We will suppose, therefore, that we wish to make supe- rior short crust ; how shall we proceed ? We must put six ounces of flour on a board, and mix with it a very small pinch of salt. We then rub into it with the fingers four ounces of sweet butter, and keep rubbing until the butter is quite lost to sight and the flour looks like fine oatmeal. If the pastry is intended for a fruit-pie or a tartlet, an ounce of finely-powdered white sugar may now be added. We then make a well in the centre of the flour, and break into it the yolk of an egg. We put on this two drops of lemon-juice and a very little (about a tablespoonful) of cold wate✪ Short Paster ; mix all, flour, egg, and water together with two fingers (or if the cook has not a cool hand, she may mix the paste with the blade of a clean knife), and add more water gradually till there is a smooth stiff paste ; knead this lightly, roll out once, and the pastry is ready. Of course, if the egg is not considered necessary it must be omitted. If plain short crust is wanted, we put one pound of flour into a bowl with a pinch of salt and a heaped tea- spoonful of baking-powde✪ Plain Short Crustr. Rub into this six ounces of 56 The Girl's Oran Cookery Book. clarified dripping ; add cold water to make a smooth stiflf paste, knead lightly, roll out once and use. The excellence of pastry depends very much upon its being properly baked. The best pastry that ever was mixed would be spoilt if the oven was not exactly right. If an oven is not hot enough the pastry will sink away from the edges of the dish and will be heavy. If the oven is too hot the pastry will be burnt or will stiffen without rising. The surest way of testing the heat of the oven is to bake a small piece of pastry before putting the pie or tart into it. Another way is to sprinkle a little flour upon the oven shelf. If it turn a bright brown in a few seconds the oven is hot enough. If it turn black the oven is too hot ; if it remains pale in colour the oven is too slow. Pastry should be put in the hot part of the oven for the first five minutes, after which it should be removed to a cooler part that it may be cooked through. Large pies containing fruit or meat, which must be thoroughly cooked, should have a sheet of paper placed over them as soon as the pastry has risen, to prevent their ac- quiring a dark brown colour before the contents of the pie are done. Pastry which is to be boiled is lighter when made with suet than it is when butter, lard, or dripping is used. Beef suet is generally used for this purpose, but mutton suet is more wholesome and can be chopped the more easily of the two. With one pound of flour, four, six, eight, or ten ounces of suet may be taken, according to the degree of richness required. Very good suet crust may be made with six ounces of suet, one teaspoonful of baking powder, a pinch of salt, and a pound of flour. The suet should be skinned, and the fibres and sinews should be removed, and it should then be chopped till it is as fine as oatmeal, and rubbed into the flour ; water should be added gradually. To make a very stiff paste the pastry should be rolled out once, and it is ready for use. ✪ Suet Crust

AI-modernized reading of the original text

We will suppose, therefore, that we wish to make superior short crust ; how shall we proceed ? We must put six ounces of flour on a board, and mix with it a very small pinch of salt. We then rub into it with the fingers four ounces of sweet butter, and keep rubbing until the butter is quite lost to sight and the flour looks like fine oatmeal. If the pastry is intended for a fruit-pie or a tartlet, an ounce of finely-powdered white sugar may now be added. We then make a well in the centre of the flour, and break into it the yolk of an egg. We put on this two drops of lemon-juice and a very little (about a tablespoonful) of cold water ; mix all, flour, egg, and water together with two fingers (or if the cook has not a cool hand, she may mix the paste with the blade of a clean knife), and add more water gradually till there is a smooth stiff paste ; knead this lightly, roll out once, and the pastry is ready. Of course, if the egg is not considered necessary it must be omitted. If plain short crust is wanted, we put one pound of flour into a bowl with a pinch of salt and a heaped teaspoonful of baking-powder. Rub into this six ounces of 56 The Girl's Own Cookery Book. clarified dripping ; add cold water to make a smooth stiff paste, knead lightly, roll out once and use. The excellence of pastry depends very much upon its being properly baked. The best pastry that ever was mixed would be spoilt if the oven was not exactly right. If an oven is not hot enough the pastry will sink away from the edges of the dish and will be heavy. If the oven is too hot the pastry will be burnt or will stiffen without rising. The surest way of testing the heat of the oven is to bake a small piece of pastry before putting the pie or tart into it. Another way is to sprinkle a little flour upon the oven shelf. If it turn a bright brown in a few seconds the oven is hot enough. If it turn black the oven is too hot ; if it remains pale in colour the oven is too slow. Pastry should be put in the hot part of the oven for the first five minutes, after which it should be removed to a cooler part that it may be cooked through. Large pies containing fruit or meat, which must be thoroughly cooked, should have a sheet of paper placed over them as soon as the pastry has risen, to prevent their acquiring a dark brown colour before the contents of the pie are done. Pastry which is to be boiled is lighter when made with suet than it is when butter, lard, or dripping is used. Beef suet is generally used for this purpose, but mutton suet is more wholesome and can be chopped the more easily of the two. With one pound of flour, four, six, eight, or ten ounces of suet may be taken, according to the degree of richness required. Very good suet crust may be made with six ounces of suet, one teaspoonful of baking powder, a pinch of salt, and a pound of flour. The suet should be skinned, and the fibres and sinews should be removed, and it should then be chopped till it is as fine as oatmeal, and rubbed into the flour ; water should be added gradually. To make a very stiff paste the pastry should be rolled out once, and it is ready for use.

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