The Coolidge examiner., 1933-09-08
Points for Pastry Makers
Above All Things, One Matter of Importance Is to Be
Remembered and After That the Rest Will
Be Found Comparatively Easy.

The fine art" of pastry making
is succinctly set forth in the following
article. by an acknowledged expert:
The other day a woman said to
me: II just can't make pastry-I
can make good cake, but l just can't
make a decent pie" We'll" 1 an
swered her. 81 can guarantee to teach
you to make pastry, in ten minutes,
at the most" She took me UP on my
offer We left the bridge table for
the kitchen and within ten minutes
the pastry was chilling in the re-
frigerator.
You know pastry really is one of
the easiest things in the world to
make. There is only one point which
is very important, and that is not to
get il too wet when you mix it. Per
haps | had better begin at the be-
ginning, however. and tell you just
times as much flour as | have short
ening. prefer bread flour, myself,
for pastry because it is easier to
handle, but | can make it with pas
try or cake flour. If | do use this
kind of flour | use four times as
much flour as shortening. | mix my
flour and salt together in a wooden
chopping bowl. add my chilled short
ening and, with a double-bladed
chopping knife. cut the fat into
small pieces, at the same time, of
course. mixing 1t into the flour. Some
people can mix pastry satisfactorily
with the hands, but my hands are
too warm. The fat should be actual
ly in small bits Throughout the flour,
not thoroughly blended into smooth
mixture. Fat need not be cut as fine
for pastry as for biscuits. If you pre-
fer to use a wooden bowl you may
use two knives or a fork or a wire
whisk to cut in the fat. After you
have cut for a few moments shake
the bowl and the larger pieces of fat
will come to the top and you can
tell when it is thoroughly mixed.
Now you are ready to add the wa
ter, which should be cold. In warm
weather ice water is preferable.
Make a hole at one side of the flour,
add one tablespoon Of water and
with stiff knife stir in as much of
the flour mixture as the water will
take up Do the same thing two or
three other places in the flour mix
ture and then with your hands press
the balls of dough and the dry mix
ture left in the bowl together into
smooth ball. Put in the refrigerator
to chill few minutes. Then roll out
to line your pastry pan. Pastry may
be rolled on a slightly Toured board
or directly on metal table top. Roll
from the center each way. Roll light
ly and pick up your sheet Of pastry
after each rolling, to prevent stick
! ing.
When | make fruit pies | mix
tablespoon of sugar with a table
spoon of flour and sprinkle over the
bottom of the lined pan. | then put
In my fruit and sugar in layers,
dampen the edge Of the lower crust,
| put the other crust on top, press the
crusts together and cut them evenly
with a scissors. If you like you may
bind the edge with thin strip of
pastry or you may leave the lower
crust quarter inch larger than the
upper crust and turn it back on top
Of the upper crust. Press the edges
together tightly with your fingers or
the prongs of fork. Be sure to cut
slits In the top of the pie to let the
steam out and thus prevent the sirup
from making its way out at the
edges.
like to bake pastry she'll on the
outside Of pie pan, as it keeps a
better shape. After the pastry has
been trimmed around the edge with
sharp knife II should be pricked
all over with fork to prevent crack
ing during the baking. Pastry should
have hot oven. but after ten min
utes the heat should be lowered for
a fruit or custard pie. Fresh fruit
pies and tarts are very popular just
| now. Pastry shells are filled with the
sliced fresh fruit or with berries
which are then covered with whipped
cream or with glaze" Sometimes
! pie shells are filled with a custard
filling and fresh fruit Is beaten In
the whipped cream which is used to
cover the custard.
Pastry.
III cups -four.
II teaspoon salt.
II cup fat.
Cold water
Sift together the -four and salt.
Cut in the fat with two case knives.
For large quantity a wooden bowl
and chopping knife may be used.
When fine, add at one side Of the
bowl one tablespoon Of cold water
| and stir in as much of the flour and
! fat as the water will take up. Con
tinue this until you have four or
! five balls of dough and some dry
/ -four left in the bowl Press together
with your fingers. If all the dry flour