"Vox Humana" > wrote in
:

>
> "Gemme" > wrote in message
> om...
>> I decided to make some pasties. Last night I made flakey pastry for
>> the first time ever. I used 2oz of margarine and 8oz of flour for
>> the initial paste, and added a further 4oz of butter during the
>> folding and rolling out stages.
>>
>> Today I made the pasties (pastry rested in the fridge overnight). I
>> filled them with finely chopped onion, potato and carrot (as a
>> substitute for swede), seasoned with salt and black pepper (I'm
>> vegetarian). The filling went in the pasties raw. I cut slits in
>> the top of the pasties to release the steam during cooking, and
>> brushed the tops with milk for good measure.
>>
>> I put the pasties in a hot gas oven, bottom shelf. After about 20
>> minutes I turned them round (the pastry was a nice darkish brown) and
>> turned down the flame to give the contents a chance to cook without
>> burning the pastry. After a further 20 minutes, I had as poke around
>> at the contents of one and found that the filling was basically
>> cooked. I checked the underside of the pasties but discovered that
>> the pastry was still pale.
>>
>> The tops of the pasties couldn't be browned any further without
>> burning them, so I decided to flip the pasties to give the pastry on
>> the underside a chance to cook. It was pale and soft all over, and
>> even sort of translucent in patches where the filling must have been
>> the most moist. It took a further 20 minutes on a low flame to dry
>> this pastry out, and lightly brown it.
>>
>> Pasties are supposed to be darker on the bottom than on the top. The
>> pastry needs to be cooked quite hard, otherwise they aren't suitable
>> for picking up and eating with your hands as the weight of the
>> filling will just drop through the pastry.
>>
>> So, what was I doing wrong? How do I ensure the pastry on the bottom
>> is cooked properly without having to flip the pasties?
>>
>> I've already decided the the filling needed more seasoning. About
>> twice as much pepper (it should really warm your tounge) and possibly
>> a herb, though I want to keep it quite simple. And the buttery taste
>> of the pastry didn't suit the savoury filling, so I'll try making it
>> with trex or some other vegetable fat next time.
>>
>> Any tips appreciated!
>> Gemma.
>
> It's really hard to tell the exact problem without seeing the recipe.
> First, I say that there is nothing particularly good about using
> margarine for baking. Margarine can be upwards of 50% water and the
> soft margarines can have a lot of oil, gums, starches and other
> undesirable ingredients. If you don't like the flavor of butter, then
> I would recommend lard or hydrogenated vegetable fat (Crisco) -- just
> say no to margarine.
>
> I would also recommend that you bake your pies and other pastries on
> the bottom shelf. This gives good bottom heat and tends to crisp the
> bottom. Browning of the pastry depends on a number of factors
> including the pH of the dough and the proteins and sugars. To
> increase browning you can use an egg wash on the top only. Egg wash
> will glue the pastry to the pan if you use it on the bottom.
>
> One way of preventing your pastry from getting soggy is to use a
> baking or pizza stone. You can pre-heat the stone and place the
> pastries directly on the hot stone or put them on parchment and then
> place them on the stone.
>
> You may also want to get an oven thermometer to verify that your oven
> is properly calibrated.
>
> In her book "The Pie and Pastry Bible" Beranbaum recommends a number
> of alternative pastries for empanadas (which I assume is what you are
> trying to make.) I think I would start with a basic pie pastry and
> after mastering that modify it with by substituting some of the flour
> with whole wheat flour or adding some grated cheese. If you have a
> food processor, making pie pastry is quite easy. Let me know if you
> want a basic pastry recipe.
>
>
>
>
>
>

Also the type, color, and thickness of the pan you cooked them on could
have an effect. Those double walled (insulated) cookie sheet are notorious
for not browning the bottom of things. Also the darker the color of the
cookie sheet the faster it cooks. You also mention putting them in a hot
oven...perhaps too hot. I bake pasties at about 375F I think thats close to
150C-200C range, pre-heated of course. Your best bet would be to read over
3 or 4 pastie recipes to check for best cooking temp and ideas for the
vegetarian pastry, here are 2 please excuse the meat.

Some curry powder might work well as a seasoning as well.

MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.04

Title: New Zealand Pasties
Categories: Polkadot, Faylen, New zealand
Yield: 1 Servings

MMMMM---------------------------ROUNDS--------------------------------
8 oz Flour
2 oz Crisco
2 oz Butter (or Marg)
1 pn Salt
2 tb To 3 tb water (approx)

MMMMM----------------------CORNISH PASTIES---------------------------
4 oz Finely diced RAW potato
4 oz Ground beef
2 oz Chopped onion
2 oz Finely diced RAW carrots
1 oz Green peas (optional)

Sift the flour and salt. Rub in the Crisco and butter until a
sandy texture is reached. Make a hollow in the middle and add
water. Handle as little and as lightly as possible. Wrap in
grease proof paper and refrigerate for 24 hours. Now it's
ready to use for the Cornish Pasties..

Roll out pastry to approx 1/8" thick, cut into 5" diameter
rounds, I cut around a dessert dish, moisten the filling with
a little water and place a generous spoonful in the middle of
each round. Make sure it is in a pile not flattened out.
Moisten the edges of the pastry with beaten egg. Fold in half
and flute the edges. Now stand them up so the fluting is a
cross the top, and push with your fingers to make the join
into a wavey seam. Boy.. thats hard to try and explain
without being able to show you...Mind you that part is only
for looks! Brush the outside of each pastie with beaten egg,
and cook at 275 degrees for 3/4 hr to an hour. When cooked,
pastry should be nicely browned.

Shared by Jo Sheckman

* The Polka Dot Palace BBS 1-201-822-3627. Posted by FAYLEN

MMMMM

CRUST:

4 c. flour
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1 3/4 c. shortening
1 egg, beaten
1 tbsp. vinegar
1/2 c. water

FILLING:

6 med. potatoes
1 med. onion
1 lb. ground chuck
3 carrots
1 sm. rutabaga

Chop finely or dice all vegetables. Make crust by mixing dry ingredients.
Add shortening to crumbly mixture; add egg with water and vinegar. Mix
gently. Roll out dough into 4 (8 inch) circles. Place mixed filling
ingredients on half of circle. Add salt and pepper to taste; dot with
butter. Moisten edge of pastry with water and fold over. Seal tightly with
fork or by twist crinkling. Prick top. Bake on cookie sheet at 400 degrees
for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees and bake 45 minutes
additional time. These freeze well.

Glenwood

--
And the beet goes on! (or under)
-me just a while ago