   __________________________ Baking Tips: - Make sure all ingredients are at room temeprature, unless otherwise stated. - Certain pastries like puff pastry bakes better in a non-thermofan oven. - Don't overwork pastry - the gluten development will make it tough and chewy. - Resting time in the refigerator is all important, rather longer than shorter. - Sift flour and other ingredients to add air and lightness, and work with a light hand - especially when rolling the pastry. - Baking recipes shloud be followed exactly, they tend to be sensitive to the smallest of changes. When baking a recipe for the first time, stick to it meticulously before attempting to make any alterations. - Get to know your oven, where the hot spots are, and wether it is slightly hotter or cooler than it indicates - ovens vary a lot, but with practice you will soon learn to trust your instincts. For more baking tips go to Cake Baking Secrets | Nothing beats good home-baking Making your own pastry can be a daunting task - at least that is what I thought. Watching the first series of The Great British Bake-off inspired me to try my hand at it. The results were pretty amazing and not that difficult to achieve at all. With a new enthusiasm I decided that I was up to the challenge of making pastry at least as good or better than the shop bought ones. The shortcrust was easy, the pour over crusty pie dough for pies even easier, and the fearfull puff-pastry was not too bad at all. The Crusty Pie Dough is an absolute life saver. It does an amazing job of transforming any filling into a delicious pie. You can use almost any pie-like filling, pour the dough over and decorate with onion rings. Baked till golden brown it looks and tastes delicious. Donna Hay's version of Shortcrust Pastry is straight forward and almost foolproof. Use it for tarts, mini tarts and quiches. For a tart with a sweet filling a little sugar is added to the dough and voila! I stumbled upon Michel Roux's Rough Puff Pastry and believe me it is as good as it gets. It is simple and straight forward and just requires patience for the resting times in the refrigerator - for the rest it is as easy as can be. Warm Water Pastry is a strong pastry and is ideal to use for pies with a heavy filling such as the well known traditional pork pie. It is dead easy to make and handles easily. For the perfectionist baker it is the ideal pastry to use as a base, and topped with a light puff pastry for a truly magnificent pie. Once baked it is strong, with a good crumbly texture, and will hold its shape, making it ideal for meaty fillings - chicken, pork, beef or venison. With a little practice and a lot of enthusiam you will soon master the art of working with dough and producing lovely pastry. You will fall in love with it and proudly be calling yourself the local pattisier! |
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