"Easy Baking"

Show 141

Pure Pasty
128-C Church St. NW
Vienna, Virginia 22180
703-255-7147
www.purepasty.com

Pastry Chef Nicola Willis-Jones - Right
Chef Jessica Wales - Left

Traditional Style Pasties
(Yield 6 to 8)

Ingredients:
1)   Rough puff pastry (see recipe below) Note: The pastry for a pasty is best made
       a few hours or even the day before and kept in the fridge wrapped in cling film
       to chill. Bring the pastry to room temperature before rolling out.
2)   1 lb. skirt steak sliced into thin stir fry size pieces
3)   12 oz. cooked cubed (medium dice) potato
4)   12 oz. cooked cubed (medium dice) carrot (or swede, rutabaga, turnip)
5)   8 oz. small dice onion
6)   1 tsp. dried thyme
7)   3 garlic cloves finely chopped
8)   1 tsp. salt
9)   1 tsp. black pepper, coarse ground

Preparation:
1)   Roll out the pastry on a floured surface to about 1/6th inch thick. Make sure it is
       large enough to cut 6 x 6” rounds. Layer the left overs and roll again to make 2
       more. Use a side plate to cut around.
2)   It is desirable to rest the rounds for half an hour.
3)   Set oven to 375⁰F.
4)   In a lightly greased frying pan sear the pieces of meat.
5)   Mix all the ingredients together.
6)   Roll the rounds slightly into an oval shape.
7)   In the center heap some of the filling. About 6 oz. of filling.
8)   Brush the edges of the pastry with egg wash.
9)   Bring the 2 ends up to meet together in the middle, or fold one side over to make
       a half-moon or D shape or and press together to seal.
10) The next step is the crimp.
11) Starting at one end, crimp together between the forefinger and thumb of one hand
       and forefinger of the other to create a seal along the side of the pasty (if D shape),
       or across the top slightly back from the center.
12) Rest the pasty before baking or else the pastry will contract and pull your crimp
       out of shape.
13) Brush the pasty with egg wash, make a small hole to let the steam out and bake
       for 30 to 40 minutes or until golden and filling reaches 140 degrees f. in temperature.

Comments:
1)   A more traditional way of making the pasties is with raw ingredients, in which case
       you would thinly slice the potatoes, carrots etc. This would also take longer to bake.
2)   Bake at 400⁰F for 10 minutes to set the crust , then reduce heat to 350⁰F and bake
       for another 30 to 40 minutes until golden and filling reaches 140⁰F in temperature.

The Easy Rough Puff Pastry
This pastry is a cross between puff pastry and short crust pastry. Pasties need some flakiness
in their crust to help make them melt in your mouth. Puff pastry would crumble apart
when picked up so this is where rough puff pastry works best.
Ingredients:
1) 1 lb. strong (Bread) Flour
2)   6 oz. Spectrum (100% organic pressed Palm Oil) or Shortening of your choice - chilled,
       grated using the large side on your grater, then frozen
3)   4 oz. unsalted Butter (or you can use all butter for a richer crust) - chilled, grated
       then frozen
4)   1 1/2 tsp. Salt
5)   8 oz. (approx.) Cold Water with 1 tsp. Lemon Juice or White Vinegar
6)   AIR
7)   COLD

Preparation:
This recipe is for making the pastry by hand but you can just as easily make it in a mixer using
a dough hook.
1)   Shortening and butter are frozen as this helps keep the pastry COLD.
2)   Sift the flour and salt into a bowl – this helps incorporate AIR.
3)   Lightly mix in the frozen grated shortening/butter and rub in a little but not completely.
4) Add enough water to make a pastry that is not wet and sticky; it should be just mixed in
       and may not look pretty. The amount of water depends on brand of flour, age of flour,
       gluten content and humidity. Add a little more flour if too sticky or a little more water if
       too dry.
5)   Turn pastry onto a floured board, and shape into a rectangle about 12” x 6” without
       working the dough too much. It does not matter if there are bits of shortening/butter
       visible as this will get worked in as pastry is rolled and folded.
6)   Fold one end of the pastry to a third of way up and then fold the other end on top, as if you
       are folding a letter to go in an envelope. Try to catch air as you do this. Seal the ends to
       trap the air. It may still look messy at this stage.
7)   Wrap in cling wrap and place in fridge (or a cool place) for half an hour.
8)   Roll again and repeat folding.
9)   With each fold, the fat should be more incorporated into the pastry but it does not matter
        if it does not all get rolled in, as long as there are no big pieces poking out.
10) Wrap, refrigerate and repeat. The pastry is now ready to use after it is rested again, for at
        least an hour.

Comments:
1)   Air is required to help make the pastry nice and light.
2)   Cold is required so the shortening/butter does not get too warm too soon and release its
       moisture. This will make the dough too slack. The moisture needs to be released in the
       oven so that it turns into steam and along with the trapped air makes layers in the pastry.
3)   Bread flour is required because of its higher gluten content which gives the pastry the
       ability to stretch.
4)   Resting is required to relax the gluten after it has been worked. Imagine it is a muscle that
       has worked hard – it contracts and becomes tight, but after a while resting it becomes
       relaxed. If you use the pastry too soon you can see it contracting, so be patient.

Eccles Cakes
(Yield 12 Cakes)

Ingredients:
1)   8 oz. Puff or Rough Puff Pastry
2)   2 oz. Margarine or Butter - melted
3)   2 oz. Candied Peel (Orange and Lemon mixed)
4)   2 oz. Demerara Sugar (light Brown Sugar is ok to use)
5)   8 oz. Currants or Raisins
6)   Pinch mixed Spice (see below)
7)   Egg white and Sugar to finish

Preparation:
1)   Set oven to 350 to 375 degrees f.
2)   Mix all ingredients together (not the pastry).
3) If using rough puff pastry roll it to 1/16” thick (store bought puff pastry already rolled).
4)   Cut into rounds of 4” – 5” diameter.
5)   Damp the edges with water or the egg white Put 1 tablespoon of the mixture in the center
       of each round.
6)   Gather up the edges to meet in the center and completely seal in the mixture.
7)   Turn the cake over and roll so it is flatter (some recipes do not do roll them flat).
8)   Brush with egg white and dip that side into sugar to coat.
9)   Cut 3 incisions across the top with a knife Place on a greased baking sheet.
10) Bake in oven for approx. 15 minutes until golden.

The Mixed Spices
Ingredients:
1)   1 tbs. Cinnamon
2)   1 tbs. Nutmeg
3)   1 tbs. Allspice
4)   2 tsp. Mace
5)   1 tsp. Ground Cloves

Preparation:
1) Mix all ingredients together.
2) Store in airtight container.

Good Eating!!!