I have had a not too successful day.

Yes. Everyone seemed to stop using it when all the health stuff came out, but now it seems the natural fats are no worse than any others. Better, in fact, than some.

Laughed out loud about Luckgirl's baking with little'un post.

The best pastry I've ever tasted was made with good old lard half and half with butter.
Not mine btw!

Wow! I'm glad I started this thread. There's some good ideas here. Crumble, cake, recipe for pastry with good old lard. I will get busy. I can feel the tight waistband approaching as I speak but, boo! Who cares? ?

I've already had such a lovely day that I don't need mincemeat pies on this occasion. Hallelujah!

Coppernob the moral of the story is - you're more relaxed when you've had a Baileys (or three) and the more relaxed you are, the better your pastry!

I suppose the same might go for when you're rushed - just throw it all in and hope for the best

A sort of Cuisine Serendipity?

For those of you with problems baking things where one side is baked more than the other - have you checked your oven door shuts properly? I've noticed mine shuts very loosely and ,I think the heat is escaping at the front. I try and push everything right to the back, which seems to help, but I must get it seen to.

Fennel, fridge, really.

Granless - I just leave it on the bench top .
If the room's cold it takes a bit longer.
Bread dough can even rise in a fridge, if you leave it overnight.

A few years ago we were having a meal with our neighbours, at their house, the evening before I planned to do my annual mince pie and sausage roll baking. After the meal, Di and I somehow managed to consume the best part of a bottle of Baileys between us! The baking went ahead the next day as planned and the mince pies were the best I had ever made. Now, whenever I say I’m going to make the mince pies, the family cry goes up “ Have you had the Baileys?”!

I cooked a roast dinner for friends who were coming for the weekend; sadly they had an accident on the way and had to turn back. It was the best roast dinner I have ever cooked, before or since, and we tried to eat it all but failed.

I know what you mean, DoraMarr. DH refuses to believe how temperamental Yorkshire puds are. They seem to be governed by the weather, my mood, the temp in the kitchen, phases of the moon and any other random circumstances, although I always try to make them in exactly the same way

I was never good at pastry and my DM - who was a cookery teacher - told me it was because my hands were too warm. That's enough excuse for me to never bother trying. I usually buy any sort of pie ready made and if I need pastry for something I buy that ready to roll. Even DM didn't make her own puff pastry as she said 'jusroll' was better than she could make.

Ahhh, SpringyChicken, never thought of using my oven for proving - thought it was only for cooking ?

Granless, do you have a double oven by any chance? I put bread dough in the top oven with the light on and it's perfect for proving. Just warm enough. Then I bake it in the bottom oven.

Jalimal, if you overwork pastry, it becomes tougher because gluten is released as it is worked. Maybe that's why the thrown-together batch is better.

sods law lol

You'll NEVER look back!

4oz Trex
8oz self raising flour
Little water to mix.......makes wonderful light pastry.you'll never look back.

A or two before you start. They always turn our better when you have had a few.

Bread - how do you get your bread to rise? I used to put it in the airing cupboard where the hot water cylinder was - don’t have an airing cupboard anymore.

^Do no Grans use bought shortcrust pastry?
Will I be banned from Gransnet? Bought jars of mincemeat too!^
Winifred
I used to buy Tesco Finest shortcrust pastry if I was in a hurry - it was made with all Normandy butter but now it's made with palm oil I left it on the shelf.

That's right GabriellaG54 - grapes and dried grapes eg raisins, sultanas etc are toxic to dogs.
Apparently tomatoes are too - who knew? My dog used to love spaghetti bolognaise and never seemed to get ill from it.

winifred01 I buy shortcrust pastry and jars of mince and made pies this morning. Disgusting things, can't stand them, but DH eats them by the ton at this time of year and the smell makes me feel Christmassy.