The Australian Women’s Weekly Food – June 2019

PASTRY

SHRUNK

Drypastry

Iftheratioofbutterorliquidistoolowinrelationto

flourthepastrywillbecrumblyandhardtomanage.

Asa ruletheratioofbuttertoflourishalfthatofthe

flour.Inricherpastryit canbea littlebithigher.If

yourpastrywon’tcometogether, add ice-cold water

1 teaspoonata time.

Flourchanged

Differenttypesofflourshavevariedcapacitiesforuptakeof

liquids.If a flourtypeischangedina recipetheresultmay

notbethesame.Wholemealflours,whichcontainmore

ofthebranandgerm,aremorefibrousandwillrequire

a differentratioofliquid.Thesefloursoftencontainless

gluten,whichinbakingtermshelpscreatestructure in

breads and pastry so they may be more crumbly.

Biscuitsspreadontray
Themixturecouldbetoosoftduetoover-beating
thebutterandsugarmixture,ortheingredients
weremeasuredincorrectly,thewrong flour was used
ortheovenwasnothot enough.

Biscuitstoohard
Theingredientsmayhavebeenmeasuredincorrectly,
thebiscuitsbakedtoolongorattoohigh a temperature
orthewrongtypeof oven trays used.

Biscuitstoosoft
Theymaynothavebeenbakedlongenough,ortheymay
havebeenstackedontopofeachotherduringcooling.
Biscuitsneedaircirculatingaroundthemtocrispand
generallyneedtorestontraystohardenslightlybefore
beingtransferredtowirerackstocool completely.

Biscuitstoobrownunderneath
Traysmayhavebeenover-greased,or the tray is in
the incorrect position in the oven.

Notrestedsufficiently

Whenyoumakepastryyou

activatesomeofthegluten.

Handlingthepastryminimally

tobringit togetherasa dough

willpreventoveractivating

toomuchofit,aswill

ensuringthemixtureiskept

cool.Ifsufficienttimeisn’t

allowedfortheglutentorelax

againthiscanresultin pastry

shrinkinginthetin.

Pastrynotpressedinto

thecorners

When lining a tart or pie tin,

it isveryimportanttoeasethe

pastrywithoutstretchinginto

thecorners,otherwisethisis

anothercauseofshrinkage.

Notblindbaking

Blindbakinghelpstosetthe

pastryandstopit slipping

downthesideofthetin.Line

thepastryinthetinwith

bakingpaperorfoilthenfill

withdriedbeansorrice;bake

weighteddownasdirected

intherecipe.Removethe

beansandpaper; bake again

as directed.

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8 #COOKWITHTHEWEEKLY