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To improve the pastry’s consistency, we’ll move on to the blending step. Push the dough out with the palm of your hand, flattening it out. Press it out 2 or 3 times, no more, just so that it’s smooth and well-blended. Any more and you would heat up the pastry.
I’ll do it again so that you understand the technique. If your pastry is overworked, the gluten will absorb too much moisture. You should blend it as little as possible, working as quickly as possible. Otherwise the pastry will become elastic and will spring back when you pull on it – what I call the “rubber effect.” If you’ve overworked the pastry, the damage can be repaired to some extent by letting it rest for 12 hours in the refrigerator.
You can see the change in texture: all the “cells” in the pastry are visible.
A few more pushes since I have a large quantity of pastry and then I’ll reform it into a single mass.
To make it easier to roll out, I like to shape it into a cylinder.
Then you can just slice off as much as needed and you have a round piece with which to make a pie crust.
Don’t forget to wrap the pastry in plastic wrap since it dries out quickly. And there you have it – you’re ready to make pies and tarts.