Boron Elgar wrote:

On Thu, 27 Nov 2003 21:11:42 -0600, zxcvbob
wrote:



On the second batch I cut the lard in with the pastry cutter just a little,
then finished mixing in the lard with my fingertips by kind of pinching it
into the flour. (then mixed in the ice water.) This seemed to work a lot
better and I made all the subsequent dough this way. I think mixing in the
lard by hand coated *all* the flour with fat, and the dough behaved better
without trying to get tough when I kneaded it into a ball.



My arthritic hands prevent me using the pastry blender much. I start
out in the food processor with quick, short pulses. I even add the
water in that way, too. When it forms a ball, I take it out and tuck
it all together by hand.

Alas, I cannot compare my recipe amounts with yours, as I threw out
the box the lard came in.

Boron


If you know exactly how much water you'll need, try mixing the fat, salt,
and water first until it is mixed as good as it will, then dump in the
flour all at once and pulse until it just comes together in a ball. It
works well. I mix it by hand the old fashioned way because I hate cleaning
the food processor.

Bob