What difference in texture and taste does using hot water make to pastry? How would this compare with a standard recipe (flour, butter, salt, egg, a little cold water)?
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Do you mean scalded flour/dough? Like in Scandinavian bread or Carpathian Mountain cake?– SZCZERZO KŁYDec 16, 2019 at 11:04
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1@SZCZERZOKŁY without further specification, I would assume the OP means pastry dough (pie crust), not a bread dough.– rumtscho ♦Dec 16, 2019 at 11:51
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@rumtscho Scalding can be done with bread dough and pastry. But there is a difference beetwen scolding and short cooking.– SZCZERZO KŁYDec 16, 2019 at 12:27
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1Yes, I mean pie crust– GreybeardDec 18, 2019 at 9:44
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1 Answer
For shortcrust and puff pastries, the aim is a light pastry. This needs the flour to stay well mixed with the fat, and as little gluten development as possible. Therefore we add as little water as possible, and keep the pastry cold. Using hot water would just melt the fat. So I would not recommend it.
On the other hand, hot water pastries use a larger quantity of boiling water. Here it is deliberate that the fat melts. The result is a much stickier and malleable pastry. Typically it is used for savoury pies where a robust cover is essential.
answered Dec 16, 2019 at 12:28
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Also to avoid the gluten development that is enhanced by hot water, many recipes call for vodka instead of water. <seriouseats.com/recipes/2007/11/…> Dec 17, 2019 at 19:37