Hot Water Pastry
This is an excellent pastry that most people will know from pork pies but has many more uses and is ideal for blind people.
There’s very little mess as no need for a “floured surface” or rolling pin.
This pastry is crisper than the typical shortcrust pastry and can be made in a sweet version. Both versions can be used to make a lidded cooked pie or baked blind to make a cooked tart case.
The pastry feels like a “play dough” and can be pressed out very thin by hand to line a tin, foil or silicone baking container. If the pastry is still warm when pressing into the container, it may sink down like droopy knickers. Let it cool more and then mould it thinner, paying particular attention to the area where the sides of the container meet the base. It’s easy for the pastry to be too thick at that join. You can simply press and pinch two pieces of pastry together if you have to patch a hole or attach a lid.
The pastry can be made beforehand, popped into a plastic bag and stored in the fridge or freezer. Pat the pastry into a flat oblong rather than a ball so it comes back to room temperature more quickly before using.
Don’t worry if you have “hot hands” – they are perfect for this pastry.
Ingredients:
250g pack lard.
270g water.
535g plain flour.
135g strong white bread flour.
Heaped teaspoon salt.
Heaped teaspoon ground mace.
135g butter.
1 egg, beaten.
Method:
Place the lard and water in a pan on the hob and heat gently until the lard is melting. Turn off the heat and allow the lard to melt completely and the pan to cool (perhaps an hour or so).
Measure all the dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl and rub in the butter.
Pour the melted lard and water into the mixing bowl.
Make a well in the centre of the bowl, pour in the contents of the pan and mix everything together.
The result will be a warm, slightly sticky soft dough that will become firmer as it cools.
My Tips:
You could use a solid vegetable fat such as Trex in place of the lard.
If you are lining any container that has a loose-bottom, place that container on a baking sheet or tray that has a small lip around the edge. The pastry may release a very small amount of fat as it cooks. The tray collects any spills and avoids making a mess in the oven. Take care when handling the tray as there may be hot fat moving in it when you remove from the oven.
This recipe makes a lot of pastry because I like to use up a whole pack of lard at a time. But it keeps so well in the fridge for a couple of days or in the freezer that it is worth making enough for several baking sessions.
My favourite variations are:
Individual pork pies. Use a “bun tin ideally with loose bottoms”, press out the pastry across the base and up the sides of each “bun” space. Fill with sausage meat flavoured with lemon zest, chopped herbs, garlic powder or your own flavours. Roll a ball of pastry, pat out to make the lid and press firmly on to the edges of the pastry case. Brush with beaten egg before making a hole in the centre of the lid for steam to escape. Bake on the middle shelf of a pre-heated oven at 180C, Gas 4 for 30-45 minutes. Check that the meat content has reached at least 70C. These freeze well and are worth gently re-heating in the oven or microwave.
Christmas mince pies. You could replace the mace with ground mixed spices. Make exactly as for pork pies but fill with sweet mincemeat. Dust the cooked pies with a little caster or icing sugar.
Baked-blind leek tart. Pat out a circle of pastry with your hands and press across the base and up the sides of a 25cm, 10 inch loose-bottomed tart tin. Prick the pastry base with a fork and then press a sheet of baking foil over the pastry base and up the pastry-lined sides of the tart tin. Bake blind on the middle shelf of a pre-heated oven 180C, Gas 4 for 15 minutes. Remove the foil and brush the pastry base and sides with beaten egg. Return to the oven for another 5minutes. Remove the tart from the oven and brush again with the beaten egg to “double waterproof”. While the pastry cools, trim and thinly slice 3-4 leeks, wash thoroughly before sauteing in a little butter and oil. Squeeze as much liquid as possible from the leeks before placing in the pastry case. Mix together 3 eggs with the remains of the previous egg, 250g crème fraiche and season well with salt and pepper. Pour the egg mix into the pastry case. Cook for 25 to 30 minutes at 165C, Gas 3.
Sweet version. Make up the recipe as above but reduce the salt to a pinch. When the pastry is made, divide into two equal portions about 660g each. Keep one half for savoury bakes and mix in half a teaspoon of salt. With the remaining pastry, add 100g of caster sugar (and, if you like, the zest of an orange). The sweet pastry can then be used for covered pies such as the Christmas mincemeat ones (see above) or an apple or other fruit pie. Alternatively, you can bake-blind the sweet pastry.
Individual strawberry or other tartlets. These need the tartlet pastry cases to be fully cooked before filling with fresh fruit. I use foil cases but a bun tray or similar would work just as well. Line the case/tray with the pastry, prick the base and line with foil. Cook for about 25 minutes at 180C, Gas 4. Remove the foil and brush the pastry cases with beaten egg. Return to the oven for another 5 minutes. Immediately brush with beaten egg again and allow to cool before filling. Rather than add more sugar in a crème patisserie (which also takes time to make), place a layer of thick cream or crème fraiche on the bottom and top with cubed strawberries. Glaze with some “freezer strawberry “jam” or perhaps make up the juice of an orange or two into a jelly and spoon that over as it is starting to set. A small decorative strawberry on top is optional froufrou! The pastry is good and crisp around the edges, more like a thin biscuit. The base certainly wasn’t soggy and the whole tartlet could be eaten using just one hand!
Apple crumble tarts. Mould the basic pastry to line the bases and sides in a deep loose-bottomed bun tin. Fill with small pieces of cored chopped apple (no need to peel), topped with a heaped teaspoonful of home-made mincemeat and a crumble topping. Bake at180C, Gas 4 for 45 minutes, covering with foil after 30 minutes to prevent the crumble burning. The pastry won’t be as crisp as for porkpies due to the apple juice but is still delicious. Not recommended for freezing due to the juice again.