Show ideas on mixing pastry flour proper proportions come first and the rest Is mere knack this article Is devoted to the sub eject of pastry which has an unde served reputation for being difficult to make first there Is the flour either elther bread or pastry flour can be tie used for or plain pastry for puff pastry a quick puff pase bread flour must be used then there Is the shortening lard or one of the hardened harl ened vegetable fats make pastry tender cutter butter ot of course gives more flavor and in some recipes you see a combination of it with the other more bland fats whatever fat Is used must be hard and thit that means cold the flour and salt are sifted to together ether all the tb shortening Is added at once and then it Is cut into the flour with two knives A chopping knife may be used if you hive have a smooth wooden bowl in which the pastry may be mixed the fat should not be cut exit too fine as small sm all particles of fat mike in 1 e pas p as try fla flaky ky lou may see some cool s use their hands to mix pastry hut but it if hands are naturally warm the fat will not combine with the flour in the right way the proportion of flour to fat which makes a pastry rich enough to be tender but which at the same sanie time will roll easily Is three to one after the fit fat Is 1 cut in the water Is 1 added this 1 Is the only special point in mal ing pastry care must be taken to add lust just enough for if the dough gets too wet we ne cannot add efti flour without making the final product tough I 1 mil mal e a hole at one silo sl ie of tl e mixed flour and fat and idd add one tablespoon of wi via ter and stir into that with a stiff knife enough water to make a stiff dough I 1 do the same at two other places in the couoh this will leave some loose flour so I 1 then take mv fingers and press the balls of dough and the extra flour togeal er if I 1 need a little more moisture I 1 ad I 1 a few drops of water at a time the water used in mixing pastry must of course be very cold after the mixing Is done it Is a good idea to chill the e dough tough before rolling as it will I 1 e much easier to handle then I 1 usually wrap it tight ly in a it piece of waxed paper it will keep indefinitely in the re friger ator so it can be kept on hand when I 1 am ready to make up my pie I 1 take the dough out cut off a ft piece to roll on a board or a table top dusted very lightly with flour pastry should be rolled gently start ing from the center and rolling in each direction so as to mi mal e the sheet somewhat the shape of the pie pan the sheet of dough shout 1 be lifted during the rolling to pre vent its sticking the rolling should be done gently for a pastry hell the dough should be pressed over tl e edges an I 1 cut off bor a double crust pie it sh uld be allowed to extend over the edge after the filling Is put in the e ele ie should be moistened be tore fore the top crust Is put over ani an I 1 pressed to the lower crust the edges may be trimmed with the scissors and turned over or bound with an extra strip of crust in tn either case the edges should be pressed flat with the fingers or tines of a fork silts slits should be made in the center to let out the steam of the boiling filling to prevent the crust 0 of a fr fruit ii pie from soaking use one tablespoon of flour wati the same amount of sugar and sprinkle over the bottom of the lined pan before filling A fruit pie needs a hot oven for ten minutes after which the tempera ture should be lowered A pastry shell should have a hot oven throughout the baking small tarts are prepared in the same way as a large pie but with a little shorter tame for baking the tart shells can be filled with fresh fruit or berries or with a crust and topped either with whipped cream or a meringue to give the finishing touch when a pie Is covered with meringue it must go back to the oven to set and brown the meringue A slow oven to degrees F for ten to fifteen minutes gives the best results butterscotch pie 14 cup butter I 1 cup brown sugar 4 tablespoons table flour 2 ess egg yolks I 1 cup milk 2 ese egg whites 4 tablespoons sugar teaspoon vanilla cream together the butter sugar and flour scald the milk and stir in slowly cook over hot water un til it thickens and pour over the egg yolks slightly beaten cook one minute longer then pour in a baked pie crust cover with a meringue made from the beaten egg whites sugar and vanilla place in a clovi 1 oven degrees fahrenheit until the meringue Is brown 0 1933 bell syndicate service |