Basic Pastry Recipes

Steps:

• In a food processor, pulse flour and salt to combine. Add cold butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal, with a few pea-size pieces of butter remaining. Sprinkle with ice water. Pulse until dough is crumbly but holds together when squeezed (if necessary, add up to 3 tablespoons more water, 1 tablespoon at a time). Do not overmix. Form dough into a 1-inch-thick disk, wrap tightly in plastic, and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour (or up to 3 days).

Steps:

• Combine the flour, sugar, salt, and lemon zest in a large mixing bowl. Add the butter and mix with a pastry blender or your fingers until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the egg yolk and ice water and work that in with your hands. (Or do the whole thing in a food processor, pulsing a couple of times to combine the dry ingredients, then pulsing in the butter, and then the egg.) Check the consistency of the dough by squeezing a small amount together between thumb and forefingers: You want there to be just enough moisture to bind the dough so that it holds together without being too wet or sticky. If it's still crumbly, add a little more ice water, 1 teaspoon at a time. When you get it to the right consistency, shape the dough into a disk and wrap it in plastic. Put it in the refrigerator and chill for at least 30 minutes.

Steps:

• Sift 225g plain flour into a large bowl, add 100g diced butter and rub in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
• Stir in a pinch of salt, then add 2-3 tbsp water and mix to a firm dough.
• Knead the dough briefly and gently on a floured surface.
• Wrap in cling film and chill while preparing the filling.

Steps:

• Cut shortening into flour/salt until it looks like peas.
• Add very cold water all at once and quickly toss with a fork; shape into a ball being careful not to over knead.
• Divide dough in half and roll thin.
• This makes two single piecrusts or one double crust pie.
• TIPS AND TRICKS:.
• To avoid a soggy crust, try brushing the bottom of the crust with egg white before adding fruit; filling the shell *just* before baking also helps prevent sogginess; sogginess can also be caused from the oven temperature being too low or the time too short.
• For a flakier upper crust, brush lightly with cold water before popping in the oven; also keep ingredients and dough cold until baked.
• To prevent the crust from shrinking, avoid stretching the dough as you roll it and avoid stretching it when placed in the pie plate; allowing the pie shell to rest about 30 minutes before baking will also help prevent shrinking.
• Never shake the flour while placing in the measuring cup; instead, level it with the back of a knife.
• Toss ingredients with a fork, lightly and quickly, rather than stirring.
• Don't use too much water; about 1/2 c of iced water to 2 cups of flour.
• To prevent burning of the crust, try baking the pie in a large paper bag stapled closed, being sure that it doesn't touch any part of the oven; or use an oven- roasting bag.
• Try rolling some grated cheese into the dough when making an apple pie.
• Try adding toasted slivered almonds to piecrust that you intend to fill with a cream filling or cherry filling.

Steps:

• Place the bowl and butter into the fridge to make it cold. This is REALLY important
• Throw flour, butter and salt into the food processor and blitz for 15-20 seconds until it is a soft fine breadcrumb texture. You dont NEED a food processor and can use your fingertips like your gran used to, but make sure you hands are ice cold first.
• Pour mixture into the cold bowl, make a well in the centre and add around 3/4 (75ml) of the water. With fingers like a claw, turn the pastry mix in the bowl. Get in and twist, mopping up all the dry ingredients. Add the rest of the flour and continue twisting together until the mixture is a lump.
• lightly flower the board and place pastry on top. Push it together and gently kneed it. until it has a soft texture when pinched.
• Cover with clingfilm, place back into the bowl you used earlier and place in the fridge. Ready to take and use whenever you need it (preferably for a stake and ale pie that afternoon).

Steps:

• Sift together the flour and the salt. Slice the cold butter rapidly and drop the slices into the flour. With a pastry blender or two sharp knives, cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse corn meal.
• Sprinkle the ice water of the flour-butter mixture and stir it very quickly with a fork, until the dough gathers together. Form the dough into a ball, wrap it in wax paper or foil, and chill for about 2 hours.
• A note here that Canadian wheat is 'harder' than wheat from the USA, and you may need to add a little more water to make it gather.
• Makes enough dough for 1 large, 11 or 12 inch quiche shell.
• PREPARING A QUICHE OR TART SHELL.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll the chilled dough out into a circle about 2 1/2 inches larger than your quiche pan. Roll the circle of dough loosely around your rolling pin and unroll it over the quiche pan, centering it as well as possible. Press the sides against the rim of the pan, pushing the extra dough down a bit to make and edge that is slightly thicker than the bottom. Trim the dough off with a sharp knife about 1/4 inch above the rim of the pan (it shrinks down a bit while baking).
• Using a pastry crimper of the blunt end of a kitchen knife, crimp the ridge of the dough neatly just above the rim of the pan. Prick the bottom of the shell all over with a fork (VERY IMPORTANT!) and chill it for 1/2 hour.
• PREBAKING A QUICHE OR TART SHELL.
• Line the inside of the pastry shell with a piece of aluminum foil. and fill it with dried beans or rice (which can be kept in a jar and reused for this purpose forever). Bake the shell in a preheated 450 degree oven for about 8 minutes, then remove the beans and foil, prick again with a fork (VERY IMPORTANT!), and return to the hot oven for another 4 to 5 minutes, or until the bottom of the shell begins to colour. Allow the shell to cool slightly on a rack, then fill and finish baking according to recipe.

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut in lard until mixture resembles coarse meal.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together water, egg yolk, vanilla extract, and vinegar. Stir into flour mixture and knead dough briefly, just until smooth. Allow to rest 15 minutes before rolling out. Pastry is easier to work with when chilled. Can be stored in refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Steps:

• Put flour and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer or food processor. Add butter and quickly cut it into flour until mixture resembles coarse meal.
• Add ice water and mix briefly, about 30 seconds, to form a soft dough. Remove dough, shape into a thick disk, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight. Bring to cool room temperature before rolling.
• To roll, lightly flour dough and counter. Roll out gradually, periodically letting dough rest for a moment before continuing. This makes rolling easier and will keep dough from shrinking back during baking.
• Roll dough to a thin round approximately 13 inches in diameter, then trim to make a 12-inch circle (refrigerate and save trimmings for patching). Lay dough loosely into a 9 1/2-inch fluted tart pan with removable bottom, letting it relax a bit. Fold overlap back inside to make a double thickness, then press firmly against the pan so the finished edge is slightly higher than the pan. Refrigerate or freeze for an hour before pre-baking.