1. Pastries
Baking Basics

2. PASTRIES
A tender, flaky product; made with flour, fat, salt and water, filled with either a sweet or a savory mixture

3. Pastry vs Puff Pastry
Pastry dough is made up for four main ingredients:
Flour
Water
Fat (typically shortening)
Salt
Puff Pastry dough is made by enclosing butter in layers of dough and rolling it out and folding it several times to create layers which puff up when baked.
Puff Pastry is much lighter and flakier than traditional pastry dough

4. Handling Pastry Dough
Too much flour, liquid, fat and too much handling can make the pastry tough.
Dough should be covered with plastic wrap and chilled before using.
Easy handling and rolling; also relaxes the gluten.

5. Handling Pastry Dough What NOT to do when handling dough:
1. Over mix the dough when adding the liquid
2. Use the rolling pin too vigorously when rolling the pastry
3. Stretch the pastry when fitting it into the pie plate

6. Rolling out the dough
Roll out the dough on a floured surface to prevent sticking
Roll the dough to a 1/8 in thickness all over, after lightly flattening it
Roll the dough from the center outward to form a circle of even thickness
Check the dough occasionally to be sure it is not sticking

7. Panning the dough Pie Shell- a bottom crust of a pie
How to pan a pie shell:
Roll the dough around the rolling pin to lift it without breaking
Unroll the dough into the pan
Without stretching it, press the dough into the sides of the pie pan
The excess dough around the edges can be cut off using kitchen shears