3. Introduction
PASTES OR MIXTURES:- The various pastes or mixtures
are used as the base in the preparation of sweet and
savoury items in bakery and confectionery. There are
five basic pastes. Once you have learnt to make these
basic pastes, you can prepare hundreds of dishes from
them. The basic paste is prepared and then finished off in
different ways, using different ingredients to get varied
end products.
In layman's language the term pastry generally refers to
decorated sponge cakes of small sizes but in
confectionery the word pastry has a much broader
perspective. It is synonymous with paste.
4. THE BASIC PASTE
The basic five pastes are
a) Short crust paste
b) Flaky paste
c) Puff paste
d) Choux paste
e) Danish paste
These are certain general paste, which if kept in mind and
followed during preparation of most pastries, would
guarantee good results. So before we learn the basic
procedures that we have to follow for making different
pastes let us know about certain general rules for
successful pastry making.
5. Short crust paste
The word 'short' in the bakery sense means friable
or easily breakable. (The texture as that of
matthi). It is the direct opposite of tough and
elastic. It is a pastry made with shortening so it
crumbles into small pieces when pressed. All fats
are shortening agents because they reduce the
extensibility of gluten according to the amount
used in a given weight of flour and the method of
preparation. Short crust paste is a mixture of flour,
fat, sugar, baking powder and water or milk or
egg. For e.g. pie, tart, cookies etc.
6. Flaky Pastry and Puff Pastry
The goods produced from both these pastes are light and fluffy with
some shortness in the pastry so that it is crisp and not tough. When
making such a paste your object is to build a structure of fat and
paste so that when heated in the oven it will expand and lift evenly
to produce products with short eating properties.
Similarities : for both flaky pastry and puff pastry you
need strong flour with good quality gluten. Salt is added for taste
while lime juice is an acidic medium which strengthens the gluten.
Fat is added for layers. Cold water is added to maintain the dough
temperature so that the fat does not melt. The derivatives or the
products you can make from both these pastes are same with slight
variation in texture quality. For e.g. Patties Vol-au-Vent CHEESE
STRAWS
7. CHOUX PASTE
('Choux' is pronounced as 'shoe')
It is made by boiled paste method. Fat and water are boiled
together and then all the flour is added at once and
cooked. But eggs should be added only after the mixture
has been cooled otherwise the egg proteins will
coagulate. Air is entrapped in the mixture because of the
heating of eggs. Gluten and albumin form a network in
the pastry and do not allow the steam formed to escape.
The products made from choux paste are very light and
have big hollow spaces in between. For e.g. Eclairs,
Profiteroles, Cream Puffs ETC.
8. DANISH PASTRY
A Danish pastry or just Danish (especially in American English)
is a multilayered, laminated sweet pastry in
the viennoiserie tradition. The concept was brought to Denmark by
Austrian bakers and has since developed into a Danish specialty.
Like other viennoiserie pastries, such as croissants, they are a
variant of puff pastry made of laminated yeast-leavened dough,
creating a layered texture. This pastry is made from a yeast dough,
which is enriched with layers of butter. As yeast raised dough
require special method for preparation.
9. croissant
A croissant shaped roll generally made with puff
pastry or with leavened dough. It was originated in
Budapest in 1686. Bakers usually sell two croissants
those made with butter & other made with
margarine. It may be filled with ham, cheese,
mushroom or chicken.
10. brioche
A soft loaf or roll made from yeast dough enriched
with butter and eggs. The dough is a mixture of
flour, yeast, water or milk, sugar, eggs and butter.
Brioche can be molded in the shape of ring. Brioche
is served as a dessert or with tea.
11. muffins
Muffins is a traditional light textured roll, round & flat,
which is made with the yeast dough. Muffins are
usually enjoyed in the winter split, toasted and
buttered and served hot with tea, sometimes with
jam.
12. doughnuts
It is a small cake made from enriched bread dough or
baking powder dough. Doughnuts may be round or
ring shaped and often filled with jam. After being
fried in hot fat they are dusted with sugar and served
hot or cold.
13. Apple strudel
Sliced apples and other fruit are wrapped and cooked in layers
of filo pastry. The earliest known recipe is in Vienna, but
several countries in central and eastern Europe claim this
dish.
15. Banitsa
Prepared by layering a mixture of whisked eggs and pieces
of cheese between filo pastry, which is then baked in an oven.
Banitsa is a traditional Bulgarian food in the börek family
prepared by layering a mixture of whisked eggs and pieces
of cheese between filo pastry and then baking it in an oven.
16. Cinnamon Roll
A Cinnamon roll (also cinnamon bun, cinnamon swirl,
cinnamon Danish and cinnamon snail) is a sweet roll served
commonly in Northern Europe and North America. In North
America its common use is for breakfast. Its main ingredients
are flour, cinnamon, sugar, and butter, which provide a robust
and sweet flavor. In some places it is eaten as a breakfast food
and is often served with cream cheese or icing.
17. Cream horn
A pastry made with flaky or puff pastry, filled
with fruit or jam and whipped cream. The horn shape
is made by winding overlapping pastry strips around a
conical mold. After baking, a spoonful of jam or fruit
is added and the pastry is then filled with whipped
cream. The pastry can also be moistened and sprinkled
with sugar before baking for a sweeter, crisp finish.
18. Éclair
An oblong pastry made with choux dough filled with a cream
and topped with icing. The dough, which is the same as that
used for profiterole, is typically piped into an oblong shape
with a pastry bag and baked until it is crisp and hollow inside.
Once cool, the pastry then is filled with a coffee- or chocolate-
flavoured pastry cream (crème pâtissière), custard, whipped
cream, or chiboust cream; and iced with fondant icing. The
éclair probably originated in France during the nineteenth
century.
19. Vol-au-vent
French for "windblown" to describe its lightness, it is a
small hollow case of puff pastry. It has been claimed to
have been invented by Antonin Carêmein his pastry-shop
opened in Rue de la Paix, France in 1803–04. But the
pastry is mentioned at least as far back as 1797; its origin
then is obscure. Vol-au-vent are typically made by cutting
two circles in rolled out puff pastry, cutting a hole in one of
them, then stacking the ring-shaped piece on top of the
disc-shaped piece.