Hard and/or tough:  Insufficient fat and fat unevenly distributed.  Too much liquid.  Over-handling.  Cooking too slowly.

Crumbly, too short and hard to handle: Too much fat.  Over-mixing.  Not enough liquid to bind fat and flour.  Self-raising flour used.

Soggy inside:  Insufficient baking.  Filling too hot when covered by pastry.  No steam vent made.  Too much liquid.  Too much sugar in contact with pastry.

Shrinkage during baking: Pastry stretched during rolling and shaping.  Insufficient resting time before rolling/baking.

Blistered crust:  Fat insufficiently rubbed in.  Water unevenly mixed in. 

Flan case base risen during baking: Self-raising flour used.  Not carefully pressed into tin to exclude air underneath.  Pastry not pricked to prevent air pockets or not weighed down with baking beans or foil during baking. 

Cooked, cheese pastry tough and rubbery with a rough appearance: Cheese grated too coarsely.  Cheese too fresh causing it to stick together and disperse unevenly in mixing.  Baked in too hot oven causing the cheese to melt and bubble.

Cooked rich pastry has speckled appearance:  Granulated sugar used.  Too much sugar.  Baked in too hot oven.

 

Suet Crust Pastry
Hard and tough: Insufficient baking powder if plain flour is used.  Over-handled.  Too much water.  Baked at too high a temperature.

Small lumps of undissolved suet in cooked pastry:  Suet not shredded sufficiently finely.  Oven too hot.

 

Puff, Flaky and Rough Puff Pastry
Hard and tough: Too much liquid.  Dough insufficiently kneaded.  Rolling in of fat too heavy and too lengthy.  Not kept cool.  Too much flour used during rolling.  Oven too cool.

Poor volume, lacking in flakiness: Fat too warm and blended with flour instead of remaining in layers.  Lemon juice omitted.  Insufficient resting between rolling.  Over rolling and too heavily rolled. Edges sealed with glaze.  Oven too cool.

Rough and uneven on top:
Dough left uncovered between rollings: skin has formed and been rolled into dough. Dough insufficiently kneaded. Uneven rolling.

Soggy in the middle: Under-baking.  Oven too hot.  Baked too high up in oven.

Shrinkage during baking:  Pastry stretched during rolling.  Insufficient resting time.  Oven too cool.

Leakage of fat: Dough too soft.  Fat too soft.  Uneven rolling and folding.  Oven too cool.

Uneven rise:  Unevenly rolled.  Unevenly folded.  Fat unevenly distributed.  Sides not straight and corners not square during rolling out.  Edges not trimmed before use.  Insufficient resting between rolling out andbefore baking.  Uneven oven temperature.  Too much egg glaze used, particularly on cut edges.

 

Choux Pastry
Pastry too thin:  Ingredients incorrectly measured.  Water not boiling when flour added.  Insufficient beating.

Paste too thick: Ingredients incorrectly measured. Liquid boiled too long and evaporated.

Cooked pastry close and heavy:  Insufficient beating.  Oven too cool.

Eclairs badly cracked:  Oven too hot.

Hot Watercrust Pastry
Dry, crumbly and will not mould: Insufficient fat.  Insufficient water.  Fat and water too cool when added to flour.  Dough cooled before kneading.

Crust burst after being filled or during baking time: Crust unevenly moulded.  Too thin in parts.  Careless handling.

Texture crumbly and doughy: Self-raising flour used. 

Soggy layer of pastry inside pie: Filling too moist.  Oven too hot.  Insufficient baking