Flat pastry

[pringel]

I have a receipt for a pastry crust that I have made for years. However, the last 4 times the pastry has been flat and heavy. I don't understand what the problem is. The receipt is the basic
1 C. water
1/2 C. Margarine
1 C. Flour
4 eggs
Mix water & margarine, boil, remove from heat, add flour, beat til smooth, cool 40 min. then add eggs, 1 at a time. Spread mixture on a greased pan bake at 425 25-30 min.

Usually the pastry rises up in peaks and valleys while cooking. I'm stumped as to why I no longer seem able to make a light & airy pastry crust. HELP!!!!!

[cakerookie]

This is just a guess but wheres the yeast? I do not think its going to rise with out it. Just my take.

[panini]

Have you changed the flour or margarine?

[Mikeb]

Originally Posted by cakerookie

This is just a guess but wheres the yeast? I do not think its going to rise with out it. Just my take.

There are many methods to create rising pastry without using yeast....(or chemical leaveners)

[jessiquina]

this sounds like a choux recipe to me.. is it?

[Aurora]

Originally Posted by Mikeb

There are many methods to create rising pastry without using yeast....(or chemical leaveners)

Could you elaborate? What are they?

Yeast can make delicate doughs taste yeasty and I am all for using natural rather than chemical leaveners for organic reasons.

[momoreg]

What is this crust for?

[AprilB]

So what is it for? I can't imagine that something that has gone right for ages suddenly doesn't.

It also sounds kind of like a yorkshire pudding.

Have you moved? Elevation? Oven issues?

If you are doing the exact same thing with the exact same equipment in the exact same place it should basically be exactly the same every single time. Mass production depends on it.

You need to examine what might be different in this equation.

April

[Mikeb]

Originally Posted by Aurora

Could you elaborate? What are they?

Yeast can make delicate doughs taste yeasty and I am all for using natural rather than chemical leaveners for organic reasons.

Eggs are a common and very traditional leavening agent. A 'product' rises because gases from the cooking process gets trapped inside (yeast gives off C02, as do chemicals, whipped egg whites have air incorporated into them, water in eggs and elsewhere turns into steam). Eggs contain alot of water, as they cook, the water evaporates and the protein coagulates (giving structure). This is just the simple theory anyway... (applying it is always the tough part)

[akira24]

What I would suggest is cooking it on the stove for a few minutes after adding the flour (use hard flour as some of the proteins will break down and you need the structure). Then let the mixture cool only slightly before adding the eggs indivivually (easiest with mixer but if doing by hand stir quickly so eggs don't coagulate) When you spread the mixture out it should still be slightly warm. When baking, only use time as a guide - you need to make sure there is no moisture still leeching (lift up corner to see bottom) If necessary turn oven down to 350 to aid in drying out w/o scorching.

When I do choux, the only time I let it cool is when I'm making decorative pieces and I want to prevent expansion. As to the moisture issue, if it isn,t baked out enough it WILL collapse.

Hope this helps