Scorching-Water Pie Crust Recipe

Should you discuss to an American about pie, they will doubtless suppose you are referring to dessert, akin to fruit, custard, or cream pies. Communicate to a Brit, although, they usually’ll in all probability assume you are speaking a couple of savory meat pie full of pork, rooster, or steak. Conventional British meat pies are very totally different from the candy, flaky-crusted pies we take pleasure in 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 motive, meat pies are sometimes made with hot-water pastry, a clean, pliable dough that is kneaded till clean.  

Scorching-water pastry breaks all the principles related to the doughs sometimes used to make candy pies or tarts. Relatively than being tender and flaky, hot-water crusts are sturdy and powerful. Whereas most pie doughs require chilly substances and a lightweight contact for optimum flakiness, a scorching water crust requires—you guessed it—scorching water and melted fats. 

The result’s a crust that is sturdy and crisp, however under no circumstances powerful or leathery. And as soon as baked, these pies—sometimes two to a few inches tall—are sturdy sufficient to face on their very own and not using a pan. For these unfamiliar with this type of pie dough, it may appear counterintuitive to make a crust with scorching water and fats—however when you perceive the science behind, it makes good sense. My recipe beneath produces a crust that is each robust and scrumptious, and one which’s straightforward to make, too.  

A Transient Historical past of British Pies

The UK boasts a protracted custom of pie-making that dates again to at the least the Center Ages. The primary British pies had been full of meat and encased in a sturdy outer crust made out of a flour-and-water paste. In keeping with culinary historian Janet Clarkson’s Pie: A World Historical past, the thick crust of early pies served as a baking dish. 

“For tons of of years,” she writes within the ebook, “it was the one type of baking container—which means all the pieces was pie. The crust additionally, because it turned out, carried out two different helpful features: It acted as a carrying and storage container (earlier than lunch bins) and, by advantage of excluding air, as a way 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 powerful, 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 supposed for consuming and are similar to the new water crusts used to make British meat pies right now. 

Why Scorching Water?

Scorching water pastry is made with the identical fundamental substances as a typical flaky pie dough, however the mixing technique is fully 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 growth, and the ensuing pastry bakes up tender and flaky. A scorching water crust is made in nearly the alternative manner: The water and fats are delivered to a delicate simmer, then drizzled into the flour. As soon as a shaggy dough varieties, it is kneaded till clean to develop extra gluten for a sturdier crust. 

Utilizing scorching water as an alternative of chilly water pregelatinizes the flour’s starches. When the new water hits the flour, the starch molecules—amylose and amylopectin— swell and burst, permitting them to carry extra water. It is the identical motive why tangzhong, a cooked flour slurry, is usually used to arrange 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 assist. 

“As a result of a gelled combination of flour and water is drier in texture than an an identical ungelled one, it permits you to make a dough with extra water in it than it might in any other case include—with out it turning to soup,” Critical 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 scorching water crust, this interprets to a dough that’s clean and pliable, with a consistency much like playdough. 

To see the results of scorching 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 principally clean, then tried to make miniature rooster and leek pies with every. 

Probably the most notable distinction was the workability of every dough. The new-water crust was clean 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 clean and extra elastic than the hot-water dough, making it more durable to roll into a skinny, even layer. As soon as baked, the cold-water pastry had a barely powerful texture (although not as powerful 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 favored finest. I started by establishing my most well-liked fat-to-flour ratio. After deciding on a ratio of 1 half fats to a few elements flour, I experimented with numerous hydration ranges and strategies of incorporating the fats, akin to melting it vs. rubbing it into the flour. (Many British recipes embody some butter, which is rubbed into the flour, whereas the lard is melted.) Neither of those variables made a big distinction within the remaining 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 just 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 fully from lard, butter, and numerous mixtures of the 2. To my shock, I vastly most well-liked 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 end 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 growth, leading to a extra tender chew. 

The principle argument for utilizing butter in a crust like that is taste. Whereas lard contributes a delicate 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 in the end discovered the flavour trade-off wasn’t value it: I merely most well-liked the crisper, extra tender lard crust. Luckily, British savory pies are inclined to go heavy on the filling (they’re typically made in tall springform pans), so the crust performs extra of a supporting position. That stated, a beneficiant pinch of salt within the dough helps amplify the lard’s meaty taste and retains the crust from tasting bland. 

It is value noting that vegetable shortening can also 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 Greatest 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 assist 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, nonetheless, have to be strong sufficient to carry wealthy, meaty fillings with out breaking, leaking, or turning into soggy. On this case, a bit extra gluten is definitely a very good factor.

Gluten is primarily made up of two proteins—glutenin and gliadin—that work collectively to supply a dough with elasticity and power. 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. Normal all-purpose flour can have a protein content material between 10 and 12%, which is a fairly wide selection. Ten p.c is extra appropriate for desserts 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 just below 12% protein—sufficient to offer the dough construction with out making it powerful or chewy. 

Work With the Dough Whereas It is Nonetheless Heat 

In contrast to basic flaky pie dough, scorching water pastry can be utilized right away— no chilling or resting mandatory. Actually, you wish 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 more durable to deal with. 

The simplest technique to roll out the dough is between two sheets of parchment paper. This eliminates the chance of introducing an excessive amount of further 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 isn’t any must panic—merely overlap the items or add extra dough to patch it again collectively. Whereas this type of dealing with might spoil a flaky pie crust meant for desserts, it has no adverse impression right here.

The best way to Use Scorching-Water Crust

This pastry is finest reserved for savory pies that want further structural assist. Pasties and hand pies are designed to be eaten on the go, and a scorching 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 favor a flaky, buttery crust that is supposed for dessert. And since fruit and custard pies are nearly all the time served inside their pans, they do not require the identical assist 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, akin to pork pie and Cornish pasties, do not be afraid to get a bit extra artistic. Any thick meaty stew or pot pie filling would style scrumptious nestled inside a scorching water crust—strive rooster, mushroom, and even beef Bourguignon.