pastry

[harveygarvey]

Anybody know of a really good recipe for really good pastry. Cant stand the frozen jus roll stuff

[johnsonswain]

mix flour butter or lard and a pinch of salt and water

[Jugglering]

8 oz flour (plain white or wholemeal or a mixture, up to you!)
4 oz fat (butter, marg or a mixture) cold, straight from fridge
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp ice cold water

Put the flour(s) into a large mixing bowl, add the salt, cut the marg or butter up into little chunks (about the size of your wee finger nail) and toss in the flour, then *rub* the fat into the flour by squeezing the little cubes of fat between your fingers and lifting them up into the air. Shake the mixing bowl now and then to see if all the fat has been mixed in. When you have something that looks like coarse breadcrumbs, gently add some of the iced water and mix with a fork. Add enough water to form a *stiff* dough and roll it all up into a ball. Pop the ball of dough into a plastic bag and put it back in the fridge for half an hour, to relax. Place the dough on a floured surface and gently roll it out, pinching the sides in and turning it over so both sides get a dusting of flour. Hey, voila - pastry ! Now comes the tricky bit, what to do with said pastry haha!

Optional extras:-

add some grated parmesan to the flours.
add some mustard powder to the flours
use a raw fresh egg instead of water to bind it all together
or even use milk !

[harveygarvey]

thanks for all your help