Baking Pastries is Tricky...Right? Not Necessarily, With the Right Methods

In my early days of learning all about baking pastries, I was told that it was the trickiest thing to work with.  The dough not only needed to be made with cold lard, shortening or butter, but I had to ensure my hands were always clean AND cool!

Back then, I used only the most rudimentary tools.  I started out learning from my mother, who did not even use a pastry cutter, only a knife, a fork and some deft maneuvering of her hands. Mind you, she came from a long line of natural Eastern European baking masters, who taught all their daughters to create food from the ground up.  One of my first memories is of watching her make phyllo pastry from scratch, the most fussy pastry of all!

Nowadays, of course there are a myriad tools and utensils and appliances you can use to cut down drastically on making everything from bread dough to the most delicate pastries.  I am personally not above availing myself of anything that will make my life simpler, even in the kitchen!