Bakers: pastry dough question

CousinVicki · October 2013

i have never made my own pastry dough so do i absolutely need to have one of those pastry cutter things to do the flour/butter or can i just use my hands or something else? advice plz!

CousinVicki · October 2013

ok! anything dough related scares me. i feel like it has to be perfectly done or it get's f'd up, toomuchfoodnetwork.

Arya207 · October 2013

I usually use my fingers to incorporate the butter with the flour. Much easier to get the right consistency.

sleepy33 · October 2013

I have used a fork or just put it in my stand mixer. I think they work equally well.

Jenball717 · October 2013

Yes, fingers will toughen the dough when they make the butter melt. You can also use two knives, pulling in opposite directions.
And if you use a food processor or blender, just pulse until the dough looks like small peas (or whatever the recipe states), you most likely don't need it fully incorporated.

CousinVicki · October 2013

sleepy33 said:

I have used a fork or just put it in my stand mixer. I think they work equally well.

what attachment do you use with the stand mixer?

sleepy33 · October 2013

CousinVicki said:

sleepy33 said:

I have used a fork or just put it in my stand mixer. I think they work equally well.

what attachment do you use with the stand mixer?

just the regular old mixer attachment b/c I am LAZY. I just sort of beat the butter for a minute to kind of break it up, then slowly dump in the flour mixture. Only mix it as little as possible until it forms a ball. The more you do anything with dough, the tougher it gets.

BrittanyCupcakes · October 2013

fork, fingers, food processor, etc. All work well, just make sure butter is really cold and you don't over-work the dough. I do it by hand all the time and never have a problem with tough dough.

10-4LilBuddy · October 2013

Depends on how warm your hands are. I have extraordinarily warm hands even when not pregnant and cannot handle dough. I use a dough hook in my mixer or a food processor.

LC122 · October 2013

You don't "need" a pastry cutter, but you should get one because they are fun.

blathnat · October 2013

A food processor is easiest- a few quick pulses and you are done.

calibr8te · October 2013

okay late seeing this but depending on the pastry, there are different tricks to it.

If you are making a butter based pastry, then its best to use a flat surface like your countertop and cut the butter in with a cold knife. The speed of an electric mixer will create too much heat for this kind of pastry imo.

If you are making an oil based pastry, a bowl/mixer suffice.

muffyvonmuff · October 2013

Pastry and pie dough I use my hand and like rub the hunks of butter and flour in palms like a sliding motion. You want the butter to be in bits the size of peas. I wouldn't use a kitchen aid for this but theoretically you can use a food processor.

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