pastry receipe needed

[ConfusedMum]

heylo
was wondering if anybody had a simple receipe (with a list of how much of each ingrediant) to make pie pastry.

im making a cheese flan for t - i have the filling sorted, just need receipe for pastry. i dont want to buy ready made, as want to make a real home made kinda flan!

thanks for any help x

[heathfield]

http://www.st-maryshigh.hereford.sch.uk/Recipe%20pdfs/Yr9%20-%20Cheese%20Flan.pdf

[Jugglering]

8 oz flour (plain white or plain wholemeal or a mix of the two)
4 oz margarine
pinch of salt

Mix the salt into the flour(s) and then rub the margarine into the flour with your fingertips, lifting it into the air as you do so (it's worth doing this in a large mixing bowl). When the mixture resembles breadcrumbs, shake the bowl and if there are any lumps sitting on the surface just rub these into the mix. Add a little water, a couple of tablespoons at first and mix with a fork. Add enough water (not too much at a time) until you can gather the mix into a ball and it holds together. Wrap the dough in cling film or pop into a plastic bag and place in the fridge for at least half an hour.

Preheat your oven, Gas Mark 6, 200 deg C. Remove the dough from the fridge, and placed on a lightly floured surface. Gently roll out with a rolling pin until it's about 4mm thick. Lightly grease a flan dish with margarine and place the rolled out pastry over the flan dish. Press it lightly down into the sides and edges and trim off any surplus with a sharp knife. Prick the pastry in about 12 places with a fork (so that any air trapped under the pastry will escape when you bake it). Pop it into the preheated oven for about 5 or so minutes, just to start to bake. Don't allow it to brown and as soon as the pastry feels dry to the touch, remove and allow to cool. Fill your flan with your fillings and bake at the same temperature for about half an hour or until golden brown and cooked.

[puddicat]

jugglering, when are you going to post your cook book?, have you any top vegeterian recipes that i could have, always looking for new tried and tested meals for my service users, me personally would go out and buy the pastry especially puff, too much effort lol!!!!!

[Jugglering]

You will notice in both recipes above that the ratio of flour to fat is 2:1, so if you find that your flan dish needs less pastry than say the one I quoted, just adjust the amounts accordingly. It's up to you if you want to use lard, butter, margarine etc. I'm veggie, hence the margarine - I sometimes use butter for a really rich pastry.

Other variations:-

Add some grated cheddar or parmesan to the pastry (just reduce the amount of marg/butter/lard etc accordingly).

Use either an egg or milk instead of water.

Add other flavourings like cayenne pepper or mustard powder to the flours.

I've even been known to use up left over mashed potato in my flans !

[Jugglering]

LOL puddicat - my cook book ? I'm just telling folk here what I cook on a regular basis... there's nothing special here.

I agree with you about puff pastry - I simply cannot be bothered to make it when the stuff you can buy is so good ! Shortcrust pastry is different, I actually prefer wholemeal pastry for savoury dishes, I find white pastry too *stodgy*.

[Jugglering]

puddicat, if you email me at [email protected] (substituting myusername for my name on this site lol) I'll send you some of my veggie recipes.

[puddicat]

thanks juggle will do that!!!

[NiceCupOfTea]

I used pure lard once for a pastry � pure awful!
Ever since then I've used different ratios of butter (salted or unsalted) to lard depending on the flavour and fat content of the filling of the pie / tart / quiche I am making. Pure experiment, and lots of exciting TV whilst I�m scrunching the flour / fat mixture into perfect crumbs, are the only way for me.

[Sir Alec]

I use half marg, half white flora instead of lard, it works really well. My sister is veggie, so using this has become habit.