Oooh yummy - Lemon Meringue, Key lime, cherry and mango would be top of my list, Bakerman, but I normally use shortcrust rather than flaky pastry when making them. Might have to try it.
Recipe for flaky pie crust (makes enough for 2 double crusted pies OR 4 single crust pies)
4 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 TBLSP of sugar
1 TBLSP of corn starch
----------------------------------------------------------------------1 1/2 cup butter or Crisco shortening
1/2 cup ice cold water.
1 TBLSP of white vinegar
1 whole egg
Combine all dry ingredients. Chill in fridge
cut in the shortening/butter until it looks like very small pebbles.
mix together the liquids (after cutting in the shortening)
add liquids to the mix
stir just until it holds together.
cut into 4 equal size pieces, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill in refrigerator a minimum of 1 hour. (or you may freeze it and save for later)
When ready to bake, lightly dust a countertop with flour.
Place dough on the flour and roll out to desired size. I use a 9inch pie pan (22cm). You may need to lightly dust the dough to keep it from sticking to your rolling pin.
fold in half and half again. Place in your pan.
You make now proceed in one of several ways.
Blind bake the pie crust at 400 F (205 C) for about 17 minutes. OR
Fill the crust with whatever filling you desire, and then bake as normal (in the case of a lemon meringue pie a top is not needed? OR
You may elect to pour in your filling and add a top crust. (as in an apple pie) bake as normal.
There are several keys to success.
Keep the flour/dough cool.
Use ICE COLD WATER
The corn starch and the vinegar help immensely in keeping the crust flaky.
Use ice cold butter/shortening . Even semi-frozen is good.
If baking on a very hot day, keep everything well chilled, including, the bowl and rolling pin.
Special note: if blind baking the crust, you may want to use pie weights or a layer of dried beans to keep the crust from shrinking.
A gammon shank and whole roast chicken, hot from Sainsburys. You probably don’t need all that but can be used for other things. Chop, add to white sauce with leeks, pour into big wide casserole dish, cover with jus rol puff pastry.
Give me a freakin break , will ya. Let’s not go down that ridiculous path of defining words. If you chose to think a pie is not a desert, fine. Just don’t give me any grief about a British definition of what is or is not a pie. Get it ?
I’d be happy to share my recipe for lemon meringue pie with you BUT I’d prefer that a few other snobby people not give me a hard time about us STUPID AMERICANS and our sugar problems. OK ?
You really are missing something fabulous if you don’t have meat pies Bakerman, it’s surely what pastry was invented for. You’ve obviously never had a real cornish pasty which surely must be the finest pie ever created, so you are welcome to all of your sweet pies which no doubt are very nice, but for me it has to be savoury, and preferably meaty.
thanks!!