Mince pies - pastry!!!

[Headfry]

Why oh why does it do this....
I made mince pies last night, they - in the end turned out lovely but.....
I make my own pastry by hand (which hurts my hands so much, all that rubbing the fats in though finger tips - gently, gently) then let it rest in fridge for 30 mins.
Try to roll it out and it falls apart......why oh why does it do that?
I even added a little more water than stated as it seemed very dry.

Recipe - hope memory is working ok today
8 oz plain flour
2 oz white fat
2 oz butter
2 tbs cold water

Any ideas please

[chris]

Yeah, I see where you're going wrong. You need to goto the supermarket, and buy one of those frozen packets

Whenever I've made pastry it's been dry, m ore so like crumble. So I gave up, but that was a couple years ago.. The last time I made it, probably last xmas? They were rock hard, so since then I've just cheated and used frozen.

[zazen999]

Too cold when rolling....I had the same yesterday.

[Tomatoking]

Try Mrs TK's recipe. She even made her own mince, they were really yummy.

Mr TK

[Headfry]

Hi and thanks - I did let the pastry warm up as I thought the same - too cold!
They are lovely to eat and not at all dry or tough, that's a plus, but really impossible to roll out. Even made little holly leaves and berries out of the pastry scraps to decorate the tops of the pies. It's just annoying me that I have such problems with the rolling out bit grrrr!

[FionaH]

Headfry try this in a mixer http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...tml#post780877

I had never ever made decent pastry before this

[Jeanied]

Headfry I get this problem with recipes that are half fat to flour - it comes out very short i.e. it crumbles when you try and roll it. I've seen TV chefs use clingfilm underneath and on top to roll it out and cut out on, which avoids some of the problem.
But personally I like the look of Binley's recipe!

[arpoet]

yea, i followed a Short crust Recipe on here a week or so ago using the food processor and damn good they are too.. mind you, i do lace my mince meat with the gin soaked plums left over from my Gin liqueur i made in the summer. It seems to turn cheap mincemeat into something very special.. Hic..
ps.. don't offer them to the Vicar when he comes a'begging with the carol singers

[Capsid]

I use this method.

BBC - Food - Techniques : Using a food processor to pulse ingredients

[northepaul]

I had the same problem, but resolved it by a) not putting it in the fridge at all, and b) adding a small amount of veg oil instead of lard. Egg yoke too
Hope that helps

[Headfry]

Thanks folks - I have been thinking about getting a food mixer (magimix) for sometime as my hands/wrists starting to hurt quite a lot now- seems 2011 might be the year I give in....
Have looked around at the magimix range for some time now, but I have a question...
If I save very hard and get a large mixer...these come with different bowl sizes and it seems if you want to use the small bowl you have to use it 'inside' the large ones? to me this means washing up all the bowls.... not ideal? I have asked about this in the stores - they have NO IDEA! no surprise there then.

[binley100]

I,d get a processor rather than a mixer.I think they are more versatile. They usually come with grating and slicing discs as well which is a good wrist saver. Mine also has a metal blade, plastic blade and a whisk. it's a moulinex one , fairly old but works well.
For little jobs I have a hand blender that has attachments including a bowl with a metal blade.

[Bramble_killer]

I add an egg in shortcrust pastry too. Makes it rich and sticks it all together. I get all panicked when it crumbles when I'm rolling it out.

[Headfry]

BK yes, me too, I got quite upset yesterday...the hurt of rubbing in the fats - then it fell apart while trying to roll it out, going to add an egg next time - thank you!

[Alison]

I use more water than that and don't really have any problems but it does depend on what fat you use too. I used to use white Flora for the lard bit but have noticed if you use Trex then it tells you to put less in as there is less water in it and you certainly need more water then. I always use orange juice and zest in my mincepie pastry, will be making some tomorrow.