PLAIN PASTRY

One cup of flour, heaping, one saltspoonful Star Crystal Baking Powder, one saltspoonful salt, one-quarter cup lard, one-quarter cup butter; mix baking powder and salt with the flour; rub in the lard and butter till fine and dry like meal. Mix to a stiff paste with ice water; this makes a tender, crispy crust, but not in the least flaky. IT baked quickly and thoroughly it is as little hurtful to the digestion as any pastry can be. To make it somewhat flaky rub in only the lard, pat and roll out to one-third inch thick, dot on one-half the butter in thin pieces, dust with flour and fold in thirds; pat and roll out again, dot with remainder of butter and roll up like a jelly roll; cut from the end as directed for puff paste and it will give a fairly hand- some crust if properly done. All pastry needs a quick oven at first to keep it from melting. Never grease the pie plate. All pies made with an upper crust should have holes cut to let the steam escape or the crust will be likely to be sodden on the under side. Tin or granite ware plates are much the best, as they can- not soak grease and bake the under crust more quickly and perfectly. The English fashion of baking all fruit pies in deep dishes, with no under crust, is admirable, being far more delicious as well as more wholesome. Their meat and game pies, made in the same way, win favor wherever they are introduced.

50 THE STAR CRYSTAL COOK BOOK.