Hot Water Pastry Crust

Name: Hot Water Pastry Crust
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 1 h 10 min
Total time: 1 h 20 min
Yield: About enough for a 25cm sealed pie
Ingredients: 2⅓ cups/325g all-purpose flour OR; 2 cups /265g all-purpose flour and ⅓ cup/55g strong flour; 1 tsp salt; 1 tsp ground turmeric (optional); ⅓ cup/65g butter or vegetable shortening; 265ml hot water

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes

Servings: About enough for a 25cm sealed pie

Hot water pastry crusts — technically made with boiling water — are the secret behind classic savoury British pies that bake up unfathomably tall, stand on their own power and don’t crumble when sliced. Boiling water creates a silky, sturdy dough that is a breeze to roll and form, and also to flavour. The beauty of this pastry is that it doesn't need messing around with blind baking before filling.

Tags: British , Basics , Pastry , Pies, Flans & Pizzas

Ingredients

2⅓ cups/325g all-purpose flour OR
2 cups /265g all-purpose flour and ⅓ cup/55g strong flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground turmeric (optional)
⅓ cup/65g butter or vegetable shortening
265ml hot water

Method

Whisk the flour, salt and turmeric in a large heatproof mixing bowl. Create a small well in the centre.

In a small pot, bring ⅔ cup plus 1 tablespoon/165 grams water and the butter/shortening to a boil over medium heat, or in a jug in the microwave. As soon as the butter/shortening has melted completely into the water, pour the mixture into the well in the flour - it needn't be boiling, just hot enough for the butter/shortening to remain molten while you mix the dough. Use a wooden spoon to quickly stir the hot mix into the flour, making sure everything gets wet. As soon as it is cool enough to handle, knead the dough with your hands in the bowl or on a clean work surface until it comes together in a smooth ball.

For a deep dish pie with lid

Wrap/cover a third of the dough and set aside. Roll the remaining dough into an 28cm circle (about 3mm thick) between two large pieces of parchment paper. Remove one piece of paper and flip the pastry into a 20cm springform pan (see note below), centring it and using your hands to gently press it into the bottom and against the sides. The dough should be supple and smooth enough that, if you tear it, you can easily patch any holes. Discard the paper. Add the filling and use the back of a spoon to press it in and level the surface. There should be a ~5mm rim of dough above the filling. Brush it with the beaten egg.

Roll the reserved dough into a 23cm circle (about 3mm thick) between two pieces of parchment paper. Remove one piece of paper and flip the pastry over the filling, centring it and pushing it down so that it fits snugly. The edge of the top crust will overlap the edge of the bottom crust. Press these two edges together gently against the side of the pan. Using a knife, trim the top of the combined edges to create an even border around the pan, then use your fingers to crimp that bit of dough back down into the pie, sealing the edges.

Cut a hole in the centre of the pie to allow air to escape, brush the top with egg to glaze. Bake according to pie instructions (for example, 200C for 60-75 minutes).

Note
If you don't have a suitable springform pan, make a couple of strips of baking paper by folding it over width-wise 3 times. Lay these perpendicular to each other in a lightly greased, glazed ceramic or glass dish. There should be enough poking out of the top that you can grip later. Place the pastry on top of this and fill as above. After baking, leave 10 minutes or so then you should be able to lift the pie out whole with the exposed paper tabs. It helps to have an extra pair of hands for this!