A bit of baking help for the bakingly challenged please

Well I've heard of turning the turkey upsidedown but nobody in my family has done it and we're all Jewish so it's not necessarily a Jewish thing.

  

There's a baking guide in today's guardian which I'm looking forward to reading, and it looks like it has some idiot guides in it. 

Talking of idiots, what is shortening?


Vicky

It's solid vegetable fat, like Trex and White Flora.

Q-G is Trex and White Flora the same as our Crisco?

yes!

yes!

Then why didn't my pie crust turn out properly?   Actually, I can't blame it on the Trex, I suppose...

So for baking why does the vegetable fat have to be solid? Why can regular vegetable oil be used?

Don't ask... just obey! 

Don't ask... just obey! 

HA!!! 

Ah!  So kind like a veggie lard?  Think I'll stick to butter, but thanks!

I kidnapped a pastry book from my mums, which was my gran's and was printed in 1953, so I am going to be doing some serious old school pie making this weekend.  May have a second go at the dreaded flaky pastry...

Vicky

So for baking why does the vegetable fat have to be solid? Why can regular vegetable oil be used?

Yes it can! Desert Dreamer posted a recipe for an oil based pastry a year or so ago, I've used it a few times and it's very easy:

Desert Dreamer's pastry

1 cup flour
1 third cup veg. oil, (put the oil in a measuring cup, then add enough milk to make half a cup liquid. )
half tsp. salt.
Mix all together until it stays together and forms a ball, you can use a spoon to mix it. The mix automatically comes together into a ball. Put between two pieces of wax paper and roll out.

If you make your own crust, the main ingredient is butter or shortening, which should keep it from sticking to the pan.  Then the problem is making the crust...

using veg oil for bottom crusts especially works well, as it tends to prevent sogginess and leakage....

an egg wash (lightly brush the edges of the pie and the top with a basting brush) might help the crust turn out a bit more even - also depending on where you put it in the oven. we made some fantastic apple pies, but we had to use a different part of the oven than normal for the blueberry and the crust was a dark brown 


Also this year we turned the turkey upside down and it actually turned out really juicy. Yay! Plus it was a yummy organic free-range bird (not heirloom, sadly), so it was way better than turkey days past.