10oz ; or enough pastry for 1 x flan

Ingredients
170g / 6oz plain flour
1/4 Tsp salt
100g / 3.5 oz butter
1 egg yolk
3 Tblsp cold water

Mise-en-Place:
Weigh the ingredients
Dice the butter
Mix the yolk with the water

Method:
Either by hand or in a mixer:
Sift in the flour and salt
Rub in / mix in the butter and lard into the flour until the mix resembles 'breadcrumbs'
Add the yolk and water
Bring the dough together (it is important not to over handle or over mix the dough at this point. Once it has been brought together stop! Any further handling will result in tough/ dense pastry.)
Use as required

To Roll:
(As shortcrust)
Place pastry on lightly floured work surface (preferably cold surface)
To roll a circle you must start with one. Use the rolling pin to knock the dough into your starting circle. Use your fingers to maintain a good circumference.
Begin rolling.
Always roll in the same direction. Be firm.
To maintain the pastry in a circular shape roll once (I roll from 12 o'clock to 6 o'clock) then rotate the pastry by a small degree.
Roll again, then rotate.
As you roll and rotate the circle will appear lopsided but by the time you have completed one full rotation it will have formed a perfect circle.
Each time you lift the pastry for each rotation be firm and don't be too scared that it might break; pastry is tougher than you think!
From time to time dust the dough and work surface with flour to prevent sticking.
If the pastry becomes too wide to easily turn, roll the pastry over the rolling pin, rotate the pin, then unroll the pastry. Repeat.
When you have reached the required size prick the pastry all over with a fork (this will help prevent air bubbles forming when it bakes.)
Chill 20-30 minutes before baking.

Where you went wrong:
The pastry shrinks when baked: You over handled the pastry/ added too much water/ had the oven on too low a setting/ you forgot to chill the pastry before baking
Too greasy: You used the wrong measurements/ added too much fat/ had the oven on too low a setting
The pastry looks grey: Ha-Ha, looks horrible doesn't it! You left it uncovered for too long in the fridge. If you plan to leave it for more than 30 minutes cover with cling film.

Chef Tip: Pastry is best handled and made cold. The cooler the pastry the better the results (that doesn't mean freeze the damn thing! Can you imagine trying to roll that out?) It is for this reason that pastry sections in large kitchens are kept in seperate, cooler locations and the surfaces lined with marble.
Wetter and warmer pastry is easier to handle but you'll pay for this sloppiness when it comes to baking; the pastry will shrink and become tough to the palate.