5. Detailed instructions regarding the making of pastry desserts are given throughout this Section, but if the greatest degree of success is to be attained, it will be well from the very beginning to understand a few general rules that apply to this work. In the first place, the ingredients must be of the right sort and as cold as possible; then they must be handled and combined with dexterity; and, finally, a hot oven must be provided in order that these foods may be properly baked.
INGREDIENTS USED FOR PASTRY
6. The ingredients used in pastry making are neither numerous nor complicated, usually including only flour, salt, shortening, and liquid.
If these are correctly combined, they will be all that is required to make a pastry that is light, flaky, and crisp. Occasionally a recipe requiring baking powder will be found and sometimes eggs are called for in mixtures of this kind, but neither of these ingredients is required for successful pastry making. Baking powder may be an advantage when it is used by one who is not experienced in the handling of pastry mixtures, for it helps to make pastry lighter. However, only a small quant.i.ty of this ingredient should be used, as a very little will bring about the desired result.
7. FLOUR FOR PASTRY.--Pastry flour is the most desirable for pastry making. It is made from winter wheat, which, as has already been explained, contains less gluten and therefore lacks the gummy consistency of bread flour. For puff paste, which is prepared so as to hold air between thin layers of pastry, bread flour is often used because it retains air better. Flours made of other cereals may also be used. Pastry made of such flours is more difficult to handle, but good results may be obtained if patience and care are exercised. When corn flour, rice flour, and barley flour are used as part of the flour for pastry, it will be found that less shortening is needed than when wheat flour alone is used. The dark flours, such as barley, produce a pastry that is dark in color, but this is no particular disadvantage so long as the quality is not impaired.
No matter what kind of flour is used for the pastry, it should be as dry as possible. At times, putting the flour in a warm oven and allowing it to dry will prove to be advantageous. However, flour so treated should be cooled before it is used, since the cooler the ingredients are the better will be the pastry.
Cereal products of different kinds, such as corn meal, for instance, may be moistened, spread into pans in thin layers, and then baked. The sh.e.l.ls thus produced may be filled with various kinds of filling and used very successfully. Such sh.e.l.ls, however, can scarcely be considered as real pastry.
8. SHORTENING FOR PASTRY.--A solid fat, that is, one that will remain solid at ordinary room temperature, is the best shortening for pastry making. Oils of various kinds may be used, but in most cases the results are not so successful. If pastry is to have the desired flakiness, the shortening must not be broken into such minute particles and the flour must not be saturated with fat, as is more likely to be the case if oil is used in place of solid fat. In addition to being solid, the fat should be just as cold as possible.
b.u.t.ter is the fat that is used for puff paste, but for other varieties of pastry almost any desirable fat may be utilized. Lard has always been a particular favorite for pastry making; still, for ordinary pastry making, there are various combinations of fat of both animal and vegetable origin which serve the purpose.
Certain fats left over from various cooking processes in the home can be utilized to advantage in the making of pastry. Chicken fat is a very satisfactory one. A mixture of lard and tried-out beef suet also makes an ideal fat for pastry, the hard flakiness of the suet being particularly desirable. In fact, almost any fat without a disagreeable odor or flavor may be used as all or part of the fat required. As has already been learned, fats may be clarified and freed of their odor by first heating them and then allowing a few slices of raw potato to become hot in them.
9. LIQUID FOR PASTRY.--Water is the only liquid used in pastry making.
Water in which small pieces of ice are allowed to melt is especially desirable for this purpose, but if ice cannot be obtained, the water used should be as cold as possible.
10. PROPORTION OF INGREDIENTS.--The proportion of ingredients for the making of pastry varies with the kinds of flour used and the kinds of pastry desired. Some varieties can be made with a comparatively small amount of fat, while others require a large amount. The use to which the paste is to be put will determine the proportion of fat to be used. It varies from the minimum amount of one-sixth as much fat as flour, by measure, or one-third, by weight, which is the proportion for economy paste, to one-half, by measure, or an equal amount by weight, which is the proportion used in the making of puff paste. For the ordinary preparation of pies, an amount midway between the two extremes is usually sufficient, while oftentimes less may be used to advantage. It should be remembered that fat is the most expensive ingredient in pastry making and should be used with discretion.
11. The amount of liquid in proportion to the amount of flour is about one-fourth, by measure, for, as is explained in _Hot Breads_, pie crust is an example of a stiff dough, and such dough requires four times as much flour as liquid. However, liquid should be added to the other ingredients until the correct consistency is obtained, regardless of the quant.i.ty used. The consistency is not right until the flour and the fat cling together in such a way that the mixture may be rolled out to form the crust for a pie. The less liquid used to accomplish this condition, the flakier will be the crust when it is baked. More skill is required in the handling of pastry when the smallest amount of water that can possibly be used is added, but the results achieved usually justify the care that is taken.
