Flour. — Good household flour will serve the purpose for all ordinary pastries, but for the finer kinds, such as puff pastry, choux pastry, &c., Vienna or Hungarian flour should be used. It must be very dry, and if by any chance it has become damp, dry it in a warm place and then let it cool before using it. The flour should also be sieved for pastry, as this not only ensures its being free from lumps, but makes it lighter. Baking Powder. — This is only required in the plainer kinds of pastry, where the supply of butter or fat is limited. It helps to give lightness. When it is used the pastry should be baked as soon as possible after the moisture is added, as the powder soon loses its effect. The Liquid .■ — Water is usually the only liquid required for mixing the pastry. It must be as cold as possible, and in hot weather a piece of ice, when obtainable, should be added to it. The exact amount of water to use is not always given in the recipes, as so much depends on the consistency of the fat u:-td, and also upon whether the flour is a 332 very dry kind or not. It will generally be found that the finer the flour the more water it will re- quire. In the richer kinds of pastry a beaten egg or the yolk of an egg is used along with a little water. ON MIXING AND ROLLING See that all utensils used, such as board, basin, rolling-pin, &c., are particularly clean and cool. The board should be smooth and perfectly flat. It is always better if a board can be kept for pastry-making only. A marble or slate slab i3 always to be preferred to a wooden board, as it is so cool and level. The rolling should also be smooth and not too heavy. A round glass bottle filled with cold water will make quite a good rolling-pin when no other is at hand. Clean hands are also imperative. If the hands are inclined to be warm, wash them some little time before beginning the pastry in very warm water. Those who have very warm hands should mix the pastry as much as possible with a knife. Make the pastry in as cool a place as possible ; the colder it is kept during the making, the lighter it will be. In hot weather it should be put away in a cold place for some little time before it is used. The mixing with the water must be done as quickly and lightly as possible. Some cooks do this on the board or slab by making a well of the flour and pouring the water into the centre, but it requires a good deal of experience to do this well and prevent the water from running over the sides ; mixing in the basin is always the easier method. When turning the pastry out on the board try to leave the basin as clean as possible, cleaning it out, as it were, with the lump of paste. Never rub little pieces off the fingers on to the pastry, as, when cooked, these would form hard lumps ; but clean the hands back into the basin with a little dry flour. Roll the pastry lightly and try to press equally with both hands. When rolling the flaky kinds of pastry, roll always from you, taking short quick strokes, and lifting the rolling-pin between the strokes. Never allow pastry to stick to the board, but lift it occasionally on the rolling-pin and dust some flour underneath. If anything has stuck to the PASTRY AND board, scrape it off carefully with, a knife before beginning again.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

Flour. — Good household flour will serve the purpose for all ordinary pastries, but for the finer kinds, such as puff pastry, choux pastry, &c., Vienna or Hungarian flour should be used. It must be very dry, and if by any chance it has become damp, dry it in a warm place and then let it cool before using it. The flour should also be sieved for pastry, as this not only ensures its being free from lumps, but makes it lighter. Baking Powder. — This is only required in the plainer kinds of pastry, where the supply of butter or fat is limited. It helps to give lightness. When it is used the pastry should be baked as soon as possible after the moisture is added, as the powder soon loses its effect. The Liquid. — Water is usually the only liquid required for mixing the pastry. It must be as cold as possible, and in hot weather a piece of ice, when obtainable, should be added to it. The exact amount of water to use is not always given in the recipes, as so much depends on the consistency of the fat used, and also upon whether the flour is a very dry kind or not. It will generally be found that the finer the flour the more water it will require. In the richer kinds of pastry a beaten egg or the yolk of an egg is used along with a little water. ON MIXING AND ROLLING See that all utensils used, such as board, basin, rolling-pin, &c., are particularly clean and cool. The board should be smooth and perfectly flat. It is always better if a board can be kept for pastry-making only. A marble or slate slab is always to be preferred to a wooden board, as it is so cool and level. The rolling should also be smooth and not too heavy. A round glass bottle filled with cold water will make quite a good rolling-pin when no other is at hand. Clean hands are also imperative. If the hands are inclined to be warm, wash them some little time before beginning the pastry in very warm water. Those who have very warm hands should mix the pastry as much as possible with a knife. Make the pastry in as cool a place as possible ; the colder it is kept during the making, the lighter it will be. In hot weather it should be put away in a cold place for some little time before it is used. The mixing with the water must be done as quickly and lightly as possible. Some cooks do this on the board or slab by making a well of the flour and pouring the water into the centre, but it requires a good deal of experience to do this well and prevent the water from running over the sides ; mixing in the basin is always the easier method. When turning the pastry out on the board try to leave the basin as clean as possible, cleaning it out, as it were, with the lump of paste. Never rub little pieces off the fingers on to the pastry, as, when cooked, these would form hard lumps ; but clean the hands back into the basin with a little dry flour. Roll the pastry lightly and try to press equally with both hands. When rolling the flaky kinds of pastry, roll always from you, taking short quick strokes, and lifting the rolling-pin between the strokes. Never allow pastry to stick to the board, but lift it occasionally on the rolling-pin and dust some flour underneath. If anything has stuck to the PASTRY AND board, scrape it off carefully with, a knife before beginning again.

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