Shortening

“If you're afraid of butter, use cream.” - Julia Child

I suppose the direct translation of this into the world of veganism would be 'if you're afraid to use Earth Balance, use coconut milk' however I'd like to think of it more as 'if you are afraid to use Earth Balance, use shortening'. Now, I know shortening does not conjure up appealing images of heart healthy food. So why do I suggest its use?

1. Unlike many solid vegan fats, a good unhydrogenated shortening strikes a good balance between healthfulness, fakeness, and neutral flavor; it has little of the health issues that surround traditional margarine and shortening, it is minimally processed with no added flavoring or stuff like that, and it has little to no flavor of its own.
2. Many times shortening is also more economical to use in a situation requiring margarine (but not for toast! Bleh!). 
3. I find the moisture content of shortening to be more consistent so you get a predicable result each time.
4. It's in the name! Shortening shortens the chains of gluten in your floury concoction. I've never heard anyone get praised for their extra chewy pie crust or rubbery biscuit (bow-bow-bow).

So, what to use it in? I think two recipes where shortening can really work its magic are pie crusts and drop biscuits. They are also two really good recipes to have under ones belt because they can be used for so many things. Both can be incorporated into both sweet and savory dishes in their original form or with some minor tweaking. Fruit pies, brunch biscuits, savory pies, shortcakes, turnovers, cobblers, cookies, the possibilities go on and on.

First, the crust.

This crust should cover a 9 inch pie, double crust. If you want to do a larger crust, increase the shortening by 3 tablespoons for every 1/2 cup of flour and have more water on hand. Also the salt is a matter of taste but I like to have more for a sweet application and less for a savory one. Also if the room is feeling uncomfortably warm then chances are that the dough will be uncomfortable as well, keeping things cool is the key to a good crust.

Get ready:
2 cups flour (all purpose or a fine whole wheat pastry)
1-2 teaspoons salt
3/4 cup ice cold water/water with ice in it (there's no substitute for this)
3/4 cup shortening (cool but not cold)

Put flour in a bowl with enough space to mix. Add salt and mix well. Add shortening in little chunks. Cut it into the flour with either two knives or a pastry cutter. The pastry cutter is the the easiest as you just push it down on the chunks of fat to cut them in and is well worth the trouble (what little there is) of getting one. If you've inherited a drawer full of utensils from your grandma or someone like that you might have it and not know. They a usually a straight round handle with hoop of wires going from one end to the other. The other option is to get two butter knives and cut in a criss-cross motion (start with your knives in a X then pull them back so they look like an upside down V). Regardless of the method you use,  cut the fat, scraping your tool/tools every so often, until it gets down to little pea sized chunks of flour coated shortening. Make sure not to overwork it, it is much better to be underworked. The smaller you make the lumps the denser and less flaky the crust will be. Add in the water a tablespoon at a time (at least 4) until the crumbly mixture coalesces into a mass. It should be like playdough in consistency. Again, try to do this with as little work to the dough as possible. Now that it has water in it, the more you work it the more the gluten develops.

At this point you can form it into a ball, wrap it, and store it in the fridge for later. Just make sure to take it out an hour or so before you want to use it so the fat in the dough is warm enough to be workable.

Divide the dough into as many equal pieces as you need crusts. Take one of the pieces you cut and smoosh it slightly. Place in-between two large squares of wax or parchment paper. Roll it out using a rolling pin, making short firm strokes from the middle to the outside changing direction each stroke to keep it more or less round. Half way through flip it over, peel and re-stick the bottom sheet. Should be about as thin (maybe a little thicker) as a wall of a cereal box. Before placing it in a pan, chill in the fridge for a half hour. Peel off one sheet, place on the pan or tin exposed side down, remove other piece of paper, and gently press/place into the pan. Continue as you or your recipe sees fit.


Now biscuits.
These little drop biscuits are good, multipurpose quick breads. Drop them on a greased cookie sheet for biscuits in hand, spoon them on a thick stew and bake for a nice biscuity topping, smear them on top of fruit or pie filling and bake for a simple cobbler, add some dried fruit and some sugar and call them scones, you get the point. The recipe below is based off of the one in 'Vegan Brunch' by Isa Chandra Moskowitz.

Get:
2 cups flour (all purpose or a fine whole wheat pastry)
1 teaspoon salt
5 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon shortening
1 cup un-milk (I see no reason to just use water if you like)

Optional additions:
Herbs, in and on
Nutritional Yeast, on
Gomasio, on (reduce salt)
etc

Preheat to 450 F. Mix the dry (first 3). Cut in the shortening until it is well incorporated and good sized lumps form. Stir in milk until combined. The dough will rise in the bowl (and not in the oven like it should) if you let it sit once you add the milk (liquid activates baking powder), so work quickly once you've added the milk. Drop consistently sized lumps on greased cookie sheets and bake until lightly browned (12-18 minutes).