What's up with pastry?

[Cujo]

Having bought an oven I've been thinking about making pies or pasties or generally baking some pastry things.
Now I thought (never having done anything with it) pastry was just a matter of flour, add some water and salt and mix and bake, then a few weeks ago someone started talking about suet, so I started looking and came across stuff like shortning (butter) oil and so on added to flour mix and then I just got confused and shelved the whole idea untill just now I thought I'post here and ask what do we (you) all know about pastry and dough and so on (whats the difference anyway ?) in a less than confusing way.
just as a matter of interest I find googling stuff just confuses me when there are too many options, I really need a book to learn anything useful.

[Davis Knowlton]

^Pretty broad subject for a forum. My wife just completed a six-month chef school, and they devoted over a month to baking. She now makes all of her own cakes, pies, breads, pizza dough, etc. Just today she whipped up two carrot/coconut cakes for the kids and two birthday cakes which had been ordered. I too would prefer a book to the net, and would suggest you get a good cookbook that emphasizes baking. It's fairly straightforward, but you need to do the reading in order to get good results. Once you have the basics down, then a forum might give you some good recipe ideas.

[oldgit]

Go to videojug.com and type in what pastry you want to make, eg. shortcrust for pies, flakey pastry for apple turnovers etc, and you can watch how to do, hope that helps.

Or go to supermaket and buy already in roll to make into pies.

[oldgit]

Or go to you tube and type in shortcrust pastry, same same

[forreachingme]

Just back from a home trip, this "gateau" was that good i collected infos about how to do it.

Get a yellow pumpkin (yellow works better then orange for this?!)
Slice in Dice
Cook dices with little water
Cool down, once cold grind in mixer

aside of this prepare:

2 eggs
2 dl of cream
1 spoon of maizena
120 gr of sugar

Mix that whole stuff together with the pumpkin

Prepare a dough similar to pizza thickness on a oven plate, make the sides up as well to keep stuff in.

Pour the yellow mixed stuff inside

Place in oven preheat at 180 Celcius for 30 to 40 min...


Very simple, very cheap and best stuff i made yet with a pumpkin !

Bon appetit !

[oldgit]

dl. = Deciliters 2 deciliters is just shy of 1 cup of cream yes/no?

[artist]

What the hell is maizena?

[Davis Knowlton]

^Well, maize is corn, so I would guess corn flour.

[oldgit]

cornflour

[Cujo]

how does one make pie pastry?

[Marmite the Dog]

The Midget bought a Thai bread baking book. It's a start. I have now borrowed a real baking book by some Frog who has been civilised and it's nice to not have to put sugar in everything any more as per the Thai book - one just needed to learn patience.

[Cujo]

how does one make pie pastry?

[oldgit]

There ya go

[can123]

All pastry needs to be cold before it is rolled or worked in any way. You cannot expect to have perfect pastry unless you are using it in a really cool air-conditioned room. Typical Thai kitchens and pastry do not go well together.

[kingwilly]

the easy way is to buy the pastry sheets ready to go.,

job done.

[Loy Toy]

how does one make pie pastry?

My missus is becoming quite a star chef down this neck of the woods mate (and she's still improving) and I will arrange a pictorial demonstration when I am back home on the weekend.

Terrific pies and pasties and some farangs are ordering 15-20 at a time.

[Gerbil]

and I will arrange a pictorial demonstration when I am back home on the weekend.

Sounds good. Can we have some baking photos as well?

[nedwalk]

Terrific pies and pasties

i can attest that this statement is true...mmmmmm yummy

[jizzybloke]

My missus is becoming quite a star chef down this neck of the woods mate (and she's still improving)

Right that's it, get ready to recieve a lodger!

I'll be sending JBird round to get an intensive cooking course very soon!

[forreachingme]

Maizena is corn starch and not flour !

It's prolly a brand but seems to be distributed around the globo...

Dl is deciliter, what is 0.1 liter, so 0.2 deciliter is a 1/5 of a liter... or 20 centilter or 200 milliliter

The dough makes the pastry pricey, specially the butter ! If butter is replaced by Margarine is it Ok? Margarine is half the price of butter or less...

[can123]

dl. = Deciliters 2 deciliters is just shy of 1 cup of cream yes/no?

Quite right ! It's just shy of a 2 decilitre cup of cream or just over, depending on your position why you espy said cup. A scientist would say it was exactly 2 decilitres but what the hell do they know ?

Apologies for the British use of the word "decilitre".

[forreachingme]

In my area, specialty is a Coconut cake, the Buko Pie.

Comes very cheap at 100 pesos a cake to feed 6.

The How to:

Buko Pie Recipe #1
Ingredients:

• 2 cups buko meat ( young coconut meat )
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup coconut water
• 1/2 1/2 cup evaporated milk (or fresh milk)
• 1/2 cup starch

Procedure:
Pour directly the uncooked mixture into the pastry-lined pan, top with the second crust, brush with eggwash, bake at 400 deg F for 15 minutes then a further 45 minutes at 325 deg F.
Buko Pie Recipe #2
Crust:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2/3 cup shortening
• 1 piece eggyolk
• 1 tsp. vinegar
• 1/4 cup ice water

Filling:

• 4 cups coconut meat
• 1 cup coconut water
• 1 300 ml. can Sweetened Condensed Milk
• 2/3 cup cornstarch

Procedure:
1. Blend flour and salt in a bowl. Cut in shortening using two knives or a pastry cutter. Combine yolk, vinegar and water; slowly add the liquid to the flour mixing until dough can be handled.
2. Divide dough into 2 parts with one part slightly bigger than the other. Roll bigger dough to about 2 inches larger than a 16-inch pie plate. Fit dough into a pie plate, letting sides hang. Roll out remaining dough for the crust. Set aside.
2. Combine filling ingredients in a thick saucepan. Cook stirring constantly until thickened. Cool
then pour into prepared crust. Cover with top crust; flute or crimp edges together to seal. Bake for 1 hr. at 425 degrees

[Cujo]

Crust:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2/3 cup shortening
• 1 piece eggyolk
• 1 tsp. vinegar
• 1/4 cup ice water

Procedure:
Blend flour and salt in a bowl. Cut in shortening using two knives or a pastry cutter. Combine yolk, vinegar and water; slowly add the liquid to the flour mixing until dough can be handled.

Ok, so what's 'shortening'? and why is it necessary?
Where (and why) does the ice water come into it.
I've noticed this ice water thing pop up here and there in my research.

[The Fresh Prince]

Since I started my pie thread a few weeks ago the orders off my mates are coming through pretty thick and fast.

I've been getting the ready made pastry from Makro's. Last night I made 6 pie's for my mates that were round and then another 18 in orders. So far I've only been charging roughly what it costs in ingredients but out of interest, what would you guys think s a fair price for a tasty meat pie?

1/4 cup ice water

Where (and why) does the ice water come into it.

Yeah, whats that for? I've found that the pies are easier to make when the pastry is just out the freezer and it get tough to make when it's completely defrosted. It becomes very elastic.

[can123]

So far I've only been charging roughly what it costs in ingredients but out of interest, what would you guys think s a fair price for a tasty meat pie

Work out the unit cost of your pie and charge double for it. This will allow for cooking costs and give you a fair return for your work. My wife makes special Thai sausages ( sweet and strong garlic ) and is easily able to charge four times the unit cost for them as they are authentic, have proper casings ( skins ) and because very few Thai women in the UK have the least idea of how to make them.

I am not suggesting that you should attempt to make big profits out of your mates but you should , at least, be able to eat free pies yourself.