Posted by Les on January 09, 1999 at 17:37:21:
Update on my dough comparison excursion-- I made 3 pies yesterday, 2 apple versions and a custard.
The Crisco can recipe as suggested by Gerard was a good one- the dough texture after all ingredients were added was somewhat dry and some of the flour remained in the bottom of the bowl. The recipe allows for the the addition of more than the 5 tbs water called for, so I added a couple more tbs, but I'm not experienced enough to have guessed the proper amount--before baking, a question then remained. It came out nicely, however.
The 3-2-1 dough as offered by Charles was heaven to work with-- so tender and supple. I only chilled the dough 4 hours instead of overnight, and suspect this accounted for the substantial shrinkage problem that occurred immediately after the pie was put in the oven. I did chill the pastry lined pan an additional 40 minutes before baking--the pastry was placed fully to the rim of the pan, and within 5 minutes or so had fallen back to just the edge of the pan's slope. The final product was tender and flaky. I've never had such an easy time working with dough as with this method.
I am confused on the 'turning of dough' however. I have read that this refers to the folding of the dough during the rolling process. This, I gather, is the reason for many layers of flaky crust--but how to proceed without overworking the dough? I added a tbs of vinegar to the 3-2-1 dough water measure, then subtracted a tbs of the water measure to make up for it, hoping that this would 'undo' any toughness that might result from too much handling. Even beginner's cookbooks seem to take for granted that the uninitiated knows what these processes refer to--the question, then, is:
* Does 'turning' a dough result in its flakiness (along with the size of fat pieces);
*and does the process as I've described result in the fatal overworking of the dough?
* Is the only indication of overworking a dough the absorbtion of fat by the flour, so that if there are visible pieces of fat in the dough, you're still safe from the threat?
Thanks for two excellent crust recipes and all guidance provided.
Les