Tool for forming a folded pastry

A tool for forming a folded pastry from rolled-out dough. The pastry tool includes a frame having an edge for cutting the dough, the cutting edge being formed in the shape of the peripheral outline of a pair of circles intersecting at two points. The two points of intersection define a line along which the dough, cut out by the tool, may be folded. Further, one of the circular sections of the frame is made larger than the other of the circular sections to allow that portion of the dough formed by the larger of the circular frame sections to overlap the smaller circular section of dough while accommodating a filling therebetween. The pastry tool also includes a sealing flange extending inwardly from said frame a distance above the cutting edge to simultaneously seal and trim two layers of dough.

TECHNICAL FIELD 
The present invention relates to a pastry tool and more particularly to a 
tool for forming a folded pastry from rolled-out dough. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
Folded pastries such as Polish pierogi, Cornish pasties, and the like are 
very difficult to make. In order to form the pastry, a circular cutter is 
typically employed to cut out a pastry shell from rolled-out dough. A 
spoonful of filling is placed in the middle of the circular shell and the 
shell is folded over the filling with the edges of the shell being 
coincident to form a semicircular rim consisting of two layers of dough. 
The pastry shell is typically sealed by pressing the two layers of dough 
forming the rim together using one's fingers. After the shell is sealed, 
any unwanted, excess dough is trimmed from the rim and the pastry is ready 
for cooking. This method is very time-consuming and typically does not 
result in pastries of uniform size or shape. Further, a novice cook may 
not effect a good enough seal to hold the pastry together during cooking. 
A bad seal can be disastrous. For example, a pierogi is typically cooked 
in boiling water. If the pastry rim is not sufficiently sealed, the 
pierogi will burst while cooking. This results not only in a mess, but 
further wastes the dough and filling which can no longer be reworked. In 
order to ensure a good seal, some cooks use a thicker dough and further 
form a wide rim. However, thick shells and wide rims are undesirable in 
some folded pastries. 
Circular cutters have been known to include a sealing flange. Such cutters 
simultaneously cut and seal two layers of dough to form a sandwiched 
pastry. These cutters, however, have been found unsuitable for use in 
forming a folded pastry. One of the problems in using such a cutter to 
form a folded pastry is caused by the positioning of the filling on the 
shell. Typically, when a circular cutter is used, the filling is placed in 
the center of the shell as described above. The shell is then folded by 
bringing the edge of one half of the circular shell and the edge of the 
other half of the circular shell together with one's fingers, sealing the 
edges while folding. This method eliminates the need to use the sealing 
flange of the cutter since sealing of the pastry is done at the same time 
that the pastry shell is folded. Further, each half of the pastry shell 
formed by this method is rounded, making sealing of the pastry with known 
cutters having a sealing flange very difficult. When using a circular 
cutter, the filling may also be placed on one half of the circular shell 
so that the other half of the shell may be folded over the filling to form 
the top of the shell. In order to accommodate the filling, the shell half, 
which is folded over the filling, must be stretched so that its edge is 
coincident with the edge of the shell half underlying the filling for 
sealing. This method results in a pastry shell of un-uniform thickness 
which is undesirable. Further, because the top half of the shell must be 
stretched so that the edge of this portion of the shell is coincident with 
the edge of the lower portion of the shell, it is easier to seal the shell 
while stretching it by using one's fingers than it is to use the sealing 
flange of the circular cutter. 
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION 
In accordance with the present invention, the disadvantages of prior pastry 
tools for forming a folded pastry have been overcome. 
The pastry tool of the present invention includes a frame having an edge 
for cutting rolled-out dough, the cutting edge being formed in the shape 
of the peripheral outline of a pair of circles intersecting at two points. 
The two points of intersection define a line along which the dough may be 
folded to form the pastry. Further, one of the circles is made larger than 
the other of the circles so that when the filling is placed on the smaller 
of the circles, that portion of the dough formed by the larger of the 
circles overlaps the smaller of the circles while accommodating the 
filling and eliminating the need to stretch the dough. The unique shape of 
the cutting frame defines an area for the placement of the filling, 
defines a fold line, and further eliminates the need to stretch the shell 
about the filling to provide folded pastries of uniform size and thickness 
which are easily formed. 
The pastry tool also includes a flange which extends inwardly from the 
frame, a distance above the cutting edge so that it may be used to seal 
two layers of dough together to provide a positive seal while minimizing 
the width of the rim. Because the unique shape of the shell cut out by the 
pastry tool is such that it eliminates the need to stretch the dough to 
accommodate a filling and further forms a pastry with one flat surface, 
the sealing flange of the tool is easy to use. The height of the sealing 
flange is adjustable so that varying thicknesses of dough may be sealed. 
