Pastis quercynois: rolled Quercy apple pastry
Pastis quercynois in the Lot is a hand-stretched apple pastry, not a raised festive cake. The local preparation is built from a flour-and-egg dough that rests, stretches across a large cloth until nearly transparent, dries briefly, receives apple, sugar, sunflower oil and eau-de-vie, and is then rolled lengthwise before being curled into a loose spiral. That rolled construction gives it a different architecture from a ruffled Gascon croustade.
The dough receives a full one-hour rest before stretching. A heavy clean cloth supports the sheet while flat hands work from underneath, preferably with two people sharing the perimeter. Once translucent, the surface is left just long enough to become less tacky; it must stay flexible enough to roll. The thick outer rim is trimmed because it would otherwise remain doughy inside the coil.
Shaping is done with the cloth rather than by squeezing the filled sheet by hand. The long roll should contain an even distribution of apples and sugar, and the final snail should be loose enough for heat to reach the inner turns. The pastry bakes at 210 °C for one hour until the exterior is deep golden and the centre is fully baked. Eau-de-vie contributes to the characteristic aroma, and some alcohol may remain after baking.
