Pastry is a gift from the gods. It can be earthy, or it can be ethereal. Use a good dough as the basis of pizza and you have an earthy dinner; wrap a simple baked apple in a fluted crust and you have elevated a beloved but ordinary fruit to the heights of glory. In this exceptional and elegant book, Pastry, Savory & Sweet, chef Michel Roux opens the doors to achieving success with ten types of pastry doughs. Roux's stated goal is to make home pastry making as simple as possible while retaining the goodness of a freshly made pastry. With the clarity that comes only from mastery, Roux achieves his goal and uses the pastries in recipes that are so enticing that you will not want to stop baking. This book is not one that appeals to the harried by using store-bought products with suspect ingredients, but one that will make you expert enough to make a fresh pastry dough so easily that you will turn away from the store-bought. Reach high - the gods await.
Roux has been turning out dough since the age of fourteen. In Pastry, Savory & Sweet, he passes on the secrets that have become so integral to his skills that his restaurant has held three Michelin stars for twenty-three years, while he himself was awarded an OBE and the Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur.
The thought of pastry (especially with French names) can stop even a great cook in their tracks, but Roux will banish fear. Great pastry is about technique and Roux has provided color illustrations of hands in action to guide the home cook to mastery. He offers recipes and suggestion for fillings that require very little on the part of the cook to produce a spectacular dish, but includes recipes that are slightly more demanding and produce show-stopping dishes.
Roux offers ten popular types of dough :
Short crust pastries (two varieties)
Enriched sweet pastries (sugary, mmm)
Brioche dough
Puff pastries
Raised pie pastry
Choux pastry
Pizza dough
Croissant dough
Filo pastry
The recipes range from classic and contemporary recipes for finished pastry dishes. There are 100 in all, such as Quiche Lorraine, Classic Pizza, Fillet of Beef in a Brioche Crust, Apple Tart, and Pecan Pie. There are his own creations as well, glorious recipes such as Asparagus and Red Pepper Tart, a Semi-Confit Cherry Tomato tart that is so beautiful one pauses to enjoy its appearance. There are recipes for Pastry Straws to nibble on before dinner a Seafood Pizza that is a nutritious meal in itself. Learn how simple and quick it is to make choux pastry (most famous for eclairs and cream puffs) and you will startle guests with Roasted Peaches on Choux Pastry Crowns or Shrimp and Orange Eclairs. The possibilities are endless.
Roux gives tips and instructions complete with illustrations. His guide to the ten basic pastries is so clear that each simplifies while explaining the secrets to true goodness. He includes general pie dough techniques, a chapter on the basics that gives recipes for sauces pesto, confits, and a glossary of terms. Recipes are given in both metric and US standard measures. There are luscious color photographs throughout by Martin Brigdale.
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