How to Make Pastry - The Materials Required and so forth - Recipes for Short-crust Pastry, Flaky

Pastry, Puff Pastry, Choux Pastry, etc*, etc.

In pastry, lightness is the quality which is * most to be desired; indeed, it is an essential. The manufacture of good pastry requires a liberal allowance of "shortening," viz., butter, lard, or dripping. It is, moreover, also necessary to fold into, or entangle in the pastry, as much cold air as possible.

Cold air expands with the heat of the oven, and thus lifts up and pushes apart the starch granules in the flour. The introduction of air into the pastry is also brought about in short pastry by the use of baking-powder, which, when moistened, gives off carbonic acid gas.

Puff and flaky pastry should be folded repeatedly and rolled with the view of enclosing air between the layers.

The difference between puff and flaky pastry and short pastry is, that in the two former there are alternate thin layers of pastry and air, and in the latter small cavities all through the pastry caused by the expansion of the air.

Puff pastry requires equal amounts of butter and flour; flaky pastry, three-quarters of a pound of butter to one of flour; short pastry (for ordinary purposes), hall a pound of shortening to one pound of flour.

1 he quantity of water required to moisten a given amount of flour varies according to the quality of the latter. As a rule, about half a pint of liquid is needed to moisten one pound of flour, but if the fat used has become very soft, owing to over-much friction or prolonged contact with the warmth of the hand, less water will be required, as also will be the case if eggs have been added to enrich the pastry.

A rich, short crust is lighter and shorter - viz., more crumbling, if mixed very stiffly; but a plain, short crust will be hard and tough if mixed to the same consistency. In puff pastry the consistency depends on the butter; if this is very soft, the dough into which it is to be rolled must be soft also, and vice versa.

The addition of lemon-juice to pastry helps to lighten it.