Perfect Tenderflake Pastry

My mom is known for her light, flaky pastry. Yesterday, when I visited, she was measuring out flour to make butter tarts and cherry tartlets for Diane's school's staff "treat of the week."

Whenever I bring these to a potluck supper, these tarts quickly disappear. Maybe because they're bite-sized, you think you can have just one. Then another. Maybe three....

Here's the secret to Marilyn's delicate, flaky pastry:

Prepare the pastry dough, according to recipe directions.

Spread a clean, flowered cotton tablecloth over your countertop or kitchen table.

Sprinkle flour over the cloth, and on your rolling pin.

Roll the dough until you can just see the flowers on the cloth through the pastry itself.

The pastry dough should be thin enough to be somewhat translucent, but still thick enough not to tear apart when you lift it onto the pie plate.

(I use Norm's large BBQ spatula or a metal pizza peel to lift the pastry dough.)

Once you learn how thin you should roll your tart and pastry dough, you can switch to using parchment paper instead of the patterned cloth, but washing and reusing the cloth will save you buying parchment paper over the years. 

The pastry recipe my mom has used for years is printed on boxes of Maple Leaf Tenderflake Lard.

This lard is available in Canadian grocery stores and is non-hydrogenated.

I always cut off the measuring tab on the yellow paper box and keep it in my baking drawer as it's a convenient guide for measuring butter, too.

Tenderflake Perfect Pastry in 6 Easy Steps

Yields three 9-inch double crust pies or 6 pie shells. Unused portions can be wrapped and refrigerated or frozen.

• 5-1/2 cups (1.4L) all-purpose flour OR 6 cups (1.5L) cake and pastry flour
• 2 tsp (10 mL) salt
• 1 lb (454g) lard
• 1 Tbsp. white vinegar
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• Cold water

1. In a large bowl, mix together flour and salt.
2. Cut in lard with pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse oatmeal.
3. In a 1 cup (250 mL) measure, combine vinegar and egg. Add cold water to make 1 cup. Gradually stir liquid into flour/lard mixture, adding only enough water to make dough cling together.
4. Gather into a ball and divide into 6 portions. Wrap portions you will not use right away and refrigerate or freeze.
5. Roll out each portion on lightly floured surface. If dough is sticking, chill 1 to 2 hours.
6. Transfer dough to pie plate. Trim and flute shells or crusts and bake according to your recipe.

Food Processor Butter & Lard Pie Dough

Makes one double-crust 9-inch (23 cm pie)

• 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 2/3 cup cold unsalted butter, cubed
• 1/3 cup cold lard, cubed
• 1/2 cup cold water (approx)

In food processor, blend flour with salt.

Pulse in butter and lard until coarse crumbs with a few larger pieces.

Continue to pulse, drizzling in water until a ragged dough forms.

Add up to 1 tsp more water if necessary.
Divide in half and shape into discs.

Wrap each and refrigerate until chilled,, about 30 minutes.

If making ahead, refrigerate up to 3 days or freeze up to 1 month.