remedial pastry making

[mrsbrown]

I got up early this morning, too excited to stay in bed when I have dress making thoughts whirling around. I thought I might be able to get the dress cut out before we go to the Lyos Memorial Picnic.

Of course, we need to food to eat at the picnic AND we had diced chicken sitting in the fridge from Thursday, so I thought, "I'll just whip up some Pies of Parys. Huh!

I bought dripping a while ago 'cos I wanted to try my hand at hot water pastry

All the links are because there must be something about this pastry I'm missing. This pastry was all crumbly, and then I left it to rest and it was all crumbly and then I heated the bowl over the cooking chicken and it was all crumbly and then I added some more hot water and I mostly got it to work, but it took me aaages and I could only roll it out pretty thick, so we're having one pie instead of a bunch of little pies.

and now it's 9.10am and the pastry is blind baking and I'm writing this, and soon I'll fill the pies and finish baking them and then it will be time to leave for Mt Franklin and I won't have a dress cut out and my brain will be whirling about how I'm going to do it, and when, all day.

maybe next time I'll make almond milk pastry. It was easier and doesn't smell disgusting.

---

eugh! Sneetch said I should use rice to blind bake my pastry. He was right and now I have abortion de parys for lunch.

Comments

[vonstrassburg.livejournal.com]

Those recipes for hot water pastry omit eggs. It won't work well for pies of parys without eggs. When you get to the crumbly stage, add whole eggs. I use 3 eggs to the pastry mix, which for me is 7 cups flour/250g dripping/200mL water, makes around 48 muffin sized pies. You could just add more hot water, but if the pastry is crumbly it is just too dry. Letting it stand won't help, in fact will mkae it worse, because you need to work the pastry when it's hot (it is less malleable when cold).

For blind baking I use barley, not rice, it doesn't absorb the water from the pastry as quickly. I don't bother with blind baking the small pies, only the very large ones.

[mrsbrown.livejournal.com]

Yes, I used your recipe for the pastry. It tasted awful too by the way.

Was the dripping off? Is it supposed to smell like the tanning factory?

[vonstrassburg.livejournal.com]

Dripping is supposed to have almost no smell. It sounds like yours was well off. It should end up tasting just like dry unsweetened biscuit or bread. You've eaten my pies before.

Re the crumbly -- you didn't try using gluten free flour or anything like that? It just sounds like you didn't have enough liquid.

[astemudfoot.livejournal.com]

you guys ok? You didn't make it to the picnic so I'm just checking everythings alright.

I'll assume that dressmaking took over your afternoon. :)

[mrsbrown.livejournal.com]

mr-bassman was getting packed to go when I noticed him pause in the middle of the backyard and just cope with feeling crap from the cold he's had.

That's when I suggested that we stay home.

Didn't elefianora pass on the message?

[astemudfoot.livejournal.com]

I didn't know you were planning on coming, so I didn't specifically ask why you weren't there, so she probably mentioned it to someone, but not me. :)

I hope Mr Bassman feels better soon.

[mr-bassman.livejournal.com]

Getting there now.... should be OK by Friday