Has any one a fail proof recipe i can use as a pastry for my cornish pasties. Thank you
bluecalico,
Oct 8, 4:29pm
Do you have Alison Holst book with Marguerite's pastry recipe in it!
jazzryn,
Oct 8, 4:52pm
No i havent
nauru,
Oct 8, 5:04pm
I just use shortcrust pastry. Edmonds savoury shortcrust is good for them. If you want homemade, I use an old family recipe, it's in ounces so you will have to convert to grams, 10oz plain flour, 2oz self raising flour, 3oz butter and 3oz lard (I use marg instead of lard), rubbing fat into flour until like breadcrumbs and then add 1 tablsp iced water at a time & mix to a dough. Gently knead together and wrap in gladwrap, chill 30 mins before rolling out.Hope this helps.
My scales are in ozs so no probs. They are old like me lol
sarahb5,
Oct 8, 10:53pm
For any quantity of shortcrust pastry you just need to remember "half fat to flour", ie. 400g flour + 200g fat, and the combination of half lard/half butter makes a very light, crisp pastry
terraalba,
Oct 8, 11:33pm
I recall when learning cooking at school we used shortcrust pastry which we made ourselves. It was the easiest of the pastries to make with flour a fatand water to mix which was always very cold. It was proportioned as sarahb5 has stated. I think some other recipes also added a wee bit of lemon jiuce or vinegar and salt. It was the one pastry a young mum could make that was quick, reliable and economical.
elliehen,
Oct 9, 2:16am
I wonder if it's from the old Home Science Recipes Cookbook - a little notebook sized book used in schools in the 1950s and 60s, published by Whitcombe and Tombs.
From the book: SHORT PASTRY Flour 4 oz Dripping 3 oz Salt a pinch Baking powder 1/2 tsp Water to mix
Cream dripping and then work lightly into the flour with the fingers or a knife.Add salt and baking powder. Mix to a stiff paste with water.Roll out.Note: One teaspoon sugar may be added for a sweet paste.
Also, SHORTENING A good shortening for school or family use is made by mixing together 3lb good dripping (free from gravy), 1lb lard, 1lb butter.Suet rendered down gives a good dripping.Cod fat rendered gives a soft dripping free from taste or smell and is excellent for cakes or pastry.
sarahb5,
Oct 9, 2:44pm
"Mixed to a paste" doesn't sound like shortcrust pastry though
davidt4,
Oct 9, 3:35pm
That's an old fashioned way of describing pastry dough sarahb5."Paste" means anything that coheres.
bluecalico,
Oct 9, 4:29pm
Do you have Alison Holst book with Marguerite/Margaret's pastry recipe in it!
vashti,
Oct 9, 4:33pm
That's handy elliehen, thanks
nauru,
Oct 9, 5:04pm
I just use shortcrust pastry. Edmonds savoury shortcrust is good for them. If you want homemade, I use an old family recipe, it's in ounces so you will have to convert to grams, 10oz plain flour, 2oz self raising flour, 1/2 teasp salt, 3oz butter and 3oz lard (I use marg instead of lard), rubbing fat into flour until like breadcrumbs and then add 1 tablsp iced water at a time & mix to a dough. Gently knead together and wrap in gladwrap, chill 30 mins before rolling out.Hope this helps.
daleaway,
Oct 9, 5:11pm
My Cornish granny used to make her own lard pastry for her pasties.
However she followed the Cornish tradition of liking quite a hard pastry as the pasties were meant to be carried to work in a handkerchief by miners, labourers and fishermen.
I find the low-fat pastry sold in sheets holds together well and makes good pasties.
sarahb5,
Oct 9, 6:04pm
So the recipe above would be good for pasties then as the reduced amount of fat would make a harder pastry - makes sense.The recipe we were given at school in the 70s was quite crumbly by comparison so wouldn't have held together well.
elliehen,
Oct 9, 8:18pm
I've also read that the pastry was hard as it had to be held in miners' blackened hands and the last corner of it thrown away.
sarahb5,
Oct 9, 9:04pm
Not the corner - the twisted crust "handle" on the top
sarahb5,
Oct 9, 9:07pm
And traditionally, one end savoury filling, one end sweet with a pastry "divider" in the middle - wonder how they knew which end to eat first!
I'll bet there was no one there policing them and that some of them even ate the blackened bit ;)
jazzryn,
Oct 10, 2:30am
I used Nauru's recipe except that I just used all butter instead of lard. Turned out very nice, will be making it again.
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