School and Home Cooking Part 82

DIVISION FIFTEEN

PASTRY

LESSON CLIII

PIE WITH UNDER CRUST

PASTRY.--Good pastry is: (_a_) light, (_b_) flaky or friable, and (_c_) tender. The _lightness_ of pastry is largely dependent upon the temperature of the ingredients. All the materials should be cold, so that the expansion in baking may be as great as possible. In order to keep the ingredients cold and the fats solid, a knife (instead of the fingers) should be used in mixing. It is well to chill pastry by placing it on the ice before rolling out. The lightness of pastry is dependent somewhat upon quick and deft manipulations. A little baking powder also increases the lightness of pastry.

_Flaky_ pastry results when the ingredients are mixed so as to form layers. To accomplish this, solid fat is used and it is not cut fine into the dry ingredients, but is left in pieces. Thus, when rolled, there are layers of flour and fat. Pastry is sometimes made by cutting part of the fat into the flour mixture, then moistening and rolling it out; adding the remainder of the fat in small bits, folding and rolling out again.

_Friable_ pastry usually results when oil is used instead of solid fat. The following fats may be used alone or in combination: b.u.t.ter, oleomargarine, lard, vegetable oil or fat, lard subst.i.tutes.

To make pastry _tender_ and not tough, the least possible moisture should be used. The quant.i.ty of fat used also determines its tenderness.

The more fat used, the less the amount of water required. Less moisture is required when oil rather than solid fat is used. For this reason, many persons can produce more tender pastry by using a cooking oil. The fact that the moisture is decreased when oil is used may also account for the decreased quant.i.ty of oil given in the recipe for pastry. Less oil than solid fat will produce the same degree of tenderness, provided less water is used.

PIE WITH THE UNDER CRUST.--Pastry is somewhat difficult of digestion; but a crust that is brittle and easily crumbled is more readily digested than one that is moist and pasty. Pie crust should crumble as finely as a cracker. To prevent moist and pasty pie crust, it is advisable to bake "one crust" pie. If an under crust only is used, it should be baked before adding the filling. The filling should be cooked and sweetened before adding it to the crust.

PLAIN PASTRY (2 crusts)

1 1/2 cupfuls flour 1 teaspoonful baking powder 1/2 teaspoonful salt 1/4 to 1/2 cupful fat _or_ 1/6 to 1/3 cupful oil Ice water

Mix the dry ingredients, cut in the fat slightly; then add just enough water to hold the ingredients together. Chill; then roll out (one crust at a time).

Pastry should be baked in a hot oven. A pastry sh.e.l.l containing no filling should be baked at 400 degrees F., for 15 to 20 minutes.

Bake a one crust pie on the outside of a pie pan; it should be p.r.i.c.ked with a fork before baking.

The pastry tr.i.m.m.i.n.gs should be utilized. They may be made into tarts or cheese straws.

LEMON PIE

3 tablespoonfuls flour 3 tablespoonfuls corn-starch 1 cupful sugar 2 cupfuls boiling water 2 egg yolks Juice and grated rind of 1 lemon 1 tablespoonful b.u.t.ter 1/4 teaspoonful salt

MERINGUE

2 egg whites 2 tablespoonfuls powdered sugar

Mix the sugar, flour, and corn-starch, add the boiling water. Stir and cook on the back of the range, or over an asbestos mat, for 15 minutes.

Add the egg yolks and cook at simmering temperature, until the eggs thicken. Add the remaining ingredients. Cool and place in a baked crust.

Cover with a meringue. Bake until the meringue is a light brown, _i.e._ at 300 degrees F., 10 to 15 minutes.

Note that the lemon is added to the mixture after cooking. Cooking a starchy material with a small amount of acid, dextrinizes the starch.

Since dextrin has less thickening power than starch, the starch mixture would become thinner if cooked for some time with lemon.

SCORE CARD FOR PIE,--DETERMINING ITS QUALITY

Flavor 30 Tenderness 20 Lightness 10 Flakiness 10 Appearance (color and thickness) 10 Filling (flavor and consistency) 20 --- Total 100

QUESTIONS

Why should not the fingers be used to mix the fat with the dry ingredients in pastry making?

Why is it easier to roll out pastry, if it has been chilled after mixing?

Why should a lower crust, when used alone, be baked before adding the filling?

What is the purpose of p.r.i.c.king the lower crust with a fork before baking?

Compare the filling for Lemon Pie with that for Cream Puffs. How do they differ in moisture, method of preparation, and length of time in cooking?

Give the reason for these differences.

From _U. S. Department of Agriculture_, Bulletin No. 28, tabulate the percentage composition of b.u.t.ter (see Figure 63), oleomargarine, lard, lard subst.i.tute, and vegetable oil. What is the price per pound of each?

Which furnishes more fat,--a pound of b.u.t.ter or a pound of lard? If lard, lard subst.i.tute, or vegetable oil were subst.i.tuted for b.u.t.ter in a cake or other quick bread, should the same quant.i.ty be used? Explain.

LESSON CLIV

PIES WITH UPPER CRUST

DIGESTION OF PASTRY.--As previously mentioned (see _Frying and Digestion_), when fats are heated to a high temperature, they decompose. The products of this decomposition are less readily digested than is fat before it is decomposed. Hence in fried foods, the fat is made somewhat indigestible. Thus it is much better to spread uncooked fat over hot potatoes than to combine the two foods by frying the potatoes.

Fat is the most slowly digested of all foodstuffs. Hence a combination of fat and carbohydrates is more slowly digested than carbohydrate. For this reason, foods consisting of fat and flour such as pastry may remain in the digestive tract for a long time and cause disturbances. Distressing effects are less likely to result, however, when a person's work is out of doors. Since fatty foods remain in the stomach longer than others, they may serve to allay the feeling of hunger which is caused by the contracting of an empty stomach.

PIE WITH THE UPPER CRUST.--In the previous lesson (see _Pie with Under Crust_), it was mentioned that "pasty" pie crust was not readily digested. For this reason, fresh fruit pie may be made with an upper crust only. Such pie should be baked in a pan of granite, gla.s.s, or similar material. The fruit is placed in the pie pan, then a half-inch strip of pastry is placed over the rim of the pie pan; the strip is moistened and the crust placed over the top. The strip of pastry and the upper crust are pressed together, then the edges of the latter are trimmed. The upper crust should be cut in several places for the escape of steam.

RHUBARB PIE

2 cupfuls rhubarb, cut in small pieces 1 egg 4 tablespoonfuls flour 1 cupful sugar Salt Lemon rind

Mix the sugar, salt, lemon rind, and flour; beat the egg. Add the rhubarb and flour mixture to the egg. Turn into an earthenware dish or a granite pan, and cover with pastry as directed above. Bake until the rhubarb is tender and the crust is brown, i.e. at 425 degrees F., 35 to 45 minutes.

Rhubarb contains such a large percentage of moisture that it is well to use but one crust.

QUESTIONS

Explain why it is that baked potatoes and b.u.t.ter are more readily digested than fried potatoes.

What is the advantage of using only a top crust for fresh fruit pie?

What is the purpose of egg and flour in Rhubarb Pie? Why is it desirable to use these ingredients with rhubarb?

Why should the flour in Rhubarb Pie be mixed with sugar?