Page:Australian enquiry book of household and general information.djvu/69

 into a basin, say one pound; rub into this a teaspoonful of baking powder, and the same of salt, and five or six tablespoonsful of dripping, according to how rich you want your crust; rub this in with the flour till all looks and feels like bread crumbs. Now make a hole in the centre and pour in some luke warm water, or warm milk and water if you have it. Mix with a spoon, and when all is moist, not wet, knead for a few minutes on the board with some dry flour. Cover your tart, patty tins, or whatever you want covered, and pop into a quick oven as soon as possible. It is a great mistake to roll your pastry too thin, as it burns before the tart is cooked. One good plan is to cut strips of paste, and put round the edge of your pie dish before putting the whole cover over, that ensures the edges being nice and thick, but be sure you damp those strips before putting the other paste over them, or they will not stick together. The rim of the dish should also be damped. You can brush over the top with white of egg or milk if liked, to give it a gloss.

Suet Pastry.—Pass some fresh suet through the mincing machine. Rub a pound of flour quite smooth, salt it, and add a teaspoonful of baking powder. Mix it into a paste with warm water—roll out very thin and with a knife spread the suet in small pieces thickly over it, sprinkle with flour, and roll together and beat it with the rolling pin for some minutes, roll out again and spread as before and beat, do this three or four times, then roll out finally and use, and bake as above directed.

A Rich Paste.—One pound of flour rubbed smooth, salted, and the baking powder added to it, divide it into two equal portions. Take one on to the paste board, cut some butter into slices, or use a spoon; less than half a pound of butter and about the same of good lard will be required, and mix the butter and lard together; rub half of it in with the flour on your board first, and then gradually the other half. Now mix the rest of the flour into a very stiff paste with water, roll out till it is half an inch thick, then lay part of the butter, lard, and flour all over it, roll up and beat with the rolling pin and repeat until all is mixed in; then cover jour tart and bake quickly. This is an expensive paste, as well as being complicated in the mixing, but it is very good when made.

Puff Paste.—This was taught me by a French cook, and it is, without exception, the most delicious paste I know, but it also is expensive. One pound of flour sifted and dried in front of the fire, one pound of butter, and three eggs; divide the flour into two equal portions, take one into a basin and mix into a paste with the eggs well beaten, and a tablespoonful of water, lay this on one side, and now mix in the butter with the other part of the flour, roll it if possible. Take the first lump, roll it out thin and lay the butter and flour over it in pieces until all is used up; always roll the paste one way. This should be made over night and used in the morning. I always use both salt and a little baking powder in this recipe as in the others, but the cook I speak of did not.

Potato Paste.—This is a paste many people are very fond of for meat pies. Take a quarter of a pound of mashed potatoes, half a pound of flour, rub well together, wet with a little water, and work in some good lard or butter. Roll out and use. The potatoes must be quite fresh, if not they will make the paste sour.

Ingredients: Puff paste, half a pint