Making Pastry

[Denton15]

My mum makes the most amazing pastry, she says the secret is to add vinegar before rubbing in the fat. Does anyone else do this or do you have your own special recipe for pastry?

[she_cookie]

I don't have one, but i surely would love to know how it's done.
I think i could ask my mom, because she has this notebook full of recipes from my grandma and she has almost everything in there. She never cooked pastry before, but i'm sure i can put my hands on a recipe :)
________
BMW R1100GS (http://www.cyclechaos.com/wiki/BMW_R1100GS)

[gwydion]

I've never used vinegar. For me the secret is keeping everything cool, sifting the ingredients and using margarine for pale pastry and butter for a richer 'shorter' pastry.

[axeray]

Cant say I've ever added vinegar before either.

[lesley]

Hi, the only time I use vinegar is when I make meringue, it gives it a great sheen. I haven't used it in pastry though. At school we were told to have everything as cool as possible, even had to run our wrists under a cold tap!
I use a bottle of cold wine from the fridge, this works so much better than a rolling pin.
Lesley
www.cookingwiththejoneses.com

[faster]

I am disabled, on SS Disability. For 3 years, I didn't even HAVE a refrigerator.

But I learned how to make flaky pastry, even with everything at room temp.

First of all, I don't "rub in" the fat - that warms it from your fingers, and can't give you the pea-sized bits of fat you need for really flaky pastry.

The trick is in the handling. You cut the shortening into the flour, so that you have a texture similar to small peas. Some say it should look like cornmeal, but that is too fine. Flakes are formed when a bit of shortening is surrounded with flour, then the mixture is flattened. You should SEE shortening in the rolled out dough.

After cutting in the shortening comes the hard part. The minute you start adding a liquid, the gluten in the flour wants to toughen. To minimize this requires deft and delicate handling. Always add liquid only to dry parts of the mixture. Use two forks, tossing the liquid into the flour as though it were a VERY delicate salad. When dampened clumps form, remove them to the lightly floured bread board and continue. NEVER mix, stretch or press the mixture at this stage. Just toss lightly. Scrape the forks clean against one another, when needed.

From here on, the ONLY kind of manipulation you will apply to the dough is a flattening motion. Downward. If your dough sticks to the board, do not lift it with your fingers - use a scraper, and don't let it stretch the dough - only lift it.

When all the dry is incorporated into clumps on the floured board, mash the whole thing down with your hand to make it flat, and even the edges. If it's for a two-crust pie, cut the dough in half, with one half (the bottom crust) slightly larger. Do this quickly. Set one aside. Now use the rolling pin, dusting it and the dough surface as needed to roll out the dough. Use a scraper to lift the dough so you can toss some flour under it to prevent sticking, when needed. Another good method is to roll the dough out, floured on both sides, between two sheets of wax paper or parchment, then peel (or scrape) off the dough to use it. This often results in fewer tears, and a more even thickness. When ready, cut vent holes in the top crust and roll it around the rolling pin, dusting with flour so it won't stick to itself as you roll it.
Take it to the pie pan and unroll it carefully. If it tears, you can patch it with scraps - moisten the area around the tear, flatten a piece of scrap dough, and press it with the pin to the damaged area. If you MUST move the dough to center it better, use ONLY a gentle lifting motion.

You can apply this method to any pastry recipe. If it will give flaky crust with everything at room temp, just think how much better it will be with everything icy cold!

Downward pressure, tossing the mixture with water quickly, VERY gently, deftly and removing clumps as they form, adding water ONLY to dry mix, will give you good flakiness. Also don't cut the shortening in too fine. Each little piece of flour-coated shortening is a flake. If they're tiny, you will have trouble getting flakiness. When you roll out your dough, it will NOT have that creamy, smooth look that you always see in books and commercial photos. It'll be streaked with shortening - which is what you WANT.

You can use butter or margarine as the shortening, but will often get a crust that just doesn't brown. Half and half with a veg shortening like Crisco is best - you get the buttery flavor and the browning, too.

Since you probably DO have a fridge, it's always a good idea to mix the dough, cut it into the pieces you want, then chill it thoroughly before rolling out. Even if all ingredients started out ice cold, by the time you reach this stage, the chill is off. So put it back on! I think the idea of using a chilled wine bottle as a rolling pin is kinda cool.

[RecipeRiver]

Wow, faster. Excellent advice. Thanks for writing it all out. I've been making pie pastry successfully for years, but I just learned a thing or two from your detailed directions.

[lesley]

Thank you faster, for this detailed account, much appreciated!:)

[Big Daddy's House]

I was never into making pastry.

I DID make some crossants & puffed pastry years ago, but it was just too much work!

[brimunlut]

I accept with information:The trick is in the handling. You cut the shortening into the flour, so that you have a texture similar to small peas. Some say it should look like cornmeal, but that is too fine. Flakes are formed when a bit of shortening is surrounded with flour, then the mixture is flattened. You should SEE shortening in the rolled out dough.

[billysiddle]

My mum makes the most amazing pastry, she says the secret is to add vinegar before rubbing in the fat. Does anyone else do this or do you have your own special recipe for pastry?

Sorry ..actually i don't know how to make pastry..Hey ask to your mom how to make chocolate pastry? im waiting for your post...