1. Pastry is a shortened dough that is made of flour, water, salt, and
fat and used in the preparation of desserts. Chief among these deserts
are pies. These are made by baking foods between two crusts of pastry or
with a single crust, which may be an upper or a lower one. Originally
pies were not intended for desserts. Rather, they were used as the main
dish of the meal, as they contained a filling of meat or fish and
vegetables. Such pies are still made, but they are not usually the ones
intended when pastry for pies is mentioned. It should therefore be
understood that the pastry considered in this Section is that which is
used with sweet fillings and employed particularly in the making of pies
and similar foods that are used for desserts.
Some cooks, especially the French ones, regard as pastry such foods as
certain small cakes, the paste used for cream puffs and éclairs, and the
sweetened breads made with yeast, such as brioche. In reality, such
desserts resemble cakes in use more than they do pastry, and for this
reason are discussed in connection with them.
2. Pastry desserts may be made in various fancy shapes for individual
servings or in pies that will serve five or six persons. Pies having one
crust usually contain a filling that consists of a custard mixture, a
mixture thickened with corn starch or flour, or occasionally a fruit
mixture. Some pies also have a top crust covering the filling, and when
this is the case a fruit filling, either fresh or cooked, is the kind
that is generally used.
3. Because of the nature of the materials used in the preparation of
pastry desserts, the finished product is necessarily high in food
value. For instance, starchy material is provided by the flour, fat by
the shortening, and sugar in comparatively large amounts by the filling,
whether it be fruit of some kind or a material resembling custard. This
fact, rather than the taste or the appetite, should aid in determining
whether or not pastry desserts should be included in a meal. While the
popularity of such desserts causes them to be used somewhat
indiscriminately, their use should always be governed by the nature of
the rest of the meal. Thus, if the other dishes served provide enough
food value, then a dessert lighter than pie should be chosen; but if the
rest of the meal is not sufficiently high in this respect, a wholesome
pastry dessert will generally prove to be a wise selection.
4. It is true, of course, that every person must determine for himself
whether or not pastry desserts are wholesome enough to be eaten by him.
Indigestion is almost sure to result from heavy, soggy, imperfectly
baked pastry, because the quantities of fat it contains may be slow to
digest and much of the starchy material may be imperfectly cooked.
Consequently, it is often not the pie itself but the way in which it is
made that is responsible for the bad reputation that this very
attractive dessert has acquired. If the correct method of making pastry
and pies is followed and the ingredients are handled properly in the
making, the digestibility of the finished product need give the
housewife very little concern. As a rule, a little experience is needed
in order that good results in the making of pastry dishes may be
attained, but one who becomes efficient in the other phases of cookery
should have no difficulty with foods of this kind.
5. Detailed instructions regarding the making of pastry desserts are
given throughout this Section, but if the greatest degree of success is
to be attained, it will be well from the very beginning to understand a
few general rules that apply to this work. In the first place, the
ingredients must be of the right sort and as cold as possible; then they
must be handled and combined with dexterity; and, finally, a hot oven
must be provided in order that these foods may be properly baked.