beaten white of an egg, but it is not absolutely necessary) to
make the flour into a smooth, firm dough; it must not be too stiff, or
it will be hard to roll out, or too soft, or it will never make good
paste; it should roll easily, yet not stick; work it till it is very
smooth, then roll it out till it is half an inch thick; now lay the
whole of the butter in the center, fold one-third the paste over, then
the other third; it is now folded in three, with the butter completely
hidden; now turn the ends toward you, and roll it till it is half an
inch thick, taking care, by rolling very evenly, that the butter is not
pressed out at the other end; now you have a piece of paste about two
feet long, and not half that width; flour it lightly, and fold _over_
one third and under one third, which will almost bring it to a square
again; turn it round so that what was the side is now the end, and roll.
Most likely now the butter will begin to break through, in which case
fold it, after flouring lightly, in three, as before, and put it on a
dish on the ice, covering it with a damp cloth. You may now either leave
it for an hour or two, or till next day. Paste made the day before it is
used is much better and easier to manage, and in winter it may be kept
for four or five days in a cold place, using from it as required.

When ready to use your paste finish the making by rolling it out,
dredging a _little_ flour, and doubling it in three as before, and roll
it out thin; do this until from first to last it has been so doubled and
rolled seven times.

Great cooks differ on one or two points in making pastry; for instance,
Soyer directs you to put the yolk of an egg instead of the white, and a
squeeze of lemon juice into the flour, and expressly forbids you to
work it before adding the mass of butter, while Jules Gouffe says, "work
it until smooth and shining." I cannot pretend to decide between these
differing doctors, but I pursue the method I have given and always have
light pastry. And now to the handling of it: It must only be touched by
the lightest fingers, every cut must be made with a sharp knife, and
done with one quick stroke so that the paste is not dragged at all; in
covering a pie dish or patty pan, you are commonly directed to mold the
paste over it as thin as possible, which conveys the idea that the paste
is to be pressed over and so made thin; this would destroy the finest
paste in the world; roll it thin, say for smal