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Lesson
6
PASTRIES
What is It
Pastry is a dough of flour, water and shortening that may be savory or
sweetened. Sweetened pastries are often described as baker's confectionary. The
word "pastries" suggests many kinds of baked products made from ingredients such
as flour, sugar, milk, butter, shortening, baking powder, and eggs. Small tarts and
other sweet baked products are called pastries. The French word patisserie is also
used in English (with or without the accent) for the same foods. Common pastry
dishes include pies, tarts, quiches and pasties.
Pastry can also refer to the pastry dough, from which such baked products
are made. Pastry dough is rolled out thinly and used as a base for baked products.
Pastry is differentiated from bread by having a higher fat content, which contributes
to a flaky or crumbly texture. A good pastry is light and airy and fatty, but firm
enough to support the weight of the filling. When making a short crust pastry, care
must be taken to blend the fat and flour thoroughly before adding any liquid. This
ensures that the flour granules are adequately coated with fat and less likely to
develop gluten. On the other hand, over mixing results in long gluten strands that
toughen the pastry. In other types of pastry such as Danish pastry and croissants,
the characteristic flaky texture is achieved by repeatedly rolling out a dough similar
to that for yeast bread, spreading it with butter, and folding it to produce many thin
layers.
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Kinds of pastry
1. Cream puffs –a type of light pastry that is filled with whipped cream or a
sweetened cream filling and often topped with chocolate.
http://www.bearnakedfood.com/2016/06/10/churro-cream-puffs/
2. Puff pastry-a light, flaky, rich pastry made by rolling dough with butter and
folding it to form layers: used for tarts, napoleon.
https://senseandedibility.com/puff-pastry-dough/
3. Danish pastry – a pastry made of sweetened yeast dough with toppings
such as fruit, nuts, or cheese.
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4. French pastries- a rich pastry, filled with custard or fruit.
https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-europe-france-paris-french-pastries-pastries-pastry-frenchfood-parisian-36902894.html
5. Croissants - a flaky raised dough. It is like a sweetened cross between a simple
yeast-raised dough and puff pastry. The dough is rolled with butter to create
layers and is then left to rise, creating a very light texture. The downside
is that it is technically involved and requires a great deal of work.
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6. Pie and tart - pastries that consist of two components: the first, relatively thin
pastry (pie) dough, when baked forms a crust (also called pastry shells) that holds
the second, the filling.
A pie is a sweet (and sometimes savory) dish consisting of a pie crust and filling.
A pie can have a top crust as well or just a bottom crust, as with key lime pie.
Pie Dough Types
1. Flaky Pie Dough
For flaky pie dough, the fat is cut or rubbed into the flour until the particles of
shortening are about the size of peas or hazelnuts—that is, the flour is not
completely blended with the fat, and the fat is left in pieces. When the dough is
rolled out, the lumps of fat and moistened flour are flattened and become flakes
of dough separated by layers of fat.
2. Mealy Pie Dough
For mealy pie dough, the fat is blended into the flour more thoroughly, until the
mixture looks like coarse cornmeal.
The difference between the two is in how the fat is blended with the flour. Complete
mixing procedures are given in the formulas that follow. First, it is important to
understand the basic distinction between the two types.
Tarts are quite similar to pies in that they too consist of a crust and filling. Tarts
tend to only have a bottom crust which is generally thinner than pie crust with
straight sides and tart pans generally have a removable bottom so the tart can be
served freestanding on a plate or platter making for a more elegant presentation.
One of the major differences between the two is the consistency of the crust. While
pie crusts are very flaky and light, tart crusts or pastry crusts, tend to be firm and
crumbly and not at all flaky.
Mixing Techniques Applied for Pies and Pastries
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STIR: This method is the simplest, as it involves mixing all the ingredients
together with a utensil, usually a spoon, using a circular motion.
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BEAT: The ingredients are moved vigorously in a back and forth, up and
down, and around and around motion until they are smooth. An electric mixer
is often used to beat the ingredients together.
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BLEND: Ingredients are mixed so thoroughly they become one.
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BIND: Ingredients adhere to each other, as when breading is bound to fish.
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CREAM: Fat and sugar are beaten together until they take on a light, airy
texture.
