Scorching-Water Pie Crust Recipe

When you discuss to an American about pie, they’re going to doubtless suppose you are referring to dessert, corresponding to fruit, custard, or cream pies. Communicate to a Brit, although, they usually’ll most likely assume you are speaking a couple of savory meat pie stuffed with pork, rooster, or steak. Conventional British meat pies are very totally different from the candy, flaky-crusted pies we get pleasure from within the States. Along with being savory, the way in which they had been baked and consumed required a sturdy crust to include their wealthy, hearty fillings. For that cause, meat pies are sometimes made with hot-water pastry, a easy, pliable dough that is kneaded till easy.  

Scorching-water pastry breaks all the foundations related to the doughs sometimes used to make candy pies or tarts. Quite than being tender and flaky, hot-water crusts are sturdy and robust. Whereas most pie doughs require chilly components and a light-weight contact for max flakiness, a sizzling water crust requires—you guessed it—sizzling water and melted fats. 

The result’s a crust that is sturdy and crisp, however under no circumstances robust or leathery. And as soon as baked, these pies—sometimes two to 3 inches tall—are sturdy sufficient to face on their very own with out a pan. For these unfamiliar with this type of pie dough, it may appear counterintuitive to make a crust with sizzling water and fats—however when you perceive the science behind, it makes good sense. My recipe beneath produces a crust that is each sturdy and scrumptious, and one which’s simple to make, too.  

A Temporary Historical past of British Pies

The UK boasts an extended custom of pie-making that dates again to no less than the Center Ages. The primary British pies had been stuffed with meat and encased in a sturdy outer crust constituted of a flour-and-water paste. In response to culinary historian Janet Clarkson’s Pie: A International Historical past, the thick crust of early pies served as a baking dish. 

“For lots of of years,” she writes within the guide, “it was the one type of baking container—that means all the things was pie. The crust additionally, because it turned out, carried out two different helpful capabilities: It acted as a carrying and storage container (earlier than lunch bins) and, by advantage of excluding air, as a technique of preservation (earlier than canning and refrigeration).” Known as “coffins,” the crusts had been a number of inches thick and never meant to be eaten.

Over time, these robust, sensible crusts developed into one thing tastier as cooks started including fats—sometimes beef suet, lard, or butter—to their doughs, leading to crispy, tender, and crumbly crusts. These had been meant for consuming and are similar to the recent water crusts used to make British meat pies at present. 

Why Scorching Water?

Scorching water pastry is made with the identical primary components as a typical flaky pie dough, however the mixing methodology is completely totally different. In a basic pie dough, chilly butter is rubbed into flour earlier than the combination is hydrated with chilly water. The dough is dealt with very gently, which helps decrease gluten improvement, and the ensuing pastry bakes up tender and flaky. A sizzling water crust is made in nearly the alternative means: The water and fats are delivered to a mild simmer, then drizzled into the flour. As soon as a shaggy dough kinds, it is kneaded till easy to develop extra gluten for a sturdier crust. 

Utilizing sizzling water as an alternative of chilly water pregelatinizes the flour’s starches. When the recent water hits the flour, the starch molecules—amylose and amylopectin— swell and burst, permitting them to carry extra water. It is the identical cause why tangzhong, a cooked flour slurry, is commonly used to organize tender breads and pastries, maintaining them brisker and softer for longer, and likewise why choux pastry requires cooking the batter earlier than baking, permitting for a high-hydration batter that is thick sufficient to be piped and maintain its form with out help. 

“As a result of a gelled combination of flour and water is drier in texture than an an identical ungelled one, it lets you make a dough with extra water in it than it might in any other case include—with out it turning to soup,” Severe Eats contributor Andrew Janjigian explains in his milk bread recipe. “I name this ‘stealth’ hydration: The additional water is there, however you possibly can’t see or really feel it within the dough.” In a sizzling water crust, this interprets to a dough that’s easy and pliable, with a consistency much like playdough. 

To see the consequences of sizzling water in motion, I made two batches of pastry with the recipe beneath. The ingredient quantities had been precisely the identical, however for one batch, I used melted lard and freshly boiled water, and for the opposite, I used chilly water and chilly lard. I kneaded each doughs till they had been largely easy, then tried to make miniature rooster and leek pies with every. 

Essentially the most notable distinction was the workability of every dough. The new-water crust was easy and simple to deal with. It rolled out effortlessly, and I used to be capable of patch any cracks or splits by merely urgent it again collectively. The cold-water pastry was trickier to work with—it was much less easy and extra elastic than the hot-water dough, making it tougher to roll into a skinny, even layer. As soon as baked, the cold-water pastry had a barely robust texture (although not as robust as I would predicted), whereas the hot-water pastry baked up crisp and durable, however not overly chewy.