Further, sealing and trimming of the rim are accomplished simultaneously 
by the sealing flange and cutting edge of the frame to reduce time and 
work in forming the pastry 
These and other objects and advantages of the invention, as well as the 
details of an illustrative embodiment, will be more fully understood from 
the following description and from the drawings.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION 
The pastry tool 10 of the present invention as shown in FIGS. 1-6 includes 
a frame 10 having an edge 12 for cutting rolled-out dough, the frame being 
made of aluminum so that it is easy to clean and sufficiently strong so as 
not to bend or warp. As shown in FIG. 4, the frame 10 is formed having two 
substantially circular sections 14 and 16 wherein the diameter of the 
section 16 is slightly larger than the diameter of the section 14 so as to 
facilitate folding of the dough cut by the tool as discussed below. The 
frame and cutting edge are formed in the shape of the peripheral outline 
of a pair of circles respectively forming sections 14 and 16, the circles 
intersecting at two points 18 and 20 to define a line for folding the 
dough cut by the tool. 
The pastry tool also includes a flange 22 extending inwardly from the frame 
a distance above the cutting edge to seal two layers of the dough 
together. Although the sealing flange 22 is shown extending about the 
entire inner surface of the frame 10, it is sufficient that the flange 
extend from one of the points of intersection 18, along the interior of 
that portion of the frame forming the smaller circular section 14 to the 
other point of intersection 20 as will be apparent. 
The pastry tool also includes a handle 24 which is secured between a rear 
bracket 26 and a front bracket 28 by means of respective screws 30 and 32. 
A center bracket 34 extends rearwardly from the lower edge of the front 
bracket 28 and includes a pair of downwardly extending flanges, such as 
flange 36 shown in FIG. 6, each of the flanges being secured to the frame 
10 by means of a pair of screws. The handle 24 extends from the fold line 
defined by points 18 and 20 to the rear of the pastry tool so that the 
view of the front section 14 of the frame 10 is unobstructed to facilitate 
the cutting of the rolled-out dough and the sealing and trimming of the 
pastry. 
The pastry tool of the present invention is used to form a folded pastry 38 
as shown in FIG. 5 as follows. The pastry tool is used with rolled-out 
dough like a cookie cutter, the edge 12 of the frame 10 cutting the dough 
to form a shell, the outline of which is the same as the edge 12 with the 
shape of the peripheral outline of a pair of circles intersecting at two 
points coinciding with the points 18 and 20 of the tool which points 
define a fold line for the shell. After the shell is cut, a spoonful of 
filling 40 is placed in the middle of the smaller circular section 42 
formed by the frame section 14. That portion of the shell 44 formed by the 
larger frame section 16 is folded over the filling so that its outer edge 
is coincident with the outer edge of the shell section 42 underlying the 
filling. Because the shell section 44 is larger than the shell section 42, 
it need not be stretched to bring its edge coincident with the edge of the 
smaller shell section 42 while accommodating the filling 40. 
As shown in FIG. 5, after the pastry shell has been folded over the 
filling, the pastry tool is used to seal the pastry rim while 
simultaneously trimming the rim. In order to seal and trim the pastry, the 
smaller section 14 of the pastry tool is placed over the folded pastry and 
pressed down. The sealing flange 22 presses the top and bottom layers of 
the shell together to form a rim 46 while the cutting edge 12 of the front 
section 14 simultaneously trims any excess dough 48 from the rim. The 
sealing flange 22 and cutting edge 12 provide a positive seal while 
minimizing the side of the rim 48, the width of which is equal to the 
width of the flange 22. 
In order that the pastry tool may be used with doughs of varying thickness, 
the sealing flange 22 may be made adjustable as shown in FIG. 6. The 
sealing flange 22 extends inwardly from a member 50 which extends about 
the interior of the frame 10. The member 50 includes a plurality of holes 
such as the hole 52 through which a screw 54 may extend to secure the 
member 50 and flange 22 to the frame 10. The screw 54 also extends through 
a hole formed in the flange 36 of the center bracket 34, the screw 54 
being secured by a wing nut or the like, not shown. In order to adjust the 
height of the flange relative to the cutting edge 12, the holes 52 are 
made elongated. To adjust the height, the screw 54 is first loosened and 
the member 50 is moved to adjust the height of the flange 22. After which 
a wing nut is tightened on the screw 54 so that the member 40 is firmly 
held in place between the flange 36 and frame 10. 
The dimensions of the circular sections 14 and 16 of the frame 10 are made 
such that the pastry tool may be used with a standard food scoop such as 
used with ice cream or to make melon balls and the like. The diameter of 
the smaller section 14 is made approximately 1 inch larger than the 
diameter of the food scoop with which the pastry tool is to be used and 
the diameter of the larger section 16 is made approximately 1 inch larger 
than the diameter of the section 14 of the frame 10. More specifically, if 
the pastry tool is to be used with a food scoop having a diameter of 
21/4", so as to provide a ball of filling having that diameter, the 
section 14 should have a diameter of approximately 31/4" and the diameter 
of the section 16 should be approximately 41/4". Because the pastry tool 
may be sized relative to the amount of filling to be used, the size and 
shape of the pastry may be made uniform which is essential when the folded 
pastries are to be made on a commercial basis.