(15) (a) Describe the method of steaming pudding. (b) How may the surface of steamed puddings be made dry?
PASTRIES AND PIES
REQUIREMENTS FOR PASTRY AND PIE MAKING
NATURE OF PASTRIES AND PIES
1. Pastry is a shortened dough that is made of flour, water, salt, and fat and used in the preparation of desserts. Chief among these deserts are pies. These are made by baking foods between two crusts of pastry or with a single crust, which may be an upper or a lower one. Originally pies were not intended for desserts. Rather, they were used as the main dish of the meal, as they contained a filling of meat or fish and vegetables. Such pies are still made, but they are not usually the ones intended when pastry for pies is mentioned. It should therefore be understood that the pastry considered in this Section is that which is used with sweet fillings and employed particularly in the making of pies and similar foods that are used for desserts.
Some cooks, especially the French ones, regard as pastry such foods as certain small cakes, the paste used for cream puffs and éclairs, and the sweetened breads made with yeast, such as brioche. In reality, such desserts resemble cakes in use more than they do pastry, and for this reason are discussed in connection with them.
2. Pastry desserts may be made in various fancy shapes for individual servings or in pies that will serve five or six persons. Pies having one crust usually contain a filling that consists of a custard mixture, a mixture thickened with corn starch or flour, or occasionally a fruit mixture. Some pies also have a top crust covering the filling, and when this is the case a fruit filling, either fresh or cooked, is the kind that is generally used.