Shortcrust Pastry

[drmoss_ca]

I had the disadvantage of having a mother who could make superb pastry. Short and crumbly, never hard, chewy or granular. I guess she had cold hands, and I'm known for having warm hands. Useful when you have to touch lots of naked skin! My efforts to make pastry have always been rather sad, usually resulting in industrial quality construction grade pastry. For the first time, I tried doing it in a food processor, and it came out perfectly! Nothing special about the recipe (200g all-purpose flour, 1/4 cup vegetable shortening, pinch of salt, 4 TBSP iced water was the starting point, but I doubled it). Flour and salt in the food processor. Shortening put in the freezer for a while, then cut into small cubes and added to the flour. Pulse it 4-5 times for a second each time until the mix resembled breadcrumbs. Added 1/2 the iced water and pulsed some more, then a bit more, pulsed, then the rest, pulsed until it started to clump. I've seen some people on YouTube do that until they have a ball of dough whizzing around in the food processor, but I stopped before that point, not wanting to over-work the dough. I emptied out the mixture and pressed it into a ball, put it in a ziplock back and placed it in the fridge for an hour. Later I rolled it out and made a cherry pie. Delicious! It might just be time for me to upgrade my ancient (~30 year old food-processor)....

Anyone else done it this way?

Chris

[ShadowsDad]

Being pie crust challenged myself I make the ATK vodka crust. I used to make it in the food processor, but it's a bear to clean, so now I make it in the Ankarsrum. It's as foolproof (that'd be me) a crust as it can get. It always comes out perfectly flaky. The alcohol can be changed to suit too. The last pumpkin pie I made I used rum instead of vodka and that was a keeper.

If you want the recipe just give a holler.

[EL Alamein]

This sounds really good. I'm not a pastry guy but I do make one every now and then for the family. I'll have to give this crust a try.

Dr. Moss, if it ain't broke don't fix it. BUT if you're looking for something modern in a food processor most are entirely dishwasher safe. That was the only selling point to me when I bought one otherwise I wasn't washing all those pieces when I could just as easily used a large mixing bowl, my hands or a hand blender.

Thanks for the post as it is most inspiring.

Chris

[brothers]

Cherry pie is always a winner.

[Squire]

Just when I'd resigned myself to being pastry challenged I'm presented with this simple option. Oh well . . .