Use as little water as possible.
Never knead pastry.
Use the hands as little as possible. Mix with a knife unless otherwise specified.
Bake in a moderate or quick oven.
Baking powder, in the proportion of one tea-spoon to each quart of flour, may be added when eggs are not used. The baking powder should be sifted twice with the flour before mixing.
It is better to bake pastry separately from the fruit when possible. It will thus be much crisper. To do this fill the dish which is to be used with stiff crumpled paper, over which a smooth and well-buttered piece should be laid. Cover with the pastry and bake. Remove the pastry and fill the dish with well-sweetened stewed fruit. Moisten the edges of the dish with white of egg and replace the crust.
In making open tarts and tartlets, when the tin is lined with pastry it can be filled with rice and baked. This is in order to keep the crust crisp. The rice must be taken out and the fruit or jam put in its place just before serving.
Plain Pastry—I
12 ozs. flour
3 ozs. butter
3 ozs. lard
Salt
Cut up the lard and butter, very finely, in the flour. With a knife, mix with a little water. Roll and fold up three or four times.