Pie-crust. — Allow half a pound of shortening to a pound of flour.
If liked quite short, allow three-quarters of a pound of shortening to
a pound of flour. Pie-crust looks the nicest made entirely of lard,
but it does not taste so good as it does to have some butter used in
making it. In winter, beef shortening, mixed with butter, makes good,
plain pie-crust. Rub half of the shortening with two-thirds of the
flour; to each pound of flour put a teaspoonful of salt. When the
shortening is thoroughly mixed with the flour, add just sufficient
cold water✪ Pie-crust to render it moist enough to roll out easily. Divide the
crust into two equal portions ; lay one of them one side for the upper
crust; take the other, roll it out quite thin, flouring your rolling-pin
and board, so that the crust will not stick to them, and line your pie-
plates, which should be previously buttered. Fill your plates with
your fruit, then roll out the upper crust as thin as possible. Spread
on the reserved shortening, sprinkle over the flour, roll it up, and
cut it into as many pieces as you have pies to cover it. Roll each
one about half an inch thick, and cover the pies; trim the edges off
neatly with a knife, and press the crust down round the edges of the
plates with a jagging-iron, so that the juices of the fruit may not run
out while baking. Pastry, to be nice, should be baked in a quick
oven. In cold weather it is necessary to warm the shortening be-
4/6 THE hearthstone; or, life at home,
fore using it for pie-crust, but it must not be melted, or the crust will
not be flaky.
Very good Puff-paste. — To every pound of flour allow one pound
of butter, and not quite a half-pint of water. Carefully weigh the
flour and butter, and have the exact proportion ; squeeze the butter
well to extract the water from it, and afterward wring it in a clean
cloth, that no moisture may remain. Sift the flour ; see that it is
perfectly dry, and proceed in the following manner to make the paste,
using a very clean paste-board and rolling-pin : Supposing the quan-
tity to be one pound of flour✪ Very good Puff-paste, work the whole into a smooth paste,
with not quite a half pint of water, using a knife to mix it with; the
proportion of this latter ingredient must be regulated by the discretion
of the cook ; if too much be added, the paste, when baked, will be
tough. Roll it out until it is of an equal thickness of about an inch ;
break four ounces of the butter into small pieces ; place these on the
paste, sift over it a little flour, fold it over, roll out again, and put
another four ounces of butter.
Page 305 · 2 recipe records on this page
Presented as published in 1883. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
Pie-crust. — Allow half a pound of shortening to a pound of flour. If liked quite short, allow three-quarters of a pound of shortening to a pound of flour. Pie-crust looks the nicest made entirely of lard, but it does not taste so good as it does to have some butter used in making it. In winter, beef shortening, mixed with butter, makes good, plain pie-crust. Rub half of the shortening with two-thirds of the flour; to each pound of flour put a teaspoonful of salt. When the shortening is thoroughly mixed with the flour, add just sufficient cold water to render it moist enough to roll out easily. Divide the crust into two equal portions ; lay one of them one side for the upper crust; take the other, roll it out quite thin, flouring your rolling-pin and board, so that the crust will not stick to them, and line your pieplates, which should be previously buttered. Fill your plates with your fruit, then roll out the upper crust as thin as possible. Spread on the reserved shortening, sprinkle over the flour, roll it up, and cut it into as many pieces as you have pies to cover it. Roll each one about half an inch thick, and cover the pies; trim the edges off neatly with a knife, and press the crust down round the edges of the plates with a jagging-iron, so that the juices of the fruit may not run out while baking. Pastry, to be nice, should be baked in a quick oven. In cold weather it is necessary to warm the shortening be-
4/6 THE hearthstone; or, life at home,
fore using it for pie-crust, but it must not be melted, or the crust will not be flaky.
Very good Puff-paste. — To every pound of flour allow one pound of butter, and not quite a half-pint of water. Carefully weigh the flour and butter, and have the exact proportion ; squeeze the butter well to extract the water from it, and afterward wring it in a clean cloth, that no moisture may remain. Sift the flour ; see that it is perfectly dry, and proceed in the following manner to make the paste, using a very clean paste-board and rolling-pin : Supposing the quantity to be one pound of flour, work the whole into a smooth paste, with not quite a half pint of water, using a knife to mix it with; the proportion of this latter ingredient must be regulated by the discretion of the cook ; if too much be added, the paste, when baked, will be tough. Roll it out until it is of an equal thickness of about an inch ; break four ounces of the butter into small pieces ; place these on the paste, sift over it a little flour, fold it over, roll out again, and put another four ounces of butter.
Records on this page
Pie-crustVery good Puff-paste