Help with pastry?!
Help with pastry?
why do you have to leave pastry to 'relax in a cool place' once you have put it in the dish?
also what is it called when you leave apples out when they have been cut and they turn brown?
thank you!
Answers: the flour needs time to absorb the moisture (see Alton Brown on Food Network)
the oxidation can be prevented with a shot of lemon or crushed vitamin C mixed with water and spread out over the fruit slices.
If the fruit is already brown and will be cooked, I usually hide it with brown sugar (caramelized or not) and/or cinnamon. You can't tell from the taste if the fruit has changed color, it's an aesthetic thing only you are meant to leave the pastry to rest (usually in fridge) after mixing it together and BEFORE rolling it out. This is because it will shrink a great deal if you immediately roll it out and cook it. Handle the pastry as little as possible and use as little water as you can for a light finish.
Apples, celeriac and bananas all go brown if cut and left in the open as they react to the oxygen in the air. They are still perfectly edible after turning brown..just the look of them is changed. oxidation, for apples.. they are still good, just brown. to prevent this toss cut apples with a few tablespoons of lemon juice. same as for bananas..
it makes the pastry flakier to let it relax.. also you need a light hand with pasty as too much over working can make it tough. the apples turn brown because they oxidize. This does not significantly change the flavor, it merely hinders the aesthetics of the apple. Now the reason you need to let the pastry chill out is because, it too, undergoes chemical reactions with the oxigen in the air. Not sure exactly what the chemical process is, but after its done and the pastry has relaxed it shrinks less when you bake it, it's flakier because little microscopic air pockets form and its just plain yummier :P