sunshine
Registered Shopper
Has anyone tried the pies and are they good.. Fancy some for freezer when family comes and wondered if they were worth it? They always look good on tv.
Julius you must have a go at puff it's delicious and so satisfying when you get it right. I learnt to make it at school many years ago and although its fiddly rolling and folding it's well worth the effort.I'm sure they are great but they seem expensive to me. I guarantee you I could make 10 pies for under £10 using organic beef and vegetables. I'm good at making pies! I've perfected the recipe for shortcrust pastry. Can't do puff yet though.
I'm sure they are great but they seem expensive to me. I guarantee you I could make 10 pies for under £10 using organic beef and vegetables. I'm good at making pies! I've perfected the recipe for shortcrust pastry. Can't do puff yet though.
What is the general opinion - can a pie just have a top crust or must it have a pastry sides and bottom as well
The latter for me - the former reminds me off poor value pub pies made up of a bit of meat and a thick top of pastry stuck on the dish.
Perhaps it is because I much prefer shortcrust to puff/flaky myself
Julius you must have a go at puff it's delicious and so satisfying when you get it right. I learnt to make it at school many years ago and although its fiddly rolling and folding it's well worth the effort.
I will try it again some time as I'd like to be able to master it. I made some pies recently for a friend I invited to dinner. I went down to Asda and bought some Jus' Rol! Knowing that I'd made the pastry the last time (shortcrust) she kept going on and on about the puff pastry until I could bear it no more. I explained that I had made the filling but that the pastry was shop-bought :-(
The last time I tried I remember trying to follow the recipe from the book. I remember having to cut the fat into cubes and roll re-rolll and this and that. The pastry came out more like cardboard :-( so I obviously did something wrong. Will try again soon.
Cutting the fat into cubes sounds like rough puff pastry to me. Try rolling out the flour and water 'détrempe' (get me) to a rectangle and then laying on the top of it a 'sheet' of butter which measures approximately 1/4" smaller all round. You can make the butter sheet by rolling slightly softened butter between two sheets of greaseproof/cling film. Then, all the subsequent rolling out, turning, re-rolling and resting is easy as pie! Yes, it's a bit of a faff, but you'll feel very proud of yourself when it's in the oven, rising magnificently. And it tastes far superior to any shop bought stuff, including the ludicrously over-priced Real Pie Company pies. I only make puff pastry for 'special things' and am quite happy using shop-bought for pies and the like. And I like just a lid, by the way. But a good lid.
Thanks, Craft. It sounds hard, though! Especially making the butter sheet. Last time I tried I bought some fat called "Trex." When I next try I will get Lurpak!
Thanks, Craft. It sounds hard, though! Especially making the butter sheet. Last time I tried I bought some fat called "Trex." When I next try I will get Lurpak!