PASTRY AND BREAD

PASTRY
Pastry is the name given to various kinds of baked products made from ingredients such as flour, sugar, milk, butter, shortening, baking powder, and/or eggs. Small tarts and other sweet baked products are called "pastries." Pastry may also refer to the dough from which such baked products are made. Pastry dough is rolled out thinly and used as a base for baked products. Common pastry dishes include pies, tarts, quiches and pasties.

BREAD
Bread is a staple food prepared by cooking a dough of flour and water and often additional ingredients, such as butter or salt to improve the taste. Bread is the staple food in Europe, European-derived cultures such as the Americas, and the Middle East and North Africa, as opposed to East Asia whose staple is rice.

DIFFERENCE OF PASTRY AND BREAD

Pastry is differentiated from bread by having a higher fat content, which contributes to a flaky or crumbly texture. A good pastry is light and airy and fatty, but firm enough to support the weight of the filling. When making a shortcrust pastry, care must be taken to blend the fat and flour thoroughly before adding any liquid. This ensures that the flour granules are adequately coated with fat and less likely to develop gluten. On the other hand, overmixing results in long gluten strands that toughen the pastry. In other types of pastry, such as Danish pastry and croissants, the characteristic flaky texture is achieved by repeatedly rolling out a dough similar to that for yeast bread, spreading it with butter, and folding it to produce many thin layers of folds. Another difference is the raising agent. A pastry (patisserie) is a small cake or tart, usually made with baking powder. Bread (viennoiserie) such as croissants or pains au chocolat is raised with yeast.

PIE
Pie is a type of pastry. A pie is a baked dish which is usually made of a pastry dough casing that covers or completely contains a filling of various sweet or savoury ingredients. Pies are defined by their crusts. A filled pie (also single-crust or bottomcrust), has pastry lining the baking dish, and the filling is placed on top of the pastry, but left open. A top-crust pie, which may also be called a cobbler, has the filling in the bottom of the dish and the filling covered with a pastry or other covering before baking. A two-crust pie has the filling completely enclosed in the pastry shell. Flaky pastry is a typical kind of pastry used for pie crusts, but many things can be used, including baking powder biscuits, mashed potatoes, and crumbs. Pies can be a variety of sizes, ranging from bite-size to ones designed for multiple servings.

PIE RECIPE
There is no tasty treat for a summer like blueberry pie? Take the time to make a tasty crust and wait for a tasty feel using blueberries. Fresh, local blueberries are always good to use, but this pie (like most baked goods) is just as delicious with frozen berries. As with any fruit pie, ice cream or whipped cream on the side is always appropriate and tasty.

A. Pie Crust

Recipe: cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon salt 1 cup shortening 1/2 cup water

Preparation: 1. In a large bowl, combine flour and salt. Cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in water until mixture forms a ball. Divide dough in half, and shape into balls. Wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight. 2. Roll out dough on a floured counter. Don't over work it. Use as directed in pie recipe. Makes 2 Pie Crust

B. Blueberry Topping Recipe: 5 cups blueberries Up to 1 cup sugar 2 Tbsp. lemon juice 1/4 tsp. salt 2 Tbsp. quick cooking or instant tapioca A double pie crust (either your favorite recipe or store-bought) Preparation: 1. Preheat oven to 375F. In a large bowl combine the blueberries, 1/2 cup sugar, lemon juice, and salt. Taste and add additional sugar to taste if you wish. Add the tapioca and toss to combine. 2. Line a 9-inch pie tin with a pie crust. Add the filling. Either top the pie with a second crust, crimp edges to seal, and cut a few vents in the center of the top crust or make a lattice top (as pictured). 3. Place the pie on a baking sheet (to catch any bubbling blueberry filling) and bake until the filling is bubbling in the center of the pie and crust is nicely browned, about 1 hour. 4. Let the pie cool completely before serving to allow filling to set. Make 1 9-inch Blueberry Pie.

BREAD

Bread is usually made from a wheat-flour dough that is cultured with yeast, allowed to rise, and finally baked in an oven. Owing to its high levels of gluten (which give the dough sponginess and elasticity), common wheat (also known as bread wheat) is the most common grain used for the preparation of bread. *Makes 1 Loaf Recipe: 1 kg strong bread flour 625 ml tepid water 30 g fresh yeast, or 3 x 7g sachets dried yeast 2 tablespoons sugar 1 level tablespoon fine sea salt flour, for dusting

Preparation: Stage 1: making a well Pile the flour on to a clean surface and make a large well in the centre. Pour half your water into the well, then add your yeast, sugar and salt and stir with a fork. Stage 2: getting it together Slowly, but confidently, bring in the flour from the inside of the well. (You don't want to break the walls of the well, or the water will go everywhere.) Continue to bring the flour in to the centre until you get a stodgy, porridgey consistency then add the remaining water. Continue to mix until it's stodgy again, then you can be more

aggressive, bringing in all the flour, making the mix less sticky. Flour your hands and pat and push the dough together with all the remaining flour. (Certain flours need a little more or less water, so feel free to adjust.) Stage 3: kneading! This is where you get stuck in. With a bit of elbow grease, simply push, fold, slap and roll the dough around, over and over, for 4 or 5 minutes until you have a silky and elastic dough. Stage 4: first prove Flour the top of your dough. Put it in a bowl, cover with cling film, and allow it to prove for about half an hour until doubled in size ideally in a warm, moist, draught-free place. This will improve the flavour and texture of your dough and it's always exciting to know that the old yeast has kicked into action. Stage 5: second prove, flavouring and shaping Once the dough has doubled in size, knock the air out for 30 seconds by bashing it and squashing it. You can now shape it or flavour it as required folded, filled, tray-baked, whatever and leave it to prove for a second time for 30 minutes to an hour until it has doubled in size once more. This is the most important part, as the second prove will give it the air that finally ends up being cooked into your bread, giving you the really light, soft texture that we all love in fresh bread. So remember don't fiddle with it, just let it do its thing. Stage 6: cooking your bread Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas 4. Very gently place your bread dough on to a flour-dusted baking tray and into the preheated oven. Don't slam the door or you'll lose the air that you need. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until cooked and golden brown. You can tell if it's cooked by tapping its bottom if it sounds hollow it's done, if it doesn't then pop it back in for a little longer. Once cooked, place on a rack and allow it to cool for at least 30 minutes fandabidozi. Feel free to freeze any leftover bread.