Scorching-Water Pie Crust Recipe

For those who speak to an American about pie, they’re going to probably assume you are referring to dessert, comparable to fruit, custard, or cream pies. Communicate to a Brit, although, and so they’ll most likely assume you are speaking a couple of savory meat pie stuffed with pork, hen, or steak. Conventional British meat pies are very completely 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 cause, meat pies are sometimes made with hot-water pastry, a clean, pliable dough that is kneaded till clean.  

Scorching-water pastry breaks all the foundations related to the doughs usually used to make candy pies or tarts. Slightly than being tender and flaky, hot-water crusts are sturdy and powerful. Whereas most pie doughs require chilly elements 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 by no means powerful or leathery. And as soon as baked, these pies—usually two to 3 inches tall—are sturdy sufficient to face on their very own with no pan. For these unfamiliar with this type of pie dough, it might sound 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 robust 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 a minimum of 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 tons of of years,” she writes within the e-book, “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 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—usually 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 as we speak. 

Why Scorching Water?

Scorching water pastry is made with the identical primary elements as a typical flaky pie dough, however the mixing technique is solely completely different. In a traditional 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 reduce gluten improvement, and the ensuing pastry bakes up tender and flaky. A sizzling water crust is made in virtually the alternative approach: The water and fats are dropped at a mild simmer, then drizzled into the flour. As soon as a shaggy dough kinds, it is kneaded till clean to develop extra gluten for a sturdier crust. 

Utilizing sizzling water as a substitute 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 cause why tangzhong, a cooked flour slurry, is usually used to organize tender breads and pastries, retaining them brisker and softer for longer, and in addition 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 similar 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,” Critical Eats contributor Andrew Janjigian explains in his milk bread recipe. “I name this ‘stealth’ hydration: The additional water is there, however you may’t see or really feel it within the dough.” In a sizzling water crust, this interprets to a dough that’s clean and pliable, with a consistency just like playdough. 

To see the results 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 clean, then tried to make miniature hen and leek pies with every. 

Probably the most notable distinction was the workability of every dough. The new-water crust was clean and straightforward to deal with. It rolled out effortlessly, and I used to be in a position to 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 tougher 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 growing this recipe, I examined many variations side-by-side to search out the model I preferred greatest. I started by establishing my most well-liked fat-to-flour ratio. After deciding on a ratio of 1 half fats to 3 elements flour, I experimented with numerous hydration ranges and strategies of incorporating the fats, comparable 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 major 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 barely 80% fats, with the remaining 20% made up of water and milk solids. I wasn’t in a position to 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 more durable crust. I attempted crusts made solely 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 similar. Even a small quantity of butter negatively impacted the crust’s texture. That is probably as a result of lard has the next fats content material than butter—when fats coats gluten proteins, it inhibits gluten improvement, leading to a extra tender chew. 

The primary argument for utilizing butter in a crust like that is taste. Whereas lard contributes a refined mammalian savoriness, it would not style like a lot—the identical goes for beef suet. However as a result of the butter-based pastry was a lot more durable, I finally discovered the flavour trade-off wasn’t value it: I merely most well-liked the crisper, extra tender lard crust. Fortuitously, British savory pies are likely 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 be 100% fats and, like lard and beef suet, produces a young, crisp crust. Whereas it is a nice possibility 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 changing into soggy. On this case, a bit extra gluten is definitely factor.

Gluten is primarily made up of two proteins—glutenin and gliadin—that work collectively to offer a dough with elasticity and power. Varied flours have completely different protein percentages, an indicator of their gluten potential, or the quantity of gluten the flour can develop when blended with water. Customary all-purpose flour can have a protein content material between 10 and 12%, which is a fairly big selection. Ten % is extra appropriate for truffles 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-Goal Flour, Hecker’s All-Goal Flour, and Kirkland Signature Natural Unbleached All-Goal Flour all include slightly 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 traditional flaky pie dough, sizzling water pastry can be utilized right away— no chilling or resting needed. In actual fact, you wish to use the dough whereas it is nonetheless heat, because it turns into crumbly and fewer elastic because it cools (presumably as a result of the fats turns into much less pliable and the starches start to recrystallize), making it tougher to deal with. 

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

Learn how to Use Scorching-Water Crust

This pastry is greatest reserved for savory pies that want additional structural assist. 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 probably desire a flaky, buttery crust that is supposed for dessert. And since fruit and custard pies are virtually 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, comparable 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 hen, mushroom, and even beef Bourguignon.