Posted by Les on January 11, 1999 at 15:21:53:
In Reply to: Re: Crust update: 3-2-1 vs Crisco & Turning of dough posted by Gerard on January 10, 1999 at 03:49:04:
Gerard,
Yes, I did read the site you offered and found it very enjoyable- thank you kindly for sharing it.
No, I wasn't going for puff pastry when I mentioned turning. I prepared the dough without rolling it out and coating it with butter, then turning, as for puff pastry. But I did want flaky layers in the crust. The method of preparation offered by the chef on the site you referred me to says to fold the dough over itself several times, so I thought turning a pie dough might be common practice for the most flaky result. Still, from other books I've read, it would seem the risk is run of overworking---
I am trying to learn everything I can on my own about pastry baking- going through one type of pastry at a time and experimenting with variations each week. I have invested in a library of four fine cookbooks (one of them clearly a text for a class), but have found contradictory information, leading one to believe that chefs have their own ways of doing things that they think is correct, but with room for professional disagreement. To the self-teaching, it can be confusing. When it comes to pie dough, all seem to agree on making sure not to overwork, (avoid tough dough), but what that means exactly is not clear. Should it be folded/turned? Even refrigeration times before baking is inconsistent-- min of 4 hours here, overnight there, and still another source says not more than an hour or two...for one willing to take pains to go for a perfect crust, the correct methods are not at all obvious. Perhaps the answers remain in experimentation for the individual baker, though it seems on such fundamentals there would be more agreement.
Yours,
Les