The following pastes are used not only for desserts but for other courses also. Those that do not contain sugar are used as crust toppings for meat pies, to make appetizer tarteletters with cheese or other savory fillings, and for turnovers with meat or fish-paste fillings.
Be sure to follow the recipe as meticulously as a chemist mixes his prescription; be especially careful about chilling the paste as indicated in several of the recipes below. And do not discard even a scrap of the trimmings-they can be used to make wonderful little "extras." Roll them lightly into a ball and use them to make sartelette shells, meatpie crusts, or palm leaf cookies. Or cut the puff paste into exquisite little crescents or diamond shapes, and use them to garnish elaborate plats.
Pâte Feuilletée(Puff Paste)
Sift 4 cups flour and 1 teaspoon salt in a howl or in a mound on a pastry board, make a well in the center and add 1 cup very cold water. Mix together carefully and gently, taking care not to "work" the dough, and add another ½ cup water or as much more as is needed to make a fairly firm dough. This paste must not have any elasticity, but if should have enough moisture in it to permit rolling it out easily without forcing and working it. Form the paste into a ball and let it stand in the refrigerator for 15 minutes. Knead 1 pound sweet butter with the hands, working it in a bowl of ice water if it starts to get soft, and squeeze out any water. The butter should be pliable and waxy, not soft or creamy. Put the chilled ball of paste on a lightly floured board and roll it into a square about 1 inch thick. In the center, place the cake of butter, flattening it a little. Fold the third of the square of paste that is nearest you over the butter in the center and then fold the third farthest from you over that, making three layers of paste with the butter between the bottom two. Then fold a third of the paste at the right-hand side over the center and a third on the left-hand side over that, to make a square a third the size of the original and nine layers thick. Chill the paste for 25 minutes. Roll it out on the floured board again. into an oblong 1/ 2 inch thick and 20 inches long. Fold the third nearest you over the Center and the third farthest from you over that. Turn the dough so that the open end faces you. Rolling, folding, and turning in this manner is called a turn. Make a second turn and return the dough to the refrigerator for 20 minutes. Then roll, fold, and turn 2 more times, to make 4 turns in all. Chill the dough for another 20 minutes.
In order to finish the puff paste, 2 more turns will he required; if the pastry is to be baked right away, the last 2 turns are made at this point. However, the paste can be made up ahead and stored in the refrigerator for several days before it is baked. If this is to be done, wrap the dough in wax paper or aluminum foil and put it in the refrigerator. Make the final 2 turns when you arc ready to shape the pastries. After the final 2 turns, roll the dough to a thickness of 1 /8 to ¼ inch, depending upon how it is to be vised. For bilking, use a very heavy pan, lightly moistened. Cut the paste into the desired shape. Flip each piece when placing it on the pan, so that the side that was uppermost is face down on the moistened pan. Let the paste stand for 15 minutes and bake until brown on the lowest rack of a hot oven (425°F.).
Pâte Brisée à Vomer (Pastry far Tarts)
Cream ¼ pound butter with 1 tablespoon sugar and ½ teaspoon salt. With a pastry blender mix in 2 cups flour. Add 6 or 7 tablespoons cold water, or just enough to make a firm dough, handling the dough as lightly as possible. Roll the dough into a ball, wrap it in wax paper or aluminum foil, and chill it for several hours before using it.
Pastry for Fruit Tarts
Follow the recipe for pastry for tarts but add 1 small egg to the butter, sugar, and salt mixture.
Pâte Sucrée or Pâte Sèche (Sweet Pastry)
Sift 1 cup flour into a bowl or in a mound on the pastry board. Make a well in the center and put in it ¼ cup creamed butter. 5 tablespoons sugar, a little salt and 1 egg. Mix all together by gradually pulling the flour into the ingredients in the center. If the mixture is too stiff to roll out, add a few drops of water. Chill the paste for several hours before using it.
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