Essential Concepts: Cold butter makes flaky layers; soft butter traps air for tender crumb. Choose cold butter for pie crust, biscuits, and pastry, and soft butter for cakes, frostings, and creamed cookies.
Gluten is the protein network that gives dough strength, stretch, and the ability to hold gas, so the right flour, hydration, mixing, rest, and temperature can shape texture with precision. Use stronger development for bread and gentle handling for pastry, and let the dough tell you when it needs more time or less work.
Essential Concepts
Gluten = structure, stretch, texture
Bread: stronger gluten
Pastry: less gluten
Control with flour, water, mixing, rest, fat, salt, sugar, and temperature