For the Crispiest Crust, Use Lard or Shortening

Whereas creating this recipe, I examined many variations side-by-side to search out the model I preferred finest. I started by establishing my most popular fat-to-flour ratio. After selecting a ratio of 1 half fats to 3 components flour, I experimented with numerous hydration ranges and strategies of incorporating the fats, corresponding to melting it vs. rubbing it into the flour. (Many British recipes embrace some butter, which is rubbed into the flour, whereas the lard is melted.) Neither of those variables made a big distinction within the last texture—however the kind of fats used did. 

Scorching water crust is historically made with lard or beef suet, each of that are 100% fats. Butter, in distinction, is barely 80% fats, with the remaining 20% made up of water and milk solids. I wasn’t capable of supply beef suet, so I used lard for all of my testing. I discovered that lard produced an exceptionally crisp and tender crust, whereas butter produced a noticeably harder crust. I attempted crusts made completely from lard, butter, and numerous mixtures of the 2. To my shock, I vastly most popular an all-lard crust. Even a dough made with 70% lard and 30% butter was considerably much less tender. 

I used to be so shocked by these outcomes that I repeated the check to rule out error, and the result was an identical. Even a small quantity of butter negatively impacted the crust’s texture. That is doubtless as a result of lard has a better fats content material than butter—when fats coats gluten proteins, it inhibits gluten improvement, leading to a extra tender chunk. 

The primary argument for utilizing butter in a crust like that is taste. Whereas lard contributes a refined mammalian savoriness, it does not style like a lot—the identical goes for beef suet. However as a result of the butter-based pastry was a lot harder, I finally discovered the flavour trade-off wasn’t price it: I merely most popular the crisper, extra tender lard crust. Thankfully, British savory pies are inclined to go heavy on the filling (they’re usually made in tall springform pans), so the crust performs extra of a supporting position. That mentioned, a beneficiant pinch of salt within the dough helps amplify the lard’s meaty taste and retains the crust from tasting bland. 

It is price noting that vegetable shortening can be 100% fats and, like lard and beef suet, produces a young, crisp crust. Whereas this can be a nice choice for vegetarians and vegans, the vegetable shortening-based crust was the least flavorful of all of them. 

The Finest Flour for a Sturdy Crust

British meat pies are designed to be sturdy—a lot in order that they are often unmolded and stand freely with out the help of a pan. This stands in stark distinction to the flaky-crust pies we eat within the US, which have tender, delicate crusts by design. Scorching water crust, nevertheless, have to be sturdy sufficient to carry wealthy, meaty fillings with out breaking, leaking, or turning into soggy. On this case, a bit extra gluten is definitely an excellent factor.

Gluten is primarily made up of two proteins—glutenin and gliadin—that work collectively to offer a dough with elasticity and energy. Varied flours have totally different protein percentages, an indicator of their gluten potential, or the quantity of gluten the flour can develop when combined with water. Customary all-purpose flour can have a protein content material between 10 and 12%, which is a reasonably wide selection. Ten % is extra appropriate for muffins and pastries, whereas 12% gives the construction required for sure breads. 

For this recipe, I’ve opted to make use of a high-protein all-purpose flour. Whereas most flour manufacturers do not promote their protein content material on the packaging, King Arthur Baking All-Function Flour, Hecker’s All-Function Flour, and Kirkland Signature Natural Unbleached All-Function Flour all include slightly below 12% protein—sufficient to offer the dough construction with out making it robust or chewy. 

Work With the Dough Whereas It is Nonetheless Heat 

Not like basic flaky pie dough, sizzling water pastry can be utilized right away— no chilling or resting vital. The truth is, you need to use the dough whereas it is nonetheless heat, because it turns into crumbly and fewer elastic because it cools (probably as a result of the fats turns into much less pliable and the starches start to recrystallize), making it tougher to deal with. 

The best technique to roll out the dough is between two sheets of parchment paper. This eliminates the chance of introducing an excessive amount of additional flour, which may result in toughness later. (Plus, it makes clean-up a breeze.) The dough will doubtless tear or crack as you switch it to a pan, however there is no must panic—merely overlap the items or add extra dough to patch it again collectively. Whereas this type of dealing with might wreck a flaky pie crust meant for desserts, it has no adverse impression right here.

Use Scorching-Water Crust

This pastry is finest reserved for savory pies that want additional structural help. Pasties and hand pies are designed to be eaten on the go, and a sizzling water crust ensures they’re sturdy sufficient to journey with out falling aside. Bigger free-standing pies additionally profit from a agency crust, which permits them to face tall even after they’re faraway from their pans. You might use it to make candy pies, however most individuals will doubtless want a flaky, buttery crust that is meant for dessert. And since fruit and custard pies are nearly at all times served inside their pans, they do not require the identical help as a hearty meat pie.

Since meat pies are among the coziest, most comforting meals round, the chilly winter months are the right time to place this unfamiliar dough to good use. When you grasp the classics, corresponding to pork pie and Cornish pasties, do not be afraid to get a bit extra inventive. Any thick meaty stew or pot pie filling would style scrumptious nestled inside a sizzling water crust—strive rooster, mushroom, and even beef Bourguignon.