buns are made from laminated croissant dough that puffs up during baking, resulting in flaky and buttery layers. The rolls are filled with a cinnamon-sugar mixture and finished with a honey glaze and sanding sugar. These sweet treats can be found in bakeries in california. Learn how to make morning buns with our recipe here.
3. 3. Sticky Buns: Sticky buns are made with a caramel glaze, which gives the buns their name. The glaze is poured into the baking dish, followed by toasted pecans. The buns are placed onto the sticky mixture, and after baking, the pan is inverted so that the glaze oozes over the top.
4. 4. Eclair: An éclair is an oblong French pastry made from choux pastry, filled with pastry cream and typically dipped in chocolate icing. The dough is piped into an oblong shape from a pastry bag and baked until golden, puffed and hollow inside.
5. 5. Profiteroles or Cream Puffs: A filled French choux pastry ball with a typically sweet and moist filling of whipped cream, custard, pastry cream, or ice cream. It is usually drizzled with warm chocolate sauce.
6. 6. Danish Pastry: Danishes are made of yeast-leavened dough that is rolled out thinly with slices of butter using a rolling pin, between the layers of dough. The dough is folded and rolled several times, creating 27 layers. They can be topped with chocolate, icing, slivered nuts and may be stuffed with jam or preserves, marzipan, or custard.
7. 7. Pie: A pie is a baked dish which is usually made of a pastry dough casing that covers or contains a filling of various sweet ingredients such as fruit, cream, and chocolate. Apple pie is among the most popular flavor, along with southern pecan pie, and pumpkin. Pies may be served with a scoop of ice cream, a style known in the United States as pie à la mode.
8. 8. French Macarons: Parisian macarons are gluten-free almond meringue cookies sandwiched together with a creamy filling of ganache, buttercream, or jam. Made famous by pastry chefs such as Ladurée and Pierre Hermé, they’re a relatively recent invention based off an older style of Italian almond cookie. The cookies themselves, made of finely ground almond flour, egg whites, and sugar, puff up during baking to create a hollow center and a defined pied (foot), upon which different fillings are spread. With a mild flavor and color on their own, macarons are a natural base for all kinds of fillings and colorful dyes, especially around Easter. Learn how to make French Macarons here.
9. 9. Strudel: A strudel is a German type of layered pastry with a sweet filling inside. Apple strudel is the most traditional type and consists of an oblong strudel pastry with an apple filling made of crisp apples, sugar, cinnamon, and bread crumbs.
   
10. 10. Cannoli: Cannolis are Italian pastries that originated from Sicily and are a significant staple of Italian cuisine. Cannoli are made of tube-shaped shells of fried pastry dough, filled with a sweet, creamy ricotta cheese filling and sometimes mini chocolate chips.
11. 11. Cream Horn: A cream horn is made with flaky or puff pastry that is wound around a conical mold. After baking, it is filled with jam or fruit, and whipped cream.
12. 12. Tart: A tart is a baked dish consisting of a filling over a pastry shell with an open top. The pastry is typically a shortcrust pastry; the filling is commonly fruit-based or custard. Try Dominique Ansel's French Fruit Tart Recipe here.
13. 13. Mille-Feuille: A classic French pastry that consists of thin layers of puff pastry and cream filling and sometimes finished with powdered sugar. “Mille-Feuille” translates into english as one thousand sheets, layers, or leaves. This decadent dessert is perfect for special occasions such as Valentine’s Day or a birthday party.
14. 14. Baklava. Baklava is a Greek, sweet dessert pastry made of layers of filo filled with chopped nuts and sweetened with syrup or honey.
15. 15. Bear Claw. A bear claw is a sweet yeast-raised pastry that is the American version of a Danish. It is usually filled with almond paste and often shaped in a semicircle with slices along the curved edge—forming an oversized claw-like shape.
16. 16. Turnover: A turnover is a type of pastry made by placing filling on a piece of dough, folding the dough over, sealing the edges, and baking it. Turnovers can be sweet or savory and are often made as an on-the-go meal or dessert. Apple turnovers are a classic often enjoyed for breakfast.
17. 17. Scones: Technically, scones are a biscuit-like quick bread, but in the United States we refer to them as pastries. They are usually made of wheat or oatmeal flour and baking powder for leavening. The dough is rolled into a disc, from which wedges are cut and baked until golden brown with a flaky, soft interior. Scones can be sweet or savory and are often eaten for breakfast, but are also served with afternoon tea.
18. 18. Croissant: A croissant is a buttery, flaky, pastry, named for its iconic crescent shape. Croissants are made of a laminated yeast-leavened dough that is layered with butter, rolled and folded several times, then rolled into a sheet. The results are a delicate, flaky texture, similar to puff pastry. Croissants can be served plain or sweetened such as in chocolate (pain au chocolat) and almond croissants. Learn how to make the Perfect Croissant from Chef Dominique Ansel here.

1. 1. Quiche: Though the word ‘quiche’ is said to derive from ‘kuchen,’ the German word for cake, a quiche is a timeless savory egg custard most often associated with French cuisine. Quiche is made of eggs, an indulgent amount of dairy, and any number of filling combinations, from ham and cheddar cheese to garlicky mushrooms and spinach—all nestled in a basic pastry crust. Learn how to make quiche with our recipe here.
2. 2. Savory Pies: Savory pies, including pot pies have a flaky crust and bottom and are typically filled with meat fillings such as ground beef or chicken, gravy, and mixed vegetables (whole and mashed potatoes, carrots, and peas). Chicken pot pie is common in the U.S., while pork pies and steak and Guinness pies are staple foods in Britain.
3. 3. Cornish Pasties: Traditionally Cornish miners' food, pasties are meat and vegetable hand pies or turnovers made from hot water crust pastry. These half-moon British hand pies are perfect for lunch on-the-go.
4. 4. Sausage Roll: Sausage rolls are a British savory snack made of sheets of puff pastry dough wrapped around sausage meat and glazed with egg wash before being baked.
5. 5. Vol-au-vent: A vol-au-vent is a small hollow case of puff pastry, made by stacking ring-shaped pieces of pastry onto a disc-shaped piece. It is usually filled with fish, chicken, or mushrooms and enjoyed in French cuisine.
6. 6. Samosa. A samosa is a fried or baked pastry with a spicy potato filling. The filling is wrapped in dough and folded into a triangular or cone shape. Indian samosas are a popular street food often accompanied by various chutneys or chickpea curries (samosa chaat).
7. 7. Curry Puff: Curry Puffs are a meat filled pastries in Southeast Asia consisting of curry with chicken and potatoes in a deep-fried or baked pastry shell.

Become a better chef with the MasterClass Annual Membership. Gain access to exclusive video lessons taught by culinary masters, including Dominique Ansel, Gordon Ramsay, Alice Waters, Massimo Bottura, and more.