Chinese Flaky Pastry

Method

1. Make the water dough (水皮). In a bowl combine 80 g plain flour, 5 g caster sugar and 1 pinch fine salt. Rub in 8 g soft lard with your fingertips until sandy, then pour in 40 ml warm water and bring together into a shaggy mass.
2. Knead the water dough on an unfloured surface for 8 minutes, pushing and folding, until it is smooth, elastic and no longer tacky — it should stretch into a thin, translucent sheet without tearing. Cover with cling film and rest at room temperature for 30 minutes so the gluten relaxes.
3. Meanwhile make the oil dough (油酥). Smear 40 g plain flour into 20 g soft lard with the heel of your hand on the worktop until it comes together as a smooth, pale putty with no dry flour left. It should be the same softness as the rested water dough; if it is greasy or slack, chill it for 15 minutes.
4. Divide the water dough into 6 equal balls and the oil dough into 6 equal balls. Flatten each water-dough ball into a 7 cm disc, thicker in the centre, set an oil-dough ball on top and gather the edges up over it, pinching the seam tightly shut. Roll seam-side down into a neat ball and keep the rest covered so they do not skin over.