What went wromg with my pastry pie?

bexxie90

LOL @ Thriftlady re:Marge....

My Mum laughed when I bought the Stork and said you wont get nothing good out of that and she put the above mentioned and Trex(I think) in her basket. I do love Clover though it tastes so nice on toast and being preggers at mo is all I want,lol.

Am going to have another attempt Tuesday am going to make a Sausage or Mincemeat pie. Will post results!

Thanks Bex.

Biddyrolo

My pastry is always nicer if I use self raising flour, I know it's not really the done thing but I like it better.

Charis

bexxie90 wrote:

made my pastry which first time in my life wasnt short and rolled out like a dream was so pleased. But horror of horrors when went to eat it was crispy and not at all like a pie pastry at all was quite hard,thin and like I said crisp[...] but I wanted the pastry like it should be.

Nothing wrong with your ingredients. The clue is in your comment that it wasn't short. Pastry only needs enough water to bind it together and the water should only be added a teaspoon at a time. As soon as it sticks together, stop adding water. Also watch the soft margarines as they are not 100% fat and the result is that the pastry has too little fat and has added water from the margarine before you even begin to add your own water. Two ounces shouldn't make that much difference though. Handle as little as possible and use your fingertips to squash together any leftovers you want to roll out, avoid contact with the (warm) palms of your hands.

bexxie90

Thanks Charis, just spoke to Mum and she basically said all of what you just did also she added that she uses SR dont know why? Any felt a wally for having to ask her but she said I was being silly,we all start somewhere but I thought at 31 years old I would know......

Thanks to everyone for all your help it has been really appreciated.....Now for the Hotpot tonight lol only kidding shoudl be okay but if not I will be back

Thanks again
Bex

Alfietinker

Can I ask a really, really stupid question? What exactly should pastry be like? I've made it so rarely that I'm not completely sure. I know if I make a mince pie it is different to shop bought pies but then again as most home made stuff is completely different I'm never sure if I'm doing it right? I also rarely eat pastry so I feel a bit of a dunce.

I am going to try the recipe on the "best pastry ever" thread but how will I know if it's right? What texture should it be?

Sorry if this is hijacking a bit but it seemed apt.