Making pastry

vixtress

angie_loves_veg wrote: »

Put the flour and your (cold) butter/fat into a processor. I cut the butter into small pieces first.
Pulse initially, then process until breadcrumby

I keep the motor running and very slowly add cold water (1 tbsp at a time) - it will make larger and larger lumps until it all rolls into a large ball. (I find it needs less water than it would if doing by hand)

wrap/cover and put in the fridge for a bit before using.

thats exactly how i do it and its perfect every time, even better if you do half and half butter and lard. mmmm, melts in the mouth!
good luck

daisy_doughnut_2

ok after reverting back to os with all deserts an most main meals i cant master the pastry i want it to taste like the pastry you get from the bakers when you buy an egg custard an it wont work im covered in flour again after stomoping around an launching the dam thing in the bin now the key board has flour on it to there must me a knack to it ive done all the checking my hands are not to warm not using to much flour ect ect

also my meat pies the pasryt is awfull it just tastes of flour

please help me

oh and the lattice effect do i have to buy one of those rollie things
oh and how do i stop my scones from growin out an make them grow up

an lastly can i substitute an orange for a lemon in lemon marangue*(sp)

thanks daisy

freyasmum

Hiya,
Firstly... You need to make sure that you have rubbed all the flour into your fat when you are making pastry. The mixture should resemble fine breadcrumbs. Work this in with your fingertips and not the palms of your hands as this will overwork the pastry and the important thing is to be nice and light. That should make sure that your pastry doesn't taste of flour.

With scones (says she who can't master the perfect scone!) the secret is: when you are cutting them, don't twist the cutter, press it in and lift it straight out. Again, you have to work nice and light and don't over work them. This should work :rolleyes:

I don't know what kind of pastry is used to make the E/C tarts, but imagine it would just be sweet rich shortcrust? For this you need

170g/6oz plain flour
a pinch of salt
100g/3 1/2 oz butter
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons ice cold water
2 tbsp caster sugar (just grind some regular sugar in a blender)

Rub in your flour and fat. Once this is done, stir in your sugar.
The egg yolk must be mixed with water before adding to the pastry as this will stop the pastry being streaky. Cook as for normal pastry. The above quantities will make a 20cm/8in tart. Also, remember the sugar will make the pastry brown more quickly and if this is the case, it can be covered with foil.

The lattice effect, I would be tempted just to place strips of pastry on top of each other, lol. But I have enough gadgets

If you substituted an orange for a lemon, it wouldn't be lemon meringue?

Hth, Lx

daisy_doughnut_2

oh thank you i will give that a go later as ive only just finished cleaning up all the flour

with the lemom thing i know but i forgot to buy one an i have loads of oranges for smoothies an orange cake i just never heard of orange meringue an wondered if there was a reason it didnt work although the more i think about it the more i want it..lol

right im now off to re wipe the sides that were covered in flour 1 last time why is it you end up with flour inplaces you never even went near?
oh an mince pies are done wander what that pasrty will tatse like not that it matters as the cream disguise's it...lol

freyasmum

Lol. It's sod's law. The law of baking, whatever, it's a blooming nuisance. I know what you mean. My mum constantly tells me that I'm terrible in the kitchen for making a mess

I see no reason why an orange meringue wouldn't work. In fact, be sure to let us know, if you do try it!

Good luck with the rest of your cleaning and I hope your mince pies are lovely. It just takes a bit of time to get used to making it. We can't all be perfect at everything after the first go, unfortunately.

Lx

blackvelvetshoes

orange meringue will work perfectly. I used to work at a hotel and they used to order sweets in, the 2 most popular were lemon or orange blossom pie & they were just lemon or orange meringue pies with pastry bases instead of biscuit,good luck

Gingham_Ribbon

I couldn't manage scones at all until I got a recipe from the BBC good food magazine last month. It said to pat the dough out, not roll it, and only pat it out a little bit, leaving it quite high to start with.

Re pastry, this is a big, older thread that might be useful. Making pastry. I find if I whizz mine rather than do it by hand, it stays cold and works well.

Penelope_Penguin

daisy_doughnut_2 wrote: »

an lastly can i substitute an orange for a lemon in lemon marangue*(sp)

thanks daisy

Hi, Daisy :j You can substitute orange for lemon, but it won't have that lovely tartness. Better is to use Seville (marmalade) orange - available after Christmas.

One of our favourites is orange and rhubarb meringue pie.

HTH, Penny. x

Meanymoo

I was going to reply with pretty much everything freyasmum said! Only thing I would add is that I don't know what fat you were using, but I have never had any success with margarine or spreads in pastry - I would always use butter, lard (or a combo of the two) or olive oil for a healthier option. Having said that, I think margarine is the devil's food and should be banned in the interests of our nation's tastebuds, if not our health, so I'm a little biased. :rotfl:

Jolaaled

I've posted this before..but here it is again, still going strong.

After years of dismal failure at (shortcrust) pastry making, i find this recipe impossible to get wrong. Very easy to make...no rubbing in...Rolls out really well and has great crumbly texture. .

1.25 oz White Flora (it has to be White Flora!)
1 oz margerine
3/4 oz butter (or mix of marge/butter).

cream these together with a fork

then add:

3 dessertspoons of cold water and
2 dessertspoons of plain flour ( + salt)

mix with fork.

then add:
4oz plain flour

Mix all of this together with a knife until it all binds together.
Knead into a ball.
Refigerate for at least 30 mins.

Hope this is useful!