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Hot Water Crust Pastry

The sturdy, hand-raised British pastry made by pouring boiling lard and water into flour. Worked while warm it can be moulded by hand, and it bakes to a firm, savoury case strong enough to hold a pork or game pie. This makes enough for one small raised pie.

SnacksMains25g+ proteinUnder 30 min
20 min15 prep · 5 cookMedium785 kcalper serving
Hot Water Crust Pastry

Instructions

  1. Warm a large mixing bowl with hot water and dry it. Sift 175 g of plain flour and 0.5 tsp of fine salt into it and make a deep well in the centre. Stand the bowl near the hob so the flour stays warm, cold flour will set the fat before you can shape the pastry.
  2. Put 70 g of cubed lard and 70 ml of water into a small saucepan over a medium-high heat. Let the lard melt, then bring the liquid to a full rolling boil, it should be boiling hard, not merely hot, as this is what scalds the starch.
  3. Pour the boiling fat and water straight into the well in one go and beat briskly with a wooden spoon, drawing the flour in from the sides, until you have a soft, shaggy, slightly glossy dough with no dry flour left in the bowl. It will look wetter than shortcrust; that is correct.

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Per serving

785kcal
27gprotein
125gcarbs
18gfat
5gfibre

Computed from the ingredients against a food database, not estimated. The full nutrient table is in the app.

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