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Thanks to ALL who responded. I received many explanations of pastry flour.
Below is one summary that explains it well.

Q. What is pastry flour?
A. Pastry flour is a relatively low-protein flour that is often called for
in making biscuits, cookies, pie crusts, and pastries. The protein content
of any given type of flour determines how tender, strong, elastic, stretchy,
pliable, etc. the dough is that you make with it, and also the texture of
the finished bread, waffle, cookie, croissant, etc.

Bread flour, for instance, weighs in between 12% an 13% protein, and helps
produce wonderfully well-risen, chewy loaves of bread. Cake flour, at the
low end of the spectrum, 5% to 8% protein, is much less elastic, and helps
produce wonderfully tender cakes. Pastry flour is up only one notch, at 8%
to 9% protein, and lets you create baked goods with a little more body and
texture than cake flour, but still with the tenderness we associate with a
well-made biscuit or pastry.

Thanks again,
Juli of NC

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