Flaky Pastry

Preamble
Use this pastry for meat, apple pies, sasage rolls, mince patties of all kinds and small pastries. Glaze with water and egg white for sweet pastries and with egg and milk for meat pastry

Ingredients
1/2 lb Flour
1/4 teaspoon Baking Powder
4 oz Clarified Fat and lard
Little Sugar if for sweet pastry
1 gill water

Method

Sift flour and baking powder, mix fats and divide into four equal parts. Rub a quarter into flour, etc. Mix into a dough of the same consistency as fat. Turn on to a floured board and knead well. Roll out into a thin oblong sheet.

Spread one portion of fat on to the pastry, keeping it an inch from the edge. Sprinkle with flour, fold in three even folds. Turn so that the open ends will be opposite you, and roll in one direction only, with a firm even pressure. Repeat these operations until the whole of the fat has been used. Then fold once without the fat and roll to size and shape required. Always see that the edges of flaky pastry are sharply cut - never decorated.

Remarks
See also this version