Anne Mary’s recipe for Magimix pastry
Posted by Fiona Nevile in Basics, Savoury Tarts and Quiches | 27 comments
I learnt how to make pastry at school. I didn’t enjoy the experience. It seemed to take forever. I think that I made it for Smart Wife. Once. Heavy ponderous stuff that shrank alarmingly away from the sides of the quiche dish when baked blind and guaranteed a soggy bottom.
Light years later I discovered Jusrol. Not having a rolling pin or a board I rolled it out on my worktop using an empty wine bottle. Perfect. But not quite as perfect as the pre-rolled Jusrol. I had inherited a rather dashing rolling pin by the time I found the long packs in the refrigerated section of the supermarket. It stayed in snug retirement in the drawer. A weapon waiting for an unsupecting burgular. Back then all I had to do was put the Jusrol in my basket, hand over the cash at the checkout and remember to take the pack out of the fridge an hour before use.
Just before Christmas I reverted to the square packs (cheaper) and this month I decided to try making pastry in the Magimix
I happened to bump into Anne Mary and she gave me her recipe and guidance.
“If you use Stork (margarine), use 4 oz of Stork to 8 oz of flour and only 3 tablespoonfuls of water. Pastry made in the Magimix can get quite doughy. You may need to pop it into the fridge for an hour or so before you use it. Of course, if you use butter you need a bit more water unless you want it very short, and if you make pastry using cheese …”
By this time my head was spinning so I missed the bit on cheese. I have since then linked up with Anne Mary and have two more recipes for Magimix pastry – a cheese one and a sweet one that I will post when I have tried them out.
Anne Mary’s recipe made delicious pastry in a couple of minutes for a fraction of the Jusrol price. I let it chill in the fridge for an hour or so and then cut it in half and rolled it out. Lovely stretchy stuff – enough for two pie tops. Anne Mary had explained that the Stork gives the pastry this flexibility.
Danny is not keen on short crust pastry on a meat pie but he loved this and the cash saving. Cha ching!
Anne Mary’s recipe for Magimix pastry
Ingredients:
- 8oz/226g plain flour
- 4oz/113g of chilled Stork margarine (chopped into 1cm pieces)
- 3 tblsp of chilled water
Method:
- Fit the dough blade to the main bowl of the Magimix. Add the butter and flour and whiz until the ingredients are the consistency of breadcrumbs.
- Pour the water through the funnel at the top.
- Wrap the pastry in cling film or baking parchment and chill in the fridge for an hour or so if it seems a bit floppy.
If the pastry has been stored in the fridge for a few days let it reach room temperature before rolling it out. This pastry behaves just like good pastry should, with little shrinkage and great texture when baked. So prepare for tumultuous applause.
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That’s the pastry rolling on a cold surface by the way!
My grandmother made stupendous shortcrust pastry, she always used stork/butter half and half, self raising/plain flour half and half and cut the fat into peasized pieces before stirring it in with the cold water using a palette knife so when you rolled the mix the fat was still in bits and was mixed in by rolling and folding and resting three times. A tad unconventional, but amazing.I find a very nice rough puff can be made by grating really cold butter into flour ( plain or plain and self raising) then mixing with really cold water and again, a palette knife. Roll and fold over itself a few times to get the layers. I actually find it far easier to make rough puff than shortcrust.Rolling on a cold stone surface really does make a difference too.
Marika Hanbury Tenison had a recipe for shortcrust pastry for quiches and other pastry cases, which was whizzed up in the food processor and didn’t need to rest.
Makes 2 flan cases
12 oz self raising flour
5 oz butter
1 small egg
dry sherry
In processor, mix flour and butter, then add egg and process again. With the motor running, add just enough sherry (or dry white wine) to form a ball and don’t over-process. After rolling pastry and lining the flan cases, chill them in fridge while you make the filling.
Sounds peculiar, but I can’t make shortcrust pastry and it works for me.
Interesting, I too used to be hopeless at pastry and I finally cracked it (25 years ago!) by using Stork. There seems to be something special about Stork that almost guarantees good pastry. Nowadays, being in France, I use butter, but once you have confidence in your ability, and you know how pastry should feel/look, it works just fine with butter too 🙂
Yes, if making it in a food processor you definitely need to rest it in the fridge for an hour. Hand-made pastry is less likely to need this. If in a hurry, a good compromise is to cut the butter into the flour in the food processor, and finish by hand (i.e. tip the flour/butter mix into a bowl, add water, mix with fork/hands). It’s less likely to be over-worked, so you can use it pretty much straight away.
Another tip for those making handmade pastry: if your hands tend to be hot (or you are in a hot kitchen), use two knives to cut the butter into the flour, and just finish briefly with your hands.
Hi Amanda
Good point about adding a pastry crust. Must start thinking a bit more laterally!
Hi Sara
Have to try them out first just in case!
Hi Alex
It’s easy, quick and cheap. Now I can join the ranks of “I make my own pastry” – I bet they all have a Magimix…
Hi Ash
Danny will be delighted with the news! Puff pastry is so useful for savouries etc. Thanks for the recipe link!
Hi Amalee
That sounds superb, thanks so much for the recipe. Great that you enjoyed the steak and kidney!
Hey Fiona, if you mix the flours 50:50 plain and self-raising, and mix the fats 50:50 pura and butter, you get a sort of risen shortcrust pastry with a light crisp texture that feels almost cakey. Still pastry, but cakey none the less. I’ve made steak and kidelie in my slow cooker to your recipe… excellent.
Amalee
I use the magimix all the time and my recipe is almost exactly the same. No failures either, ever. Thanks for sharing 🙂 For Danny try the puff pastry recipe on my blog (boeuf en croute recipe – it’s in there). Also in the magimix and quite simple if you just time all the steps for a day when you can pop back and forth.
Sounds delicious! And the cost saving is a real bonus.
I love the way your recipes are always useful and you have tried them out first.
Sara from farmingfriends
Thank you!! This will fit beautifully with the introduction of a budget. Also there are so many things that can be made better with a little sauce or cream and some pastry on the top.