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CUT IN OR CUTTING IN: To distribute solid fat in dry ingredients by Bench
Scraper, two knifes (in a scissor motion), a pastry blender, your fingertips or
with a food processor fitted with a steel blade, until finely divided. The fat
is "cut into" the flour. Once the liquid is added, the dough should be mixed
well, but not beaten at length for this will toughen the gluten.
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WHIP OR WHISK: Air is incorporated into such foods as whipping cream and
egg whites through very vigorous mixing, usually with an electric mixer or
whisk.
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FOLD: One ingredient is gently incorporated into another by hand with a large
spoon or spatula. It creates little aeration.
Basic Steps in Baking Pies and Pastries
Step 1
Sieve plain flour and a pinch of salt into a large bowl
then add cold cubed butter and rub it in using your
fingertips until it becomes breadcrumb consistency.
(Note: you may also use a pastry blender).
Step 2
Now add cold water, about 1 tbsp at first and bring the
mixture together using a round ended knife then use
your hands to pull it all together, adding only drops of
water as you go. You don’t want it too wet or your pastry
will won’t be crisp. The pasty will eventually come away
from the sides of the bowl and the bowl will be left
clean. Pat into a round and leave in cling film for 30
minutes to rest in the fridge if time permits or use
straight away.
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Step 3
On a lightly floured board, roll the pastry out to
your required size, turning it as you go and
lightly dusting your rolling pin. Try not to over
flour as this will dry the pastry out too much.
Step 4
Drape the pastry over the rolling pin then loosely
lie it over the tin. Using your knuckles edge the
pastry into the tin letting it over lap the edges.
Then roll the rolling pin over the top of the tart
tin for a neat edge. Prick all over with a fork. Put
in the fridge for 30 minutes to chill, this will
prevent the pastry from shrinking. When ready
to bake, line with parchment paper and fill with
baking beans then put in the oven at gas mark
6/200C (190C in a fan oven) and bake for about
15-20 minutes or until the edges of the pastry
are beginning to turn golden. Remove beans and
paper, put back in the oven for a couple of
minutes then remove and fill with your filling.
Or top your pie. Fill your tin with your pie
filling, roll the pastry out larger than the pie tin
then cut a width about 5cm/2inch and long
enough to go around the tin. Wet the edges of
the tart tin with water then press the pastry
piece all around to form a collar. Now wet this
and drape the remaining pastry piece on top and
secure. Trim the edges and pinch to secure then
make air holes on top. Brush with beaten egg
and put in the oven at gas mark 6/200C (190C
in a fan oven) for about 30-40 minutes or until
the pie is evenly golden brown.
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TIPS
Pastry dough doesn’t like heat or being over
handled. Make sure butter is fridge cold and
water is icy cold. (You could put some water in
the fridge)
Basic short crust pastry always uses half fat to
flour
To work out how much pastry you need for your
tin the rule works best in imperial, though you
can convert. The rule is to deduct two from the
diameter of the pie dish (in inches) which gives
you the required weight of flour required, in
ounces. So if you’re using an 8 inch pie dish you
deduct two, giving six. So you’ll need 6oz of flour
to make the pastry to fit the dish. Pastry freezes
well. Make up to step 2, double wrap in cling
and freeze for up to 3 months.
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What I Have Learned
These are the things that you need to keep in mind when baking pies.
1. Keep ingredients cold. Butter should be kept refrigerated until using; solid
vegetable shortening can be stored in the freezer without freezing hard as a rock.
Add ice cubes to a measuring cup and fill it with more water than you'll need; add
ice-cold water to the pastry mixture a tablespoon at a time. Great pie starts with
a great crust.
2. Refrigerate the dough after every step. Chill dough immediately after mixing so
that the flour can absorb all the liquid.
3. Handle the dough as little as possible. Try to patch cracks in your dough rather
than re-rolling the crust. Over-handling makes the pastry tough.
4. Use as little flour as possible when rolling out the dough. The pastry can absorb
extra flour, which will also make it tough.
5. Bake plain crusts or filled pies in a hot oven to set the crust's structure.
6. Vent double-crust pies. Cut slits in the top crust or use decorative cutters. This
allows steam to escape, which is especially important for fruits with high moisture
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