Sift the flour and salt into a bowl.
500 g strong white bread flour, 2 tsp salt
Using a knife, cut the vegetable shortening into small chunks into the bowl. Rub it loosely into the flour; you want to see chunks of shortening throughout, you don’t want to work it into breadcrumbs.
400 g vegetable shortening
Make a well in the mixture and pour in the ice cold water. Mix it for a minute or two until you have a rough dough.
150 ml water
Cover your pastry and refrigerate it for 1 hour.
Once your pastry has chilled, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and roll it in one direction until it is a rectangular shape, roughly 20 x 50 cm (8" x 20").
Note: Don’t overwork the dough, you want to have a marble effect with visible streaks of the vegetable shortening running through it.
Position the dough rectangle in a portrait orientation in front of you.
Imagine the rectangle in thirds; fold the top third down to centre, then fold the bottom third up over it. Please see the recipe video for a visual demonstration. Turn the dough a quarter turn to the left.
Roll it out to around three times its length and then fold it again as you did before - the top third over to the centre and then the bottom third up over it.
Cover the dough and place it back into the refrigerator for 1.5 hours.
Note: The chilling time is important because it prevents the pastry from becoming too greasy and/or tough, so don't be tempted to shorten or skip these steps.