THE PROFESSOR'S WIFE'S SUPERIOR PASTRY
For superior pastry use 1½ cups flour, 1 cup lard, ½ teaspoonful salt and about ¼ cup of cold water, or three scant tablespoonfuls. Put 1 cup of flour on the bake board, sprinkle salt over, chop ¼ cup of sweet lard through the flour with a knife, until the pieces are about the size of a cherry. Moisten with about ¼ cup of ice cold water. Cut through the flour and lard with a knife, moistening a little of the mixture at a time, until you have a soft dough, easily handled. Roll out lightly the size of a tea plate. Take ⅓ of the lard remaining, put small dabs at different places on the dough (do not spread the lard over), then sprinkle over ⅓ of the remaining half cup of flour and roll the dough into a long, narrow roll, folding the opposite ends in the centre of the roll. Roll out lightly (one way), then add lard and flour; roll and repeat the process until flour and lard have all been used. The pastry may be set aside in a cold place a short time before using. If particularly fine pastry is required, the dough might be rolled out once more, using small dabs of butter instead of lard, same quantity as was used of lard for one layer, then dredged thickly with flour and rolled over and over, and then ends folded together, when it should be ready to use. When wanted to line pie-tins, cut pieces off one end of the roll of dough and roll out lightly. The layers should show plainly when cut, and the pastry should puff nicely in baking, and be very rich, crisp and flaky. When preparing crusts for custards, lemon meringues and pies having only one crust, cut narrow strips of pastry about half an inch wide, place around the upper edge or rim of crust and press the lower edge of the strip against the crust; make small cuts with a knife about ⅓ inch apart, all around the edge of this extra crust, to cause it to look flaky when baked. This makes a rich pie crust.
A very good crust may be made by taking the same proportions as used for superior pastry, placing 1½ to 2 cups flour on the bake board, add salt, cut ½ cup lard through the flour, moistening with water. Roll out crust and line pie-tins or small patty pans for tarts. This pastry is not quite as fine and smooth as the other, but requires less time and trouble to make.
The Professor's wife taught Mary to make this pastry, but Mary never could learn from her the knack of making a dainty, crimped, rolled-over edge to her pies, which she made easily with a deft twist of her thumb and forefinger.
MARY'S LEMON MERINGUE (MADE WITH MILK)
Line two large pie-tins with pie crust, prick with a fork before placing crusts in oven to bake. When baked stand aside to cool while you prepare the following filling: The juice and grated rind of 1 lemon, 1 pint sweet milk, 1 cup sugar, yolks of three eggs, 3 tablespoonfuls flour, butter size of a walnut. Cream together sugar, flour, yolks of eggs, then add lemon, mix well then add to the scalded milk on the range and cook until thick. Let cool, but do not allow to become quite cold, spread on the two crusts, which have been baked. When quite cold add 3 tablespoonfuls of sugar to the stiffly beaten whites of the three eggs, spread on top of pies, sift 1 tablespoonful pulverized sugar on top of meringue and set in a quick oven until fawn color. Serve cold.