Pie Crusts was Re: [Sca-cooks] Cookies was hello there

[Generys ferch Ednuyed]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: sca-cooks-bounces at ansteorra.org [mailto:sca-cooks-
> bounces at ansteorra.org] On Behalf Of Susan Fox-Davis
> Sent: Saturday, September 06, 2003 4:34 AM
> To: Cooks within the SCA
> 
> Samrah [or anyone else for that matter]:  I have never managed to learn
> the Dao of Pie Crusts, which is more of an art than a mere craft.  Could
> you teach me?
> 
> Humbly, Selene C.
> 

Selene, 

My tricks for insuring flaky pie crusts are some that I got from a book
called "Butter, Sugar, Flour, Eggs", which is my favorite mundane dessert
cookbook.  They are:

1.  Stick your pastry marble and rolling pin, also pref. marble, in the
freezer while making your dough.

2.  Use ice water for the liquid in said dough, also, add a teaspoon or so
of vinegar per batch (top and bottom crust for a pie worth).  This prevents
gluten from forming, and is imperceptible in the final crust.

3.  Chill your hands in ice water as much as possible before working with
dough.

(All these "chill everything" steps keep the butter from melting, so it can
make flaky bits later...)

Hope this helps!

Generys