Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1914-12-18

ANlES-m1nce. cranberry. pumpkin.
etc.-are an important part Of
the Christmas dinner. Owing
TO the many other rich ingre-
dents which comprise the Christmas
feast, heavy pastry is likely to prove
disastrous. Unless the housewife is an
excellent pastry maker III would be
wise TO buy her Christmas pies.
Only the best materials should go TO
the making Of the Christmas pastry.
Most housewives use lard instead of
butter for shortening pies because it is
cheaper. The result Is not so good or
so digestible as 1t would be If butter
were used or even butter and lard to-
gether. The French use eggs in their
puff paste. but they are not really
necessary. Expert cooks have half a
dozen different kinds of pastes suitable
for various kinds of pastry. The finest
of these is puff paste. but 1t is SO rich
that 1t is best to use 1t only for tarts
III the upper crusts of pies.
Materials Should Be Good.
The following rules for pastry max.
ing have been contributed by a clever
cook: One of the first essentials for
pies is to keep everything as cool as
possible. Use the best quality OF flour
and sift 1t fine. The butter, lard or
other shortening should be good and
used In the proper proportions. When
mixing the pastry use water sparingly.
The paste should not be sticky. A knife
should be used for mixing. When roll.
ing out use as little -four as pos
sible. To bake the pastry you must
have a hot oven. Do not open and shut
the oven doors often. A draft will pre-
vent the pastry from rising. When
baked, cool gradually in a warm place.
This will prevent the crust c%ollapsing.
If stored In a cool place and reheated
when served pastry may be kept for
several days.
Plain Pie Crust.
A good plain pie crust may be made
as follows: Put one and half cupfuls
of -four in a bowl. a quarter cupful
each of lard and butter and a teaspoon
full of butter. With a chopping knife
chop the shortening into the -four and
add about a quarter to a half cupful of
Ice water, just enough to hold the In
gradients together. Chop while the
water is being added until the dough is
smooth. The paste should be allowed
to stand in a cold place a day or two
before using.
To make puff paste take a half pound
each of four and butter, the yolk of an
egg. a teaspoonfui of lemon Juice. a
pinch of salt and water to mix. The
puff paste should be allowed to stand
ten minutes between every other roll
ing; otherwise 1t will be too soft and
oily. Puff paste is better if made the
day before it is to be cooked.
A cream crust may thus be prepared:
Mix n and one-half teacupfuls each
of graham and white -four. When
smoothly blended moisten with one
scant %teacupful of cream as lightly as
possible, making a rather stiff dough.
Roll out not quite SO thin as for white
-four crust. Use for pies as any crust.
The lower crust of a fruit pie should
be busted with a little -four and sugar
mixed together. This will keep the
juice from soaking in.
One Crust Pies.
If pie crust is at best indigestfbIe
then surely one crust pies are prefera-
BILE to those with two crusts, for each
portion contains only half as much
crust, And a well baked one crust pie
is considered much more tempting and
savOry by many than a pie with two
crusts. In many cases the one crust
pie can be wholly or at least partly
baked before the filing is put in.
There are several ways of baking
crusts so that they will keep their
shape. Some cooks stretch the crust
over the outside of the pie plates and
stand the pie plates upside down on a
tin cup in the oven When the crust is
brown they turn it gently into a pie
plate and put in the filing. Other
cooks spread the crust in the pie plate.
then cover it with a sheet of waxed
paper and fill it with beans or rice to
weight it down and SO hold its shape.
When the crust is brown the waxed
paper and beans or rice are removed
Making Cakes.
When about to make cake or any
other dish read over carefully the
recipe and directions. Be sure all re-
quired ingredients are at hand. and
unless you are experienced do not
substitute something else as lust as
good" Have the best of everything
needed. If you ian get it, and do not
skimp on butter, eggs and 1avoring.
Poor butter and stale eggs will give a
bad taste to the entire batch of dough.
When baking cakes, particularly
where a gas stove is used. the tin
which contains the cake should be put
inside another tin which has a layer of
sand laid in. This will prevent it from
burning.