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A good pastry is very light and airy, but firm enough to support the weight of the filling. The shortening is distributed between the flour-and-water in many thin layers or sheets; when baked, the resulting pastry is delicate and flaky.
Good pastry must be uniformly mixed to achieve this layering, and should not have any large bubbles of air in it, as these will expand during cooking and spoil the texture. However, overworking of the pastry will cause long gluten chains to form, resulting in a tough product. Thus the manufacture of good pastry is something of a fine art.
As pastry must be baked to be edible, and pie fillings often do not need extra baking, many pie recipes involve blind-baking the pastry before the filling is added.
Some types of pastry are:
Small cakes, tarts and other sweet dishes involving pastry are often called 'pastries' after their primary ingredient, and bakers and chefA chef from the French for chief or head person is the executive in charge of a kitchen, responsible for recipe and menu creation, staff training, and overseeing all cooking. A chef directs the staff of cooks, bakers, butchers, and everyone else involveds who specialise in producing them are called Pastry chefA pastry chef is a chef skilled in the making of pastries, slices, and other baked goods. Pastry chefs usually work in shifts starting early in the morning. They are usually employed in large hotels and restaurants, bakeries, and cake houses. The professis.