2 Minute Sour Cream Pastry Recipes

SOUR CREAM PASTRY DOUGH

Steps:

• Cut butter into 1/2-inch cubes.
• To blend by hand:
• In a bowl with your fingertips or a pastry blender blend together flour, butter, and salt until most of mixture resembles coarse meal with remainder in small (roughly pea-size) lumps. Stir in sour cream with a fork just until incorporated. Drizzle 4 tablespoons ice water over mixture and gently stir just until incorporated. Test mixture by gently squeezing a small handful: When it has proper texture it should hold together without crumbling apart. If necessary, add enough remaining water, 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring until incorporated and testing, to give mixture proper texture. (If you overwork mixture or add too much water, pastry will be tough.)
• To blend in a food processor:
• In a food processor pulse together flour, butter, and salt until most of mixture resembles coarse meal with remainder in small (roughly pea-size) lumps. Add sour cream and pulse just until incorporated. Drizzle 4 tablespoons water over mixture and pulse just until incorporated. Test mixture by gently squeezing a small handful: When it has proper texture it should hold together without crumbling apart. If necessary, add enough remaining water, 1 tablespoon at a time, pulsing until incorporated and testing, to give mixture proper texture. (If you overwork mixture or add too much water, pastry will be tough.)
• To form dough after blending by either method:
• Turn mixture out onto a work surface and divide into 4 portions. With heel of hand smear each portion once in a forward motion to help distribute fat. Gather dough together and form it, rotating it on work surface, into a disk. Chill dough, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, at least 1 hour, and up to 1 day.

SOUR CREAM PASTRY

Steps:

• Put the flour and salt in a 3 qt bowl, stir to blend.
• Scatter butter slices over flour and cut in with a pastry blender until the mixture consists of particles that vary in size from small peas to bread crumbs (you can use a food processor for this step).
• Stir in the sour cream with a fork.
• The pastry will appear dry because the sour cream is thick and does not disburse easily.
• With your hands, manipulate the dough into a ball.
• Divide in half, wrap in plastic and refrigerate until cold and firm- at least 4 hours, and up to 3 days or freeze for up to 1 month.

MAGGIE BEER'S SOUR CREAM SHORTCRUST PASTRY

Steps:

• Chop the cold butter and put it in a food processor bowl with the flour. Pulse this mixture until the butter resembles chunks the size of olives.
• Add the sour cream and pulse again until 'just' incorporated. The mixture does not have to be perfectly smooth and uniform.
• Turn onto a well-floured, cool surface and roll the dough into a rectangle. cover and leave to rest in the fridge for 20 minutes.
• Roll into the desired shape.
• Rest again in the fridge.
• Bake.

MY GRAN'S SOUR CREAM PASTRY

Steps:

• Ladle the flour (no need to sift fresh flour), with the salt into a processor fitted with the steel blade.
• Cut the hard, cold butter into small chunks and add. Like puff pastry, this one also loves being kept cold, even chilly!
• Mix, first at low speed, then faster, until mixture forms very fine crumbs and looks almost like yellow cornmeal.
• In South Africa sour cream and crème fraiche come in 250 g containers, which is about 1 cup, so I don't even measure. I just scrape it into the processor. So if yours says "8 oz" it's near enough to 1 cup, so scrape that into the processor now.
• Blend -- speed not too high -- until a dough ball forms. You might have to scrape down the sides once.
• Should it happen (and it shouldn't really) that your dough is too dry, add a teaspoon of lemon juice or vinegar. But don't add anything unless that ball refuses to form, which takes a couple of minutes.
• Normally it tends to be sticky when it's removed from the bowl and blades: scrape with a spatula (silicone works best) on to a floured board. As soon as you pat it into a ball with that little bit extra flour, it comes together and is perfectly easy to handle.
• Form into a flattish rectangular ball shape, handling it briefly and lightly.
• Wrap in plastic and chill in fridge, at least 30 minutes or otherwise overnight.
• **Crème fraiche is my choice these days. It is thick and slightly acidic. A closed container in the fridge lasts much longer than sour cream, and normally long past its use-by date! So it's worth trying to find it.
• When rolling out the pastry (flour the surface and the rolling pin) it is easiest to cut 1/3 or 1/2 off the ball of dough as it will have stiffened after chilling.
• Flatten it a little with the palms of your hands. Roll out thinly.
• Whatever you use it for, brush the raw pastry with beaten egg before baking. Also use beaten egg to patch pastry when needed.
• Always start this pastry at a high heat: I heat my fan/convection oven to 425 deg F/210 deg C, and keep it there for about 10 - 15 minutes to give the pastry time to puff up somewhat. Do keep an eye on it, as some convection ovens can be very hot and you want the pastry to rise, not burn.
• Then lower heat to medium, 350 deg F/180 deg C for the duration of the baking time.
• Try this pastry when making small individual meat or chicken pies -- delicious! Otherwise use for deep-dish pies.
• Don't try to bake blind, as it will slide down the sides of a pie plate. Use raw, and bake with the filling.
• Bake until pastry is golden brown and puffy.

SOUR CREAM PASTRY

Steps:

• Pulse flour, salt and baking powder in food processor.
• Add shortening. Pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal.
• Stir together sour cream and egg; pour all at once into flour and pulse until it just comes together.
• Dump out onto wax paper. Gather into a disk, wrap in the wax paper and chill at least 20 minutes.
• Cut into two pieces, rewrap one and return it to the refrigerator.
• Roll on a lightly floured surface.
• Fill and bake according to filling recipe.

SOUR CREAM PASTRY

Steps:

• Combine the flour and salt in a food processor and pulse once or twice to mix. Cut the butter into chunks and add it to the processor. Process until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Add the sour cream and pulse until the dough forms a ball. Remove the dough and knead it a few times. Wrap the dough in waxed paper and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. The dough can be frozen for up to 1 month; allow it to thaw partially before rolling.