Quick Pastry recipies

[karen99]

Hi All, I've finally gotten the cooking bug after years of not really knowing what I was doing. I'm getting more and more experimental now I have confidence in what I'm doing. So believe it or not I don't know how to make pastry, or really what type of pastry you use for which dish, and thought you would know!

Can anyone give me a pastry rundown and quick recipies for a few dishes, eg. savoury pie, jam tarts, sausage lattice etc. ?
Also, is there a way of making a healthy pasty? as my dm and mil say these dishes can be quite fattening..

[sorry if this topic has been repeated as I couldn't see anything on pastry in the recent threads]

Ok here we go

Basic pastry is an art, it really is, the fewer ingredients you use in a recipe the closer to alchemy it becomes. But don't be put off, there are some simple guidlines.

For basic pastry use twice as much flour as fat.
The best type of pastry, that has the best flavour, is crisp and not tough, uses half butter and half white fat, such as lard or white Flora
Always use cold water

Bum, there's the baby wailing got to go

sorry

I second Suzy Wong but wouls add this... for basic (shortcrust) pastry add an egg yolk to the mix flour/butter (and yes it is twice the amount of flour so 200gr flour and 100gr butter)... if you need to use water it is in VERY SMALL quantity and indeed cold. Don't add the water to quickly as you might ad too much, mix well all 3 ingredients and gently add a tea spoon of water and maybe another one... it quickly changes.
You must put the pastry in the fridge for 30 minutes before using it/cooking it. My tip is to do that once you have put it in the dish/tin... it stops it from shrinking. Ideally you should bake blind for 20 to 30 mins before you add further (wet) ingredients.
To bake blind you put baking parchement in teh dish on top of the pastry and pour some dried beans (I have used mine every week or so for 10 years.... same old batch!)... cook for 20 to30 mins... it ensures that pastry is well cooked and not soggy.
Hope that helps.
I don't make fluff pastry... too much work!

pupuce you have eased my mind, would you believe I was hoping someone would finish my post in just that way, the resting and the blind baking, while I was giving the baby his feed.

I did used to earn my living from making pastry, in part, so I am actually an ex-pro and not just a sad individual.

I have a great basic quiche recipe but I 'm sure other MNers will let karen99 have the ones she actually asked for

Oh Oh oh to get your savoury pastry really really crisp substitue one tablespoon of fine polenta/cornmeal for the flour.

I'll try your tip Suzy... BTW I finished my porch..... massive job.... used a sander for most of it...

If you're offering recipies around SuzyWong, how about your brownie one ?

Sorry to hi-jack your thread karen99, I'm afraid everytime I've ever made pastry it's come out as hard as rock, unless it's soggy.

hahahahaha!

Actually Bran, I am going to make a tray of my finest brownies tomorrow and take them to the new playgroup round the corner in a thinly veiled attempt to ingratiate myself with the other mothers at coffee time. You have get new mates at any cost when you are a newbie Pommie, you know

Pupuce, was it very very satisying, getting it all off with the sander? I remember an worrying sense of achievement after I had stripped the front room of woodchip wallpaper with a steamer..

hahahahaha!

Actually Bran, I am going to make a tray of my finest brownies tomorrow and take them to the new playgroup round the corner in a thinly veiled attempt to ingratiate myself with the other mothers at coffee time. You have get new mates at any cost when you are a newbie Pommie, you know

Pupuce, was it very very satisying, getting it all off with the sander? I remember an worrying sense of achievement after I had stripped the front room of woodchip wallpaper with a steamer..

One tip for the pastry-making - in general you should keep it as cold as possible while you are making it (ie keep the water, butter etc in the fridge until just the moment when you are going to use it and keep warm hands on it to a minimum).

Hello! Thanks for all the tips. So to summarise, I measure out twice as much flour to butter/lard, cold ingredients, and add egg yolk, then small amounts of water till it binds. Stick in fridge for 30mins, then bake blind for 20/30 mins in oven before adding wet ingredients.

If making a pie, what do I do about the pastry on top? Is it ok to top the pie with pastry from the fridge as I guess I can't 'bake blind' the top piece, only the sides and bottom?

I would love both the quiche and brownies recipe!!

No need to bake blind the top but pastry need to have cooled down in fridge to avoid shrinking....
I make quiches all the time... The trick is to mix double cream, milk and eggs as well as which ever combinatgion of vegetables/bacon/cheese you mighty like.... cream is essential I think !