[Sca-cooks] Coffin Construction (Pastry!)

[Elise Fleming]

> Hmmm, forming it on the outside of a mold had not occurred to me, an
> interesting idea. So do you form it on the mold and then let it dry
> for awhile before you remove the mold?

I don't think we did.  If you look at the photo I listed, the coffyn that
we made is in front of the two molds.  We didn't intend to bake it, but
from other experience, I would recommend sliding the empty coffyn on your
baking sheet before filling it.  The filling would make it much heavier and
it would be harder to move to the baking sheet.

> I had been assuming that this would not be a edible container from the
> get go. That is where my head is at. I like the idea of spring form
> pans, but they are pretty darn expensive and I don't know if I can
> swing enough for a full feast.

The advantage of making an inedible container is that you don't need any
baking pans.  And, the recipe you cited certainly should be an inedible
paste - just flour and water.

> For logistics and $$'s sake, what do people think about using the
> recipe but cooking it in an tightly sealed pan. Would it change the
> flavor much. Would it completely destroy the "Periodness" of the dish?

For the sake of argument, would you have enough pans to do this?  The dough
coffyn allows you to bake - and serve to the table - in one "disposable"
container.  If you are cooking in a tightly sealed pan, it would seem that
you could have a similar edible product, but which would need to be dished
into something else for serving.  That might not be a problem for you if
it's needed for this weekend.  

>I am hoping to make it
> to my local restaurant supply store later today or tomorrow, I might
> see if they have something that will work for a reasonable amount of
> money. I know that one of them carries the deep dish style pizza pans
> - but unpanning the things might get really messy.

Had you considered that you might not have to "unpan" things?  Does the
recipe come out like a thick stew?  As mentioned above, if you ignored the
cooking instructions about baking in a coffyn and instead cooked it in a
pan, you could dish it up with a spoon, perhaps, into bowls for the table. 
Not as pretty, perhaps, but all  anyone was going to eat was the contents,
not the container.

Alys, getting hungry now

Elise Fleming
alysk at ix.netcom.com
http://home.netcom.com/~alysk/