PASTRY flour vs. CAKE flour???

[Lynn B]

Just persuing my Moosewood Low Fat Favorites book (have I mentioned yet today that I LOVE that book?! ;) )... and I was again reminded that most all of their desserts specify "pastry flour". I don't know exactly what that is, and I doubt I can even find it around here. Does anyone know how that compares to "cake flour"? (Which I do have!)

Thanks much!
Lynn

[Portia]

Hi Lynn B.
You can substitute a cake flour for pastry flour. It is a softer flour than the traditional all-purpose flour.

You can order it from King Arthur's Flour.

~Portia

[gertdog]

I made a Moosewood cake recipe last night that called for pastry flour, which I could not find at my supermarket (gasp! something my beloved Wegman's didn't have :D). The Moosewood cookbook I was using (Book of Desserts) said you could substitute one cup minus one tablespoon of all-purpose flour for each cup of pastry flour called for.

[Lynn B]

Thanks for the replies!

Gertdog,

I just noticed that you LIVE in Ithaca! Have you ever been to Moosewood??!!! Oh! Oh! TELL ME ALL ABOUT IT, please! I have never been - but someday I WILL GO!!!! :)

Thanks!

Lynn

[funnybone]

When I lived in Canada, they had "Cake and Pastry" flour - not cake alone and not pastry alone. I guess it is the same thing really. I brought some back with me on our last trip, so I use it whenever a recipe calls for either. I don't know why the flour manufacturers want to confuse us!!!

[AD]

King Arthur's website indicates that the cake flour is bleached (to neutralize acidity) and contains 8% protein, whereas the pastry flour is unbleached and contains 9.2% protein.

I would use cake flour ONLY in cakes unless a recipe states otherwise. The results may be too soft and crumbly with the cake flour. I would definitely use all-purpose flour.

[gertdog]

Originally posted by Lynn B

Gertdog,

I just noticed that you LIVE in Ithaca! Have you ever been to Moosewood??!!! Oh! Oh! TELL ME ALL ABOUT IT, please! I have never been - but someday I WILL GO!!!! :)

Thanks!

Lynn

Yup, I've been to Moosewood many times! They serve lunch and dinner. The menu changes daily for each meal. There are usually four entree choices. Each comes with a side salad or soup of the day. There are also many dessert options each day. One day a week they serve fish. Sundays are ethnic days (hence the Sundays at Moosewood cookbook). Until recently, the menus were printed on big chalkboards and when an entree choice was gone, it got erased. We try to go early so that the selection is still good, but even so, every once in a while you'll be eating dinner while eyeing something on the dessert list, and then you watch in dismay as that item gets erased from the chalkboard!

The food really is straight out of the cookbooks (or should I say, the cookbooks really are derived from the food they serve in the restaurant?). It's homey and tasty and filling. I really like that, but some people complain that they serve food that you could make at home. I actually like tasting their version of a recipe I've made before, or trying a dish on the menu that I've seen in the cookbook but never made myself.

The restaurant is small and pretty. There's a coffee bar area as well with comfy couches.

If you're ever in the area, you should definitely give it a try, especially as you're a devotee of their cookbooks! And have the house dressing on your salad... it's the best! :)