Hot water crust

[mark111757 Profile]

From a recent martha bakes episode (now on the download circut)

https://www.marthastewart.com/1531557/m ... ater-crust

Is it me or does it seem relatively straight forward??

[Alexandria Profile]

Mark,

That looks extraordinary .. And it is all by scratch, which is what I like ..

Very straight forward to me ..

Thank you for posting the link ..

[Stokey Sue Profile]

I haven’t had cause to make hot water crust, but it is s traditional British pastry

I understand that it is not too difficult, the trick is (obviously) to mould it into shape in the small window between it being too hot to handle and too firmly set too handle

The main uses are pork pies and game pies

[Gillthepainter Profile Website]

Yep, you have to work quickly.
No, it's not straightforward as you have to anticipate the things you do that will go wrong.

2 problems I can see with the recipe, Mark.
HWC pastry doesn't have butter.
But mainly, making it in 3 sections: 2 discs and a side, you will most likely get leakage when it comes to funnelling the liquid in.
The deep dish section really should be in one pastry piece. Plus one lid.

The other major thing to go wrong is rolling your pastry too thick. It's not nice to sink your teeth into chunky pastry of this sort.

My HWC pastry is made with half milk, half water. It helps the colouring.
As even after all that baking, a HWC pastry can look anaemic and unappealing.

[Amyw Profile]

That looks beautiful Gil

[Gillthepainter Profile Website]

Ta.
I believe it's time to think about making another one.

[Sakkarin Profile]

I find it a very forgiving pastry to make Mark, although cooking it can be tricky. Get it right and it is glorious. It only costs pocket money prices for the ingredients, so why not give it a go!

Yes, very attractive Gill.

[Gillthepainter Profile Website]

I know you make these pies too, Sakkers.
It's actually a rather good way of using up bits of this and that meats that make their way into the freezer.