P&P Bible page 56 - My dough mixture seemed far too dry. I would have liked to add some water in the food processor.

Measurements were spot on apart from the egg yolk - mine was 17 grams instead of 18.6g but I thought I could get away with this.

I used heavy cream.

The dough was too dry to flatten into a 6” disc and placing in the freezer for 10 mins did not improve matters.

I will try again later this week. Any suggestions Pastry chefs??

Hi Paul, you mean it didn’t hold together/ was crumbly?

Hi Julie- Yes did not hold together -  it was as if more moisture was required.

It is the first time I have made this recipe - will try again later this week.

Sometimes crusts will need a touch more moisture, did you try adding more to get it to hold together?  This is a fragile crust, but you should be able to roll it in one piece.

Thanks Matthew - No did not try adding more moisture I did not want to diverge from the recipe.

Paul, if this is your first try at pastry with your new processor please don’t give up!  If it turned out perfectly first time it would be very unusual in my estimation, pastry is not the easiest of things to make!  Practice is what you need, if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again!  And you know the old saying, you only learn from your mistakes/ disasters!  Joking apart, just go by instinct , if you think it is too dry/ crumbly, add a trickle of cold water until it just comes together, and DON’T over-process it, that’s my advice for what it’s worth.  (I’ve been making pastry quite successfully for many, many years!)

Thanks Jeannette. No chance of giving up. I usually make everything three times before its pat!
I am a slow learner but have lots of fun.

I think my mistake was making a very delicate crust
first time in the processor. I think I will choose a more robust crust next time.

Made this again this morning.

Doing a bit of detective work I have discovered that US heavy cream is between 30 - 40% fat content. Well locally that cream has 60% fat content. Our whipping cream is around 38%. So I used our thinner whipping cream this time. I think the other was just too thick to distribute properly in the food processor.

My mixture was better this time but sadly still far from anything I could use. It was quite hardish when removed from the 30 mins in the fridge. I think next time I will only put it in for 15 mins. It was difficult to roll and quite a bit stuck to the floured roller. I gather one can pound it a bit with the roller if it is hard.

Any ideas why Rose recommends placing it in a plastic bag first for a bit of kneading before emptying onto the pastry board to make a disc? Does one really need to do this?

I still have difficulty in estimating whether the mixture is moist enough or whether to add more cream (there is no water in this recipe).

I hope to try this again on Sunday.

Paul, I don’t have the Pie & Pastry Bible, although I have made the Cream cheese pastry posted on Rose’s blog.  Saying that, I don’t think your problem is with the recipe but with the mixing of the pastry in the Magimix.  When you add the liquid, whatever it is, only pulse until it just comes together and switch off.  Turn the mixture onto your counter and finish bringing it together gently with your hands.  If you overmix, the dough will be hard and unmanageable.  It should be malleable and softish to the touch.  You will learn by experience when you get to the right consistency.  When you get to this stage put it into the fridge, wrapped of course.  leave it for at least 30 minutes and then proceed with your recipe.  I hope this helps you, please let us know how you get on.

Often you need to set out dough for a while before you start rolling. In the winter, I often leave mine out for up to an hour! I think 55-60 F is the perfect temperature for smooth rolling (referring to pie dough, perhaps applies to this as well). As far as rolling this particular dough, you really have to roll it between sheets of plastic wrap or you won’t get very far with it. See page 50 for more details. Maybe you should try the whole egg variation just to see if you’re having trouble with your cream. You can also press this one in the pan if rolling is too difficult.

PS The idea of the plastic bag is just so that you don’t get dough all over your hands, but she actually recommends using latex gloves now which is easier.

Thanks everyone for the tips.  What a challenge this is! I think you are incredible to have mastered pastry. Web videos make it look so easy!!

This really has me puzzled. I pulsed precisely the number of times Rose said.  I see some recipes suggest pulsing until the mixture actually comes together in the ball stage others say just before the ball stage. Maybe I should let it form a ball?

I think I will make a slimmer disk - easier to work with - maybe I should try the cream cheese pastry recipe?

Should I try a recipe which just uses iced water?

Last question! - Baking in a pyrex GLASS pie dish should I drop the temp by say 10 degrees or cut the baking time or both.

I baked some of my mixture just to see how it turned out and it was too brown. (5 mins at 425F then 15 mins 375fF (220C and 190C).

Pastry was really delicious! I am sure my cholesterol is through the roof!

Next attempt Sunday.

Our winter day time temp here at the moment is around 68F (20C).

I did put both pastry board and marble roller in the fridge to cool. Maybe too cold?

Paul, maybe you should try it by hand first. That is the only way I have made this particular recipe, and I haven’t encountered any problems. I just roll it with room temperature rolling pin and plastic wrap. If you read the notes on page 50, you’ll see that you don’t want this one to be too cold. I never lower temperature for pyrex when baking pies/pastry, but have only baked this recipe in tart pans. Re: the cream cheese pie crust, it is the easiest to make and also work with, so I would recommend that (also quite delicious). The crust you are working on now is really more of a cookie.

Cookies were delicious!

Thank You cream cheese it is.

Matthew you seem to have baked most of Rose’s recipes?
Where do you find the time?

Baking in my hobby, and I bake pretty much exclusively Rose’s recipes, so after a while, you start to make a dent in them when you’re baking from only one source, but there are many I haven’t tried yet. So many recipes so little time