Perfect Pastry Every Time~

Hello sweet and gracious friends ~
This post that I am going to share with you
is somewhat out of the norm for me, especially a tutorial.
I was corresponding with one of my dear and gracious followers one day,
 when I shared with her that I was going to teach my young grandsons 
(who were spending time with Pa and Gamma at the time) how to make a pie.
She wrote back and asked if I would do a post on 
how to make pastry as she needed some help.
To be honest with you ~
I was quite surprised to hear this lovely lady say that "she needed help."
So...after much thought I decided why not?
First, please let me say ~
I know many of you out there do not need this tutorial,
and I'm in no way patting myself on the back
wanting it to look like I am the "expert" at making pastry, because I'm not. :)
Had it not been for my dear and precious mother-in-law Betty,
I may have never learned this simple love of mine.

The pastry recipe I use and will share with you

is the one my mother-in-law used.

Betty found this recipe in the Toronto Star many years ago

as winning  1st prize from a restaurant located in Toronto Ontario Canada.

******

~ PASTRY ~

5 1/2 cups (cake & pastry) flour (sifted)
~ Using cake & pastry flour is the best way to insure tender and flaky crust ~

 sprinkle of salt

1 teaspoon sugar 

2 1/4 cups crisco shortening (heavy on the 1/4 cup)

1 egg

1 Tablespoon lemon juice

1 cup milk (shy on reaching a cup)

~ I know that may sound strange, but you will see why as we go along ~ 

Sift together the flour, salt and sugar into your bowl.

Add the crisco, remembering to heap on the 1/4 cup. (pictured below)

I have used other shortenings including natural good for you stuff

and was disappointed with the results.

Cut up the shortening with the pastry blender

until the size of peas are formed. (pictured below)

In your measuring cup ~

beat with a fork the egg then add the lemon juice.

Now fill the cup with milk reaching 1 cup level.

Gradually work the liquid into the flour mixture with a fork

until it all sticks together and is ready for rolling.

My mother-in-law used a white dress sock on her wood rolling pin.

I used to use my grandmothers beautiful wood rolling pin for years

until a dear friend gifted me with my pretty pink silicone rolling pin.

It took me a few years to use that silicone rolling pin as it seemed strange to me,

but once I took the plunge, I never used my grandmothers again.

Grandma Maxie's rolling pin graces my home

in all it's beauty after many years of  rolling. 
It's now used for decoration.

******

I use a cloth tea towel to roll my pastry out on.
By the way ~ This tea towel is used ONLY  for this purpose.

Sprinkle with a medium dusting of flour 

then wipe some flour on the rolling pin.
~ Try not to use too much flour as it can make your pastry dry and tough ~

I use about a 3" diameter ball of pastry and gently

make it into a round ready to roll out. (Pictured below)

Gently roll the pastry in a circular motion from the inside to the outer
 until it reaches the edges of the cloth.

(Pictured below)

Cold hands make the best pastry ~

So if you have warm hands run them under cold water.

Gently handle your pastry.

Gentle is key :)

~ I like to mist my pie dish with cooking spray ~

Take your pastry and gently fold it in half.

Pick up the pastry at the folded end and place it right down the center of the pie dish.

Gently open up the pastry and with your fingers press the pastry into the creases of the dish.

Do not press firmly, just enough to seal it.

Take a pair of kitchen scissors and cut off the extra pastry

leaving about an inch and a half remaining.

Now you will gently roll the edges under
lining the pastry up with the edge of the dish as shown below on the right.

~ I purposely allowed my pastry to have splits

in order to show you that you can fix those problems

and still have a beautiful looking crust ~

By doing so ~

take some of the cut offs and seal a piece gently 

over the area where there are cracks, or open spaces.

Once you roll the pastry under you will then

hide the mess and it vanishes. *Walla*

I wasn't able to get the full picture for you in the pinching process

as I needed both hands to do the work

and I was my own photographer. Ha!

Pictured below you will see the angle of my finger,

it is sideways so as not to puncture a hole in the pastry with my nail.

Dip your forefinger on one hand and your forefinger and thumb on the other hand in flour.
~ I place a small pile of flour to use for this process ~
So here goes...
place your forefinger sideways on the inside of the pastry dish,
pinch gently with your other forefinger and thumb
going all around the dish.
Now, you will go around again on those pinched edges
and pinch just a little bit harder creating the finished pinched look.
~ Pictured below ~

When I was a baby God graced me with chubby cheeks.

Well...We all know that those chubby cheeks call out 

to those dear older ladies who love to "PINCH"!

They didn't really pinch to hurt us chubby cheeked babies,

they just couldn't resist the beauty of our fat. ;)

So...Don't pinch your pastry to hurt it,

pinch gently as if you are pinching some chubby cheeks.

I truly believe that working with pastry you 

need to have a gentle touch.

The dough is not expected to do the working of the hands,

but only to yield itself up to the working.

******

This makes me think of  how the Potter (God) takes the clay (us)

as we lay passive and submissive in His hands

and begins to mold and fashion it according to His own will.

He proceeds to make it into the vessel He has proposed.

He turns it upon the wheel, planes it and smooths it,

dries it in the sun, bakes it in the oven,

and finally turns it out of His workshop ~

a vessel to His honor and fit for His use.

Having, therefore, taken the step of faith by which

we have put ourselves wholly and absolutely into His hands,

we must expect Him to begin to work, and God's works

are perfect in every stage of our growth.
(2 Timothy 2:21b)

******

I chose to make a single crust pie 

so I could share with you a tip on keeping your crust from shrinkage.

You can place alluminum foil in the dish and fill it with dry beans, or,

you can use these wonderful pastry pearls.

~ Pie crust chain weights ~

When using these I still puncture my pastry a few times with a fork.

I bake my single crust pie shell for 10 to 12 minutes at 450 degrees.

This recipe will make three double crusted pies or six single pie shells.

I freeze the remainder in a single 3" diameter size lightly floured

and placed in a zip lock baggie.

Shape it into the round as if you were ready to roll it out

before placing into the baggie.

My husband loves cream pies,

 so on this day he enjoyed a chocolate ~ coconut ~ almond cream pie.

If you are making a double crusted pie

the process is the same.

Just place the top crust over your mixture

and proceed from the point of cutting away the extra pastry,

rolling it under then pinching it together.

ENJOY!

Be Beautiful!

~ Debbie ~