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WEIGHT EQUIVALENTS
Avoirdupois
Metric
1 ounce
= 28.35
grammes
1 pound
= 453.6
grammes
2.3 pounds = 1 kilogram
LIQUID
MEASUREMENTS
¼ pint = 1½
deciliters
½ pint = ¼
litre
scant 1 pint = ½
litre
1¾ pints = 1
litre
1 gallon = 4.5
litres
HANDY
LIQUID MEASURES
1
pint = 20 fluid
ounces = 32
tablespoons
½ pint = 10
fluid ounces = 16 tablespoons
¼ pint = 5 fluid
ounces = 8
tablespoons
¼ pint = 2½
fluid ounces = 4 tablespoons
1/16 pint = 1¼ fluid ounces =2 tablespoons
HANDY
SOLID MEASURES
Almonds ground
1 oz = 3¾
level tablespoons
Arrowroot
1 oz = 4 level tablespoons
Breadcrumbs fresh dried 1oz = 7 level tablespoons
Butter and Lard
1 oz = 3¼
level tablespoons
Cheese grated
1 oz =2 level tablespoons
Chocolate grated
1 oz = 3 level tablespoons
Cocoa
1 oz = 2¾ level tablespoons
Desiccated coconut 1 oz = 4½ level tablespoons
Coffee – Instant ground 1oz = 4 level tablespoons
Cornflour
1 oz = 2½ level tablespoons
Custard powder
1 oz = 2½ tablespoons
Curry powder and spices 1 oz = 5 tablespoons
Flour
1 oz = 2 level tablespoons
Gelatine powdered 1
oz = 2½ tablespoons
Rice uncooked
1 oz = 1½ tablespoons
Sugar caster and granulated
1 oz = 2½ tablespoons
Icing sugar
1 oz = 1 tablespoons
Yeast granulated
1 oz = 1 level tablespoons
AMERICAN
MEASURES
18
fluid ounces = 1
American pint
8 fluid ounces =
1 American standard cup
0.05 fluid ounces = 1 American tablespoons
0.16 fluid ounces =
1 American teaspoon
AUSTRALIAN
MEASURES
Cup Spoon and Liquid measures
These are the measures in everyday use in the Australian
family kitchen the spoon measures listed below are from the
ordinary household cutlery set.
CUP
MEASURES
(using the 8-liquid ounce cup measure)
1 cup flour 4 oz
1 cup sugar (crystal or caster)
8 oz
1 cup icing sugar (free from margarine etc.)
5 oz
1 cup shortening (butter margarine etc.) 8 oz
1 cup honey golden syrup treacle
10 oz
1 cup brown sugar (lightly packed)
4 oz
1 cup brown sugar (tightly packed)
5 oz
1 cup soft breadcrumbs 2
oz
1 cup dry breadcrumbs (made from fresh breadcrumbs) 3 oz
1 cup packet dry breadcrumbs
4 oz
1 cup rice (uncooked) 6 oz
1 cup rice (cooked) 5 oz
1 cup mixed fruit or individual fruit such as sultanas etc. 4
oz
1 cup grated cheese 4
oz
1 cup nuts (chopped) 4 oz
1 cup coconut 2½ oz
SPOON
MEASURES
1 oz flour
2
1 oz sugar (crystal or caster) 1½
1 oz icing sugar (free from lumps) 2
1 oz shortening
1
1 oz honey
1
1 oz gelatine 2
1 oz cocoa 3
1 oz cornflour 2½
1 oz custard powder 2½
LIQUID MEASURES
1
cup liquid 8
oz
2½ cup liquid 20
oz ( 1 pint)
2 tablespoons liquid
1 oz
1 gill liquid
5 oz (¼ pint)
Metric equivalents and oven temperatures are not listed here
as they are included in all the recipes throughout the book.
When using the metric measures in some cases it
may be necessary
to cut down the amount of liquid used this is in order to
achieve a balanced recipe and the correct consistency as 1 oz
equals in fact 28.35 gm.
Basic recipes
SHORTCRUST
PASTRY
Makes
80z or 200gm pastry
If you are going to make a flan or tartlets use plain flour.
If not.
