Puff Paste, Pies and Tartlets
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the dough
Sift the flour and set aside a handful for rolling out.
Add the lard in lumps the size of an almond to the flour. Do not rub the lard into the flour; this will keep it flaky.
Add enough cold water to form a soft dough that rolls easily.
Handle the dough as little as possible and shape it into an oblong roll.
Shape and bake
Cut the roll into slices for tops and bottoms of the pie.
Roll each slice to cover your pie dish neatly.
Roll the top crust very thin and bake in a preheated oven at 400°F (200°C) until golden.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- All-purpose flour
- Forms the structure of the dough as its proteins bind with water.
- Lard
- Stays solid in lumps, creating layers that give a flaky texture as it melts in the oven.
- Cold water
- Brings the flour and fat together into a dough that holds its shape when rolled.
The step that matters
Keeping the lard in lumps. Rubbing the lard fully into the flour coats the flour and prevents separate layers forming. Solid fat pieces that melt during baking leave gaps that make the crust flaky.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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