UTENSILS FOR PASTRY MAKING
12. The utensils needed for pastry making are few in number and simple in use. They consist of a mixing bowl, two case knives, a spatula, a rolling pin, a flour sieve, two measuring cups, two measuring spoons, and pie tins. Fig. 1 shows the way in which these necessary utensils as well as the required ingredients for pastry should be placed so as to be handy for the person who is to use them. It will be well to observe the placing of these, for much depends on their convenient arrangement. The kind of utensils to use requires consideration, also.
[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 1]
13. A bowl of any description may be used for the mixing, the usual cake-making bowl being very satisfactory. As the ill.u.s.tration shows, this utensil should have a round bottom, as the ingredients may be kept together better in such a bowl than in a pan of another kind. The two case knives are needed for mixing the ingredients in the bowl, and the spatula is used in handling the paste. The rolling pin, which is used for rolling out the dough to the required thickness, may be made of any material, but it should be one that will revolve while the handles remain stationary. With such a utensil it is possible to procure a lighter touch than with one that has fixed handles. The flour sieve is an absolute necessity, because the flour for pastry must be made as light as possible by sifting. One of the measuring cups is needed for the flour, or dry ingredient, and the other for the water, or wet ingredient. The two measuring spoons, which should be of different sizes, are used for measuring the salt and the shortening.
The kind of pans to use for pies depends largely on the opinion of the person making the pies. Ordinary tin pans will answer the purpose, but aluminum, baking-gla.s.s, or earthenware pans will prove to be more satisfactory because they retain the heat longer than do pans made of other materials. If desired, enamelware pans may be used, but this material chips easily and consequently is not very satisfactory.
The enamel top of a pastry table or the zinc-covered or vitrolite top of a kitchen cabinet will be satisfactory for the rolling out of the pastry, as will also a hardwood molding board. Whichever one of these is used should, of course, be perfectly clean and dry.
PASTRY AND PIE MAKING
METHODS OF MIXING PASTRY
14. Several methods of mixing the ingredients used in pastry are followed, each one producing a different effect in the finished product.
The method employed in the making of plain pastry, such as is commonly used for pies, consists in first mixing the shortening and the flour and then adding the liquid.
Another method is adopted for pastries that are intended to be somewhat flakier and of a little better quality than plain pastry. In this method, half of the fat is mixed with the flour and the water is then added to the mixture. With this done, the dough that is formed is rolled out, the remaining fat placed on it, and the pastry then folded and rolled repeatedly in such a way as to incorporate all the fat.
Still another method is followed when puff paste or fancy pastry dishes are desired. Only a very small quant.i.ty of fat is mixed with the flour or flour alone is prepared. Water is then added and the mixture is kneaded until it becomes smooth and elastic. When the kneading is done, the dough is rolled out in a certain shape, the fat is placed on it, and, after it is folded over the fat, it is put through a series of foldings and rollings until all the fat is incorporated.
The first and the third of these methods are explained and ill.u.s.trated here in detail, so that the housewife ought not have any difficulty in producing splendid results. As the second method is practically a combination of the other two, familiarity with them will insure success with it.
Pastry ingredients may be mixed by methods that differ from the three just mentioned. One of these is ill.u.s.trated in the method given later for the making of easy pastry. This seems to be a complete reversal of the rules observed in making pastry in the usual ways. The water is hot and the fat is melted in it. The flour is added to the liquid and the fat instead of the liquid being added to the flour and the fat. In spite of the fact that all this appears to be contrary, the results obtained by this method are satisfactory.
PASTRY FOR PIES
MAKING AND BAKING
15. PROCEDURE IN MAKING PLAIN PASTRY.--The first step in the making of plain pastry consists in sifting the flour with the salt into the mixing bowl. After this has been done, the fat should be worked into the flour, an operation that may be accomplished in three ways.
The method most commonly adopted is to work in the fat with the fingers; but this plan has its disadvantages in that it is not a very agreeable way and the fat becomes so warmed by the higher temperature of the fingers that it is liable to impair the finished product.
Again, some persons mix the fat with the flour by means of a fork, using this utensil to crush the lumps of fat against the sides of the bowl.