80z
(200gm) plain or self-raising flour
pinch of salt
20z (50gm) lard
20z (50gm) hard margarine
water to mix or 1 standard egg yolk beaten
1 Sift flour and salt into a bow1.
2 Rub lard and margarine into
flour; do this with the tips of your fingers not the palms of
your hands continue rubbing in until mixture resembles fine
breadcrumbs.
3 Mix with just enough water (or egg if you are making a flan
or tartlets) to give a fairly stiff dough
4 Knead very lightly
5 If making flan or tartlets wrap in foil and chill for 2 hour
before using.
CHEESE
PASTRY
Makes
80z or 200gm pastry
Do not use self raising flour for this pastry plain flour is
used for dishes
that need to keep their original shape.
80z (200gm) plain flour pinch of salt
pinch of cayenne pepper (no more)
40z (100gm) butter
1½ oz (37gm) cheddar or parmesan cheese very flnely grated
1 standard egg yolk to mix
1 Sift flour with salt and cayenne pepper into a bow
2 using your fingertips tub in butter until mixture resembles
fine breaderumbs
3 mix in the cheese thotoughly
4 add enough of the egg yolk to make a very stiff dough do not
make it too wet
5 weap in foll and chill for 1 hour before using
FORK
MIX PASTRY
80z
(200gm) plain flour pinch of salt
20z (50gm) soft margarine
20z (50gm) white vegetable fat cold water to mix
1 sift the flour and salt into a bow
2 add the fats to the flour and blend with a fork until
mixture resembles fine breadcrumb
3 add just enough cold water to mix to a stiff dough
4 Wrap dough in foil and chill using This makes it easier to
handle.
SUET
CRUST PASTRY
80z
(200gm) self-raising flour good pinch of salt
40z (100gm) shredded suet (from a packet)
cold water to mix
1 simply mix flour salt and suet with enough cold water to
give a fairly soft dough
2 knead very lightly before using
PUFF
PASTRY
80Z
(200gm) plain flour pinch of salt
80z (200gm) butter left out of refrigerator for 1 hour
cold water to mix
1 sift flour and salt into a bow
2 cut a large knob from the butter and rub into the flour
using your fingertips
3 add just enough cold water to mix to a fairly soft dough
4 knead dough very lightly
5 roll pastry to an oblong
6 put the rest of the butter in one piece on half the oblong
7 fold over the other half of the dough to enclose the butter
8 press the open edges of the dough gently but firmly with a
rolling pin to seal.
9 make sure the pastry is arranged on the board so the long
sealed edge is on your left.
10 very gently roll dough to an oblong making sure that the
butter does not penetrate the dough.
11 measure the oblong fold the bottom third up over the center
third fold so giving three layers.
12 seal edges with a rolling pin
13 wrap dough in foil and leave to chill in refrigerator for
15 minutes (or 25 minutes if the kitchen is hot)
14 repeat the rolling folding sealing and chilling process
five times
15 leave dough wrapped in foil to chill for 30 minutes before
using.
ROUGH
PUFF PASTRY
80Z
(200gm) plain flour pinch of salt
60z (150gm) hard butter 1 teaspoon lemon juice cold water to
mix
1 sift flour and salt into a bow
2 cut the butter into small pieces each about the size of a
hazelnut
3 put butter in the mixing bow! Toes lightly with a spatula or
palette knife until butter is mixed in and coated with flour
4 add the lemon juice and just enough cold water to mix to a
light fairly soft dough
5 roll out dough carefully into an oblong
6 measure the oblong fold the bottom third up over center
third and fold top third down over center fold to make three
layers
7 seal the edges with a rolling pin (It should not be
necessary to chill dough between rolling)
8 repeat the rolling and folding process three times
9 wrap dough in foil and chill for 1 hour before using
FLAKY
PASTRY
80z
(200gm) plain flour pinch of salt
60z (150gm) very hard butter 1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 sift flour and salt into a bow!
2 rub a quarter of the butter into the flour using your.
Fingertips until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs
3 add lemon juice and just enough cold not wet dough
4 turn out on to a lightly floured board and knead gently
5 roll to a neat oblong
6 make sure one short end is towards you and the long edges
are on your left and right
7 measure the oblong dot another quarter of the butter over
the top two thirds of the dough
8 fold the bottom third of the dough up over the center third
fold the top third down to make three layers
9 wrap dough in foil and leave to chill in the refrigerator
for 30 minutes
10 roll into an oblong the same size as before add another
quarter of the butter fold in three seal edges and chill as
before
11 repeat whole process once more (now all the fat is used up)
12 roll out and fold again (no fat to add this time)
13 wrap dough in foil and leave to chill in refrigerator for
at least 1 hour before using.
