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Science of cooking Week 13

Sam Wong is social media

editor at New Scientist.

Followhim@samwongl

Whatyouneed
Pastry:
250g plamftcu
12Sgmldbuttw
25g Icing 1111111'
Jtblpmlk
Slit

Fiiiing:

--200gcamrsugar dlubalb

75gbutW
Zens
125ggroundalmands

Next week

Crackling: what is the

path to perfectly crunchy

poikskin? We test

four techniques.

Become a pastrywhizz

Master the principles of a perfect pie dough and you will

never again feel worried about making it, says Sam Wong

MANY amateurcoob, even quite

confident ones, find making pastry

intimidating, but making a good

pie or tart isn't that bard once you

grasp the basic concepts.

When flour ls mixed with water,

proteins in the flour llnktogether

into long sttands called gluten that

can make dough springy. With

pastry. unlike bread. the objective

is usually to limit gluten by using

low-protein :flour, less water and

little kneading. This helps to create

tender and tlakytextures. Any

sugar or acid added to the dough

will also inhibit gluten formation.

The way that fa.tis Incorporated

into the dough plays a big part in

determiniDg thetextuR ofpastJy.

ID shortuust putJy, fat is worked

in to coat the flourparticla and

stop them from becoming

hydnrted.A little water or milk

helps the dough come together,

but the fat inhibits the formation

of a gluten network.

ID puff pastry. cold butter Is

1Dcorpomtedinto the flour so that

much of it stays in distrnctlayen,

1eparatingthinlayers of dough.

Butteris around 16 percent water.

Jntheoven.thewaterevaporates

quickly, pushing apart layers of

dough and creating a:flakytextuR.

For bothldnds of pastry, you

must be careful not to overwork

thedough.oryou will warm the

butter and.make it release water.

This will result in en:eHive gluten

and a chewy. toughMSult. Thatis

whypastJychefs usecoolmmble

worktops and chill theU-toob.

Vegetable shortening is more

fbrgivingthan butter, but doesn't

melt in the mouth or taste as good.

Sdem:eof cooklngonllne

.All pftlfecbmepolteclst

~lmaiheooldn .......... entist.COID

Whenitcomestochoosinga

recipe, rhubarb tart is one of my

fawwttes.In the UK, rhubarb

season begins iDAprll. but before

then you can buyforcedmubarb.

These plants are kept in the dark,

making theU-st.ems grow quickly

in search of light. This gives them

a sweet taste and a rich Md colour.

To make the shortcrust pastry

for the tart, mix the flour, icing

sugar and a pinch of salt Cut the

butter into cubes and rub it into

the milcturewith your fingertips

until it reaembles breadcrumbs.

Add just enoughmilkt.o form

the dough into a ball, wnp it in

plasticandcbillitforanhour.

Grease a 26-omtimetretart

case. On a floured surftlce, roll

the dough into a circle that is

about3 millimetres thick, then

press it into the case and poke

holes all over the base with a fork.

Place a piece of gMaseproofpaper

on the pastry and 1lll the cue with

bating beans or uncooked rice to

stop the pastry base from rising.

Bake for 15minutesat18cfC, then

another 15 minutes without the

paper and beans.

Cut the rhubarb into pieces

4centimetres long. Toss with 758

ofsugaranclleaveforanhourt.o

absOl'b sugar and release moisture.

For the mling. nm the butter and

125gofsugar, thenmixintwoeggs

and125gofgroundabnonds.

Sp?ead this into the pastry case,

then piess the rhubarb pieces into

the filling, arranged artfully. Bake

for35minutesat18cfC. I