Economical Flaky Crust

Ingredients

• ½ lb. flour
• 2 oz. dripping
• about a gill of cold water
• a pinch of baking-powder
• a pinch of salt

Method

1. 1

   Mix flour, baking powder, and salt.

2. 2

   Gradually add cold water to form a dough.

3. 3

   Roll out, incorporate dripping in three stages, rolling out each time until no patches are visible.

Nutrition per serving

As published

This recipe was extracted from The school cookery book (1881), page 49. The excerpt below is the record exactly as published.

Economical Flaky Crust. — Required: % lb. flour; 2 oz. dripping; about a gill of cold water; a pinch of baking-powder ; a pinch of salt. PASTRY. 105 Put the flour, baking-powder, and salt into a basin ; stir in gradually as much cold water as will make it into a dough stiff enough to turn out of the basin in one lump, leaving the basin clean. Roll out the paste, and divide the dripping into three equal pieces. If the dripping is very hard, soften it near the fire, but do not let it melt. Spread one piece of the dripping over the paste, fold up the paste, and roll it out. Turn the side of the paste towards you, then spread the second piece of dripping in the same manner, fold up the paste, and roll out again. Do the same with the remaining piece of dripping, roll out the paste, and fold it again several times till the patches of dripping are no more seen. The crust is now ready for covering a pie. Richer Flaky Crust. — Required: % lb. flour; 2 oz. butter ; 1 white of egg ; 1 small teaspoonful of baking powder; 1 pinch of salt. Divide the butter into three pieces, and put them on a plate. Put the flour into a basin with the baking powder, and mix well together. Put the white on a flat plate, add a small pinch of salt to it, and whip to a stiff froth. Put the froth into the basin, and mix with the flour ; then add a very small quantity of cold water to make it into a stiff paste. Knead lightly on the floured board, and roll out very thin. Take one of the three pieces of butter, and put it in small lumps all over the paste; fold the paste m three, turn the rough edges towards you, roll out again ; add the second piece of butter in the same way on the paste, fold in three, and roll out again ; then add the third piece of butter in the same way. Fold the paste in three, and roll it out two or three times till you see no more patches of butter; then use directly. io6 PASTRY. Russian Fish Pi z.— Required: % lb. cold cooked fish ; flaky crust (double the proportions given at page 104); 1 oz. boiled rice ; 1 teaspoonful chopped parsley; oz. dripping or butter; ^ teaspoonful salt ; 1 pinch pepper. Roll out the crust to a neat square ; break the fish into small pieces, removing the bones. Mix it with the boiled rice, parsley, dripping, salt and pepper. Place this mixture in the centre of the square of paste ; wet the edges of the paste ; fold it in from the corners like an envelope, bringing one comer over the other. Brush the whole over with a little milk, and bake in a quick oven for half an hour. The pie may be made richer by mixing a raw egg with the other ingredients before placing them on the paste. Beefsteak Pie. — Required: Flaky or short crust; lb. lean meat ; 1 oz. flour ; 1 *4 gills water ; 1 table- spoonful ketchup; teaspoonful salt; % teaspoonful pepper. Cut the meat into very thin pieces ; mix the flour, pepper and salt on a plate ; dip each piece into this mixture. Roll them up lightly ; place them in a small pie dish ; add the water and the ketchup ; wet the edge of the dish. Place the pastry over the pie; cut it off close to the pie dish ; remove it, and from the pieces cut oiT, cut some strips. Lay these along the wet edge of the dish ; wet the top of them with cold water ; lay on them the large piece of pastry ; press down the edge. Make a hole in the centre to allow a hurtful steam, caused by the meat cooking inside, to escape ; roll out the scraps of paste left over, and cut out a fringe. Roll this up and place in the hole ; brush over the paste with a little milk ; place in a hot part of the oven for five minutes, then PASTRY. 107 bake in a cooler part for three-quarters of an hour to an hour. Sheep’s Head Pie. — Required : Short crust; 1 sheep’s head; Y lb. bacon ; an egg; 1 teaspoonful finely chopped parsley ; Yz pint pot liquor ; Y tea' spoonful salt ; Y teaspoonful pepper. Soak the head all night in salt and water ; wash thoroughly in warm water, removing the soft bones from the nostrils. Boil with sufficient water to cover it, till it is quite tender (about three hours). Place the egg in hot water, boil for ten minutes ; plunge the egg in cold water. Remove the shell and cut up into small pieces. Cut the meat, gristle, and bacon into small pieces, and put them, with the egg, parsley, pepper, salt, and half a pint of the liquor the head has been boiled in, into a pie dish ; cover with paste as in last recipe, and bake as directed. Generally eaten cold. Use the rest of the liquor for soup. Sausage Rolls. — Required: Short paste (the quantities given at page 103); 2 oz. scraps of meat; Y teaspoonful salt ; Y teaspoonful pepper. Cut the paste into four oblong squares; chop the meat, mix it with the salt and pepper. Divide it into four; place one portion on each square. Wet the edges of the squares ; fold one side of the paste over the meat, then the other side ; press down and mark with the back of a knife at the two ends and along the top. Place on a greased baking tin and bake in the oven for about half an hour. Oatmeal Pie Crust. — Required : lb. oatmeal; about 1 gill hot water ; x pinch salt. Stir the ingredients well together ; roll out on a board to the thickness required. Fill the pie dish with cooked meat and vegetables, adding a little io8 PASTRY. flavouring and a little water or stock. Cover with the brake fnrroh ‘I ^ with milk i Place “ the oven and cooked b°Ut a qUarter of an hour tin the crust is Suet Paste — Required: % lb. flour:

Cook this with the app: pantry check, scaling, and the assistant.