CHOUX
PASTRY
2½
oz (62gm) plain flour pinch of salt
2oz (50gm) margarine or butter
½ pint (125ml) water
2 medium eggs. Beaten
1 sift flour and salt into a bow
2 put fat into a pan with the water
3 heat gently until fat melts and water is boiling
4 take pan off heat and add the flour all in one go.
5 beat mixture well
6 put pan back on a gentle heat and continue beating the
mixture until it leaves the side of the pan and forms a soft
mass in the center cool for 2 minutes.
7 very gradually a teaspoon at a time beat in the egg until
you have a thick and shiny dough
8 use at once.
HOT
WATER CRUST PASTRY
8oz (200gm) plain flour
1 level teaspoon salt
4oz (100gm) lard
2 tablespoons milk
1 small egg beaten
1 sift flour and salt into a bow!
2 put the lard in a small saucepan with the milk and 3
tablespoons cold water
3 heat gently until lard has melted then bring to the boil
4 add to flour and brat well
5 add enough of the egg to make a smooth and glossy dough
6 use at once and remember to wrap any pastry waiting warm
shaped in foil to keep it warm.
OIL
PASTRY
8oz
(200gm) plain flour pinch of salt
6 tablespoons corn oil (do not use olive oil)
2-3 tablespoons cold water
1
sift flour and salt into a bow!
2 whisk the oil with the water
3 make a well in flour add the liquid to the well
4 using a spatula mix liquid into flour to make a firm dough
5 put dough between two sheets of greaseproof paper to roll it
out.
Pastry
notes
A cool kitchen
When you are rolling and shaping all
the pastries (except choux and hot water crust which are warm
mixtures) you need a cool atmosphere. It is often a good idea
after shaping the flan or pie to let it rest in the
refrigerator while the oven is preheating This helps to keep
the pastry a good shape.
Preparing the pastry
Fats
used for puff and other rich pastries should be cool and soft
enough to use but never oily and butter should be absolutely
fresh or the pastry may have a rancid taste when rubbing in
fat your hands must be cool and use only your fingertips Add
water carefully (I generally allow 2 teaspoons cold water to
1oz (25gm) flour A sticky mixture will give you a tough pastry
use the minimum amount of flour when rolling out pastry A
flour dredger with small holes in the top is a useful item in
pastry making as it gives you a light dusting of flour on the
surface on which you are rolling
Rolling the pastry
There is an art in rolling pastry use
very light strokes and never stretch pastry or it will shrink
back during baking and spoil
your finished result when rolling out a lid for a pie
for instance lift it carefully on your rolling pin then place
it gently on the pie dish
Resting pastry
The
ides of allowing puff and other rich pastries to stand between
rolling and folding is to give the fat sufficient time to
harden up again Otherwise you may end up with a sticky oily
mixture.
Baking pastry
The oven must be properly preheated
before pastry goes in allow at least 20 minutes when making a
tart or pie with a pastry base avoid using oven glass dishes.
Enamel or similar dishes are better conductors of heat and
therefore cook the underneath pastry
Tins for baking
You can buy
plain or fluted flan rings (strictly speaking a savoury
flan should be baked in a baking sheet. The inside of the ring
is lightly greased and the pastry fitted into the ring.
Towards end of cooking the ring is lifted away so that the
pastry can brown properly If you do not have a flan ring you
can always s use a sandwich tin with
a removable base.
Storing pastry in the refrigerator
You can wrap raw pastry in foil and
keep it in the ordinary part of refrigerator for up to a week.
Freezing pastry
Uncooked pastry can be frozen for 4
months then thawed rolled and baked. You can freeze pastry
already rolled and shaped-vol- au-vent for instance. If you
are in a hurry these can be put into the oven tock-hard and
they will behave beautifully! Add a hot filling when they come
out of the oven For freeze owners I have given a few recipes
for freezing pastry shapes and fillings which you will find at
the end of the chapters You will see that fillings must a
always be frozen separately and the flour in the filling
replaced with cornflour.
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