[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 2]
By far the most satisfactory method and the one that produces the best results is that shown in Fig. 2. Put the required amount of fat into the bowl containing the flour and the salt, and then, with two knives, as shown, cut the fat into the flour until the particles of fat are about the size of a small pea. As can readily be seen, this method, which is perhaps as speedy as any method that may be adopted, has the advantage of being entirely sanitary.
16. The next step is that of adding the liquid to the mixture of flour and fat. Heap the particles up in the center of the bowl, make a depression in the mixture, and, as shown in Fig. 3, pour the water into this in a thin stream, stirring the mixture all the time with a knife or a spatula. Be careful to add just enough water to make the ma.s.s of fat and flour barely cling together. As soon as the water has been added, gather the mixture into a ma.s.s preparatory to rolling it out on the board.
17. At this point, flour the molding board or other surface slightly, shape enough of the dough mixture to cover a pie pan into a rounded ma.s.s, and place it on the floured s.p.a.ce. Then, as shown in Fig. 4, roll it out with the rolling pin until it is about 1/8 inch in thickness, using a light, careful motion and keeping the piece of dough as nearly round as possible, so that it will fit the pan it is intended to cover.
[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 3]
When the rolling has been completed, roll the edge of the pastry over the rolling pin, hold it carefully over the pie pan, and, as shown in Fig. 5, unroll it gradually so that it will fall in the right place and cover the pan properly. With the paste in the pan, press it lightly with the fingers in order to make it cling closely to the bottom and the sides. Then, as shown in Fig. 6, trim the paste evenly by running a knife around the edge of the pan. When this is done, the pan is properly covered with paste for a one-crust pie or with the bottom crust for a pie that is to have two crusts.
[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 4]
[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 5]
18. In case a one-crust pie is to be made, the kind of filling to be used determines whether the crust should be baked first or not. For pies that require comparatively long baking, such as pumpkin pie, for instance, the raw crust is filled with the mixture and the two, crust and mixture, are then baked in the oven together. However, if the filling is one that does not require baking for any length of time, that is, time sufficient to bake the pastry, or if the filling requires a temperature that would be too low to bake the pastry, the crust should be baked first. In such an event, it is necessary to p.r.i.c.k very thoroughly the bottom and the sides of the crust with a fork, as shown in Fig. 7, so that the air that is confined in the pastry will not make bubbles by pushing the pastry up as it expands in baking. A perforated pie tin is an advantage in the baking of sh.e.l.ls or single-crust pies, for it prevents the air from becoming confined between the pan and the crust and producing air s.p.a.ces that would cause blisters to form as the pie is baked. If desired, the crust may be placed over the back of the pan and baked, thus forming a sh.e.l.l that may be filled with a cooked filling and served.
[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 6]
19. When a double-crust pie is to be made, place the filling, which is usually fruit, on the bottom crust, but do not p.r.i.c.k the crust in the manner just described. With this done, roll out the top crust and, as shown in Fig. 8, mark it with a knife in any design. The design serves as an outlet for the steam that generally forms inside of the pie as the filling cooks; if no provision is made for the steam to pa.s.s out, it will push up the crust and thus spoil the appearance of the pie. Next moisten the edge of the lower crust with a little water, putting it on with the finger, as shown in Fig. 9. Then carefully pick up the marked crust, place it over the filling, and press it down so that the edges of the bottom and the top crust cling together well. In applying the top crust, be careful not to stretch it. If it is put on loosely and pressed down on the edge of the lower crust without being pulled, the contents will not be so apt to cook out of the pie. Trim off the uneven edge with a knife and finish the edges of the top and bottom crusts in any desired way. This may be done by fluting the edge with the fingers or, as shown in Fig. 10, making marks with the tines of a fork. When this has been completed, the pie is ready to bake.
[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 7]
[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 8]
20. BAKING THE PLAIN-PASTRY MIXTURE.--As soon as the pie or other pastry dessert has been prepared, the next step is to bake it. To produce the best results, the pastry should be baked as quickly as possible; consequently, a hot oven is necessary. The baking can be accomplished most successfully in the case of a single crust baked without the filling or a pie containing a mixture that does not require long cooking. Otherwise, the temperature must be sufficiently low to cook the filling so that it will be palatable, and for this reason the pastry is not baked under entirely ideal conditions. The correct temperature for most pastry is from 500 to 600 degrees; that is, the oven should be just about as hot as it can be made. The length of time required for the baking depends entirely on the heat of the oven and the contents of the pie. It should be remembered, however, that to be properly baked, the crust should be neither burned nor pale looking when taken from the oven, but should be a golden brown. Fig. 11 shows a two-crust pie that has had just the right amount of baking.
[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 9]