VARIETY IN PASTRIES.

Hawera Star, Volume XLV, 29 August 1925, Page 17

VARIETY IN PASTRIES.

The ■ coolest place possible is necessary when making pastry, and it should be handled as little as possible with a light touch. Bough Puff Pastry.—Jib flour, hall teaisipoonful salt, 2oz butter, 2oz lard, half teaspoonful lemon juice. Sieve tlie flour and .salt together into a basin. Break the butter and lard into .pieces about the size of a small nut and put them with the flour. Add the lemon juice., mix into a paste with collid waiter, and turn on' to a floured board. Roll into a long marrow strip, rolling a'! ways forward lightly, and never backwards. Fold into’ three, turn the .pastry half-round, bringing the join to the right side, and roll again. Repeat this until the patstry has had four turns. Then leave until thoroughly cool before using. This pastry is very nice for meat pies. A roll and a fold are called a turn.

Suet Oruist.—Jib flour Jib isuet, J teaspoomfUl baking powder, cold water, J teaspoonfuil salt. Sieve the flour, salt, and baking powder together into a basin. Shred the suet very finely, and mix it into the flour very thoroughly. Make a well in the centre, and make into a dough with cold water. It should be a .smooth, soft dough, just stiff enough to roll out easily watliout sticking. An old-fashioned rule is that when the padtql is the flight domsiiskemey, the basin should be quite clean, with no paste sticking to it, and this is a very good rule to follow. Turn on to a floured board and roll to the thickness required. . This is suitable for fruit and meat puddings, roly-poly puddings, dumplings, etc. Potato Pastry.—Jib boiled potatoes, 4oz flour, 2oz butter, J teaspoomful salt, 2 tablespoonfuls milk, 1 teaspoon-, ful bjaking powder. The potatoes should be as dry as potssritole. R|ub thorny through a sieve, melt the butter and mix it into them. Add salt land milk and the flour and knead into a .soft dough—it must on no account be too moist—turn on to a floured board, and roil out and use at once, as it will not keep. This is an excellent crust with which to cover a pie mjade with cooked meat, as it does not require long cooking. Flaky Pastry. —lOoz flour, 6oz butter, 1 beaspoonful lemon juice, salt, cold water.

. Squeeze the butter in a dlean cloth floured. Sieve the flour and salt together, diivicle the butter into four equal-sized pieces, and rub one of them into the flour until quite free from lumps;' then add enough water just to form linito a lump. Turn on to a floured board, knead lightly until quite free from cracks, then roll into a narrow strip labout a quarter of an inch thick. Take one of the remaining pieces of butter and put it in small pieces all over the strap of paste with the point of a knife, leaving a margin without butter round the edge. Flour very lightly and fold exactly an three. Turn the past half-round, having the join on the right side. Plressi the folds down with the rolling pin so as to enclose some air; roll again into a long narrow strip, and proceed as before with the two pieces of butter that are left. The last time roll the pastry to the thickness desired, and if it .requires widening turn across the board and roll across. Never roll in a slanting direction, as this will probably cause the pastry to be heavy. It will keep for several days if wrapped in greased pjaper or in a damp cloth. French Short Crust.—ljlb flour, Jib butter, 2 yolks of eggs, I teaspoon ful salt, J ieaispoonful pepper, cold water. iSieve .the flour, salt, and pepper, and rub the butter in very 'lightly and finely. Beat the egg yolks with two teaspoonfuls of cold water, and mix the flour, etc., to a stiff paste. Use as little water ais possible—just enough to prevent the paste crumbling. Use the paste for ordinary meat pies. It may be pressed into a greased mould for raised pies after being rolled out to about an' eighth of an inch thick.