Tender short pastry

VINEGAR – the secret ingredient for successful pastry!

Many of us hesitate when it comes to making our own pastry. We have the memory of a spoilt pie thanks to tough pastry.

Regain your pastry making confidence with this handy tip for making perfect  pastry every time.

Adding a little DYC Apple Cider or White Vinegar to the liquid when you make pastry inhibits the development of the gluten in the flour. The result is a tender pastry that is easier to work with and has no taste of vinegar.

Gluten gives baked goods structure and its development in pastry making is aided by over-working the pastry or adding too much water. That’s what makes the pastry tough.

Adding vinegar is like your pastry-making security blanket, giving the pastry a little more tolerance to over-mixing.

For the recipe for rustic apple pie click here.

 

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Ingredients

2 cups flour
¼ cup icing sugar
125g cold butter
1 tablespoon DYC Apple Cider Vinegar (or White Vinegar)
¼ cup iced water

Directions

1
Sift the flour and icing sugar into a bowl. Rub the butter in until the mixture looks like coarse breadcrumbs. The food processor can be used to make the pastry if wished.
2
Mix the vinegar with the iced water. Add to the flour mixture and mix until the dough just starts to come together, adding a little more iced water if necessary.
3
Gather the dough together and shape into a disc. Wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until firm. Use as wished. Makes about 425g
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