Pastry Making

Ingredients

Plain flour is recommended, but you can obtain reasonable results by using self raising flour , at least for shortcrust, though it will be softer and more crumbly. Butter, margarine and lard are the traditional fats for pastry making, but proprietary vegetable shortenings are frequently used nowadays. For shortcrust pastry, used lard or a vegetable fat alone, or a mixture of fats, but not margarine alone, as it produces hard, yellow pastry. For the richer pastries it is better to keep to the fat specified in the recipe.

Shortcrust Pastry

8 oz. plain flour
1/2 level tsp. salt
2 oz. margarine
2 oz. lard
Cold water to mix

Sift the flour and salt into the basin. Cut the fats into the flour and complete the mixing by rubbing in with the finger-tips, until no lumps of fat remain. Add just enough cold water to bind the mixture, mixing with a round bladed knife until it is evenly distributed. Draw the pastry together with the finger-tips to form a stiff dough; knead lightly until smooth. Turn it onto a lightly floured board and roll out and use as required.