Sausage Rolls

Ingredients

• Eggs
• Puff pastry
• Pork meat or sausage meat

Method

Line a baking tray with baking paper. The paper prevents the pastry from sticking and lets the base cook properly — without it, the bottom stays pale and soft.

Roll out your puff pastry on a lightly floured surface to roughly 3mm thickness. If you're using a block, work it into a rectangle about 30 × 20cm; a ready-rolled sheet works fine if it's thawed. Brush the entire surface with egg-wash made from one egg whisked with a splash of water. This binds the pastry layers during baking and gives you the characteristic golden-brown sheen. Don't oversaturate — a thin, even coat is what you want, not a wet surface.

Lay your sausage meat in a line along one long edge, about 4cm from the border and 3cm in from the short edges. Use quality pork meat — if you're grinding your own, work cold meat through a coarse die to avoid compacting it into a dense, dry log. If using pre-made sausage meat, squeeze it out of its casings. The meat shouldn't be packed tight; it needs room to expand and brown. Keep the line even but not so wide that it prevents a clean seal.

Fold the pastry over the meat and press firmly along the seam to bond the layers — the egg-wash acts as an adhesive here, and pressure closes any gaps. Seal the short ends by pressing and folding. Brush the entire outer surface with another thin coat of egg-wash; this second coat ensures uniform colour and prevents the seam from drying out and splitting during baking.

Cut the roll into 5cm lengths using a sharp knife and arrange seam-side down on your prepared tray. This presentation matters — the seam hidden underneath stays moist, and the cut edges brown evenly. Bake at 200°C for 18–22 minutes. They're done when the pastry is deep golden and the meat is no longer pink at the centre (cut one to check). The base should sound hollow when tapped. Serve hot or at room temperature.