Versitile Pastry Dough

Versatile Pastry Dough

Here is a wonderful way of making a pastry dough that can be used for meat and cheese pies. It is simple and easy and bread like in its ability to stand up to it's filling. Very versatile, and has an amazingly long shelf life. Quite rich and deliciously melts in your mouth.

Ingredients

2 lbs. of unbleached general purpose flour.
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 tbls. of salt
8 oz  dry white wine room temperature
2  packets of yeast
1/2 lb. Shortening

Place the flour in a bowl, add the salt.  Add three eggs and the shortening. Breaking it apart and distributing over the flour and eggs. Dilute the yeast into the wine. Getting as much of the yeast to dissipate into the wine as possible. Add this to the dry and wet ingredients already put into the bowl. Start mixing with your hands incorporating all together. Creating a dough that you will then remove from the bowl when it comes cleanly away from the sides. If the mixture appears too wet add some flour to the mix.

Dump contents out on a floured board and start kneading the mixture. Kneed until all the ingredients are totally incorporated.  Wrap in plastic wrap and chill. Unused portions of this dough can be frozen and used at a later time. It will lose non of it's qualities when defrosted.

After chilling you can roll out the amounts needed and use to place meat and cheese and roll up in any size or shape your desire. Here is a tip. use a cheese that is not prone to melt easily as it will cause dough to be soggy after it is cooked.

One of the thing I like to use this dough for is line a cruet that is about 3 inches across and put a raw egg inside of it. I them turn up the sides without covering the egg. I put this in an oven about 350. F and bake. You can add cheese on top before you remove from oven.