Scottish team creates low-fat flaky pastry with oleogels

Researchers in Scotland are developing a new method to produce the flaky pastry used in sausage rolls and other baked goods with significantly less saturated fat. The project at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh aims to maintain the beloved taste and texture of traditional pastries while improving their nutritional profile.

An estimated 10 to 15 million sausage rolls are sold in the UK each week, with a single roll often containing over 60 percent of an adult's recommended daily saturated fat intake. The research team, led by Professor Stephen Euston, is focused on replacing the solid fats currently used in laminated pastry-such as that found in croissants and Danish pastries-with healthier liquid oils like sunflower or rapeseed oil.

The key challenge is that liquid oils lack the structural properties needed to create pastry's characteristic flaky layers. To solve this, scientists are employing a process called oleogelation, which transforms liquid oils into a solid-like fat that can mimic the behavior of traditional fats. Professor Euston explained that fat plays a crucial structural role in pastry, sitting between dough layers so that steam forces them apart during baking....