Page:The White House Cook Book.djvu/355

 PASTRY, PIES AND TARTS. 323

hands, rub one-third of the butter into the flour. Add the water, stir- ring with a knife. Stir quickly and vigorously until the paste is a smooth ball. Sprinkle the board lightly with flour. Turn the paste on this and pound quickly and lightly with the rolling-pin. Do not break the paste. Roll from you and to one side ; or if easier to roll from you all the time, turn the paste around. When it is about one- fourth of an inch thick, wipe the remaining butter, break it in bits and spread these on the paste. Sprinkle lightly with flour. Fold the paste, one-third from each side, so that the edges meet. Now fold from the ends, but do not have these meet. Double the paste, pound lightly and roll down to about one-third of an inch in thickness. Fold as before and roll down again. Repeat this three times if for pies and six times if for vol-au-vents, patties, tarts, etc. Place on the ice to harden, when it has been rolled the last time. It should be in the ice chest at least an hour before being used. In hot weather, if the paste sticks when being rolled down, put it on a tin sheet and place on ice. As soon as it is chilled, it will roll easily. The less flour you use in rolling out the paste, the tenderer it will be. No matter how care- fully every part of the work may be done, the paste will not be good if

much flour is USed. Maria Parloa.

SOYER'S RECIPE FOR PUFF PASTE.

To EVERY pound of flour allow the yolk of one egg, the juice of one lemon, half a saltspoonf ul of salt, cold water, one pound of fresh butter.

Put the flour onto the paste-board; make a hole in the centre, into which put the yolk of the egg, the lemon juice and salt ; mix the whole with cold water (this should be iced in summer if convenient) into a soft, flexible paste with the right hand, and handle it as little as pos- sible; then squeeze all the buttermilk from the butter, wring it in a cloth and roll out the paste; place the butter on this and fold the edges of the paste over, so as to hide it ; roll it out again to the thick- ness of a quarter of an inch; fold over one-third, over which again pass the rolling-pin; then fold over the other third, thus forming a square; place it with the ends, top and bottom before you, shaking a little flour both under and over, and repeat the rolls and turns twice again as before. Flour a baking- sheet, put the paste on this and let it remain on ice or in some cool place for half an hour; then roll twice more, turning it as before; place it again upon the ice for a quarter

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