Play-doh

  If you're not a fan of ancient history, I have some very good news for you; the history is over, (for now). I find it interesting but who gives a shit? We're now moving on to the bit where purpose of the history lesson is made clear. 

  I've told you about grain and butter, and now we're going to enjoy the practical benefits of combining them. The grain we're going to be looking at will be in the powdered form, commonly known as flour. Combining butter and flour is one of the earliest games kids get to play in the kitchen as it's basically edible Play-doh.

Leftovers for supper again. Yummy!

  That's right, I'm talking about pastry. As a quick aside, pastry didn't show up till about the eleventh century in the form of baklava. It was also used for wrapping things that were going in the oven as the pastry would keep the juices in but the pastry was discarded as soon as the dish was pulled from the oven. What a waste.

  First there was flour and water. It could be baked, (flatbread) or boiled, (pasta), but it took another three thousand years before pastry turned up. (I'm having trouble writing this because there's so much to say). Starting at the beginning, pastry is about one part butter to two parts flour. Wheat is normally used as the gluten helps hold everything together.

  Also, the French word, 'pate', means pasta, dough, paste and pastry. (Is that another thing you find interesting? -Ed.). How about this? Water is absorbed by flour but butter isn't. (You're not helping yourself. -Ed.). Ok, enough of this gibberish. Tomorrow I'll return with some useful info about pastry as it can be a nightmare for lots of cooks.

Kirk out

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