The Ely miner., 1933-05-26
Ideas on Mixing
Of Pastry Flour
Proper Proportions Come
First, and the Rest Is
Mere Knack.

This article is devoted to the sub
ject of pastry. which has an unde-
served reputation for being difficult
to make.
First, there is the flour-either
bread or pastry -four can be used for
plain pastry. For puff pastry quick
puff paste bread flour must be used.
Then there is the shortening. Lard
or one of the hardened vegetable
fats make pastry tender. Butter. of
course, gives more flavor and In
some recipes you see combination
of it with the other more bland fats.
Whatever fat Is used must be hard
and that means cold. The flour and
salt are sifted together All the
shortening is added at once, and
then it is cut into the -four with two
knives. A chopping knife may be
used if you have a smooth wooden
bowl in which the pastry may be
mixed.
The proportion of flour to fat,
which makes a pastry rich enough
to be tender, but which at the same
time will roll easily, is three to one.
After the fat is cut in the water is
added. This is the only special
point in making pastry. Care must
be taken to add just enough. for if
the dough gets too wet we cannot
add extra flour without making the
final product tough. l make hole
at one side of the mixed flour and
fat and add one tablespoon of wa.
ter and stir into that with a stiff
knife enough water to make stiff
dough. do the same at two other
places in the dough. This will leave
some loose flour, so then take my
fingers and press the balls of dough
and the extra flour together. If /
need a little more moisture I add a
few drops of water at time. The
water used in mixing pastry must,
Of course, be very cold.
After the mixing is done it Is a
good idea to chill the dough before
rolling, as it will be much easier to
handle then. usually wrap it tight
ly in piece of waxed paper. 1t
will keep indefinitely in the refriger-
ator, so it can be kept on hand.
When I am ready to make up my
pie, take the dough out, cut off a
piece to roll on board, or a table
top busted very lightly with flour.
Pastry should be rolled gently, start
ing from the center and rolling in
each direction, so as to make the
sheet somewhat the shape of the
pie pan. The sheet of dough should
be lifted during the rolling to pre-
vent its sticking. The rolling should
be done gently.
For a pastry shell, the dough
should be pressed over the edges and
cut off. For a double crust pie it
should be allowed to extend over
the edge. After the filling is put in,
the edge should be moistened be-
fore the top crust is put over, and
pressed to the lower crust. The
edges may be trimmed with the
scissors and turned over, or bound
with an extra strip of crust. In
either case, the edges should be
pressed fiat with the fingers, or tines
of fork. Sits should be made in
the center to let out the steam of
the boiling filling.
Small tarts are prepared In the
same way as large pie, but with
little shorter time for baking. The
tart shells can be filled with fresh
fruit or berries, or with a crust, and
topped either with whipped cream
or a meringue to give the finishing
touch. When pie is covered with
meringue, it must go back to the
oven to set and brown the meringue.
A slow oven 300 to 320 degrees f..
for ten to fifteen minutes gives the
best results.
q. 1888. Bell Syndicate.-wNU Service.