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Pie pastry

Make a homemade pie with Tom Kerridge's pastry recipe. It's easy to adapt – swap the lard for drippings, or simply use butter for a vegetarian version

  • Ingreadient
    • 125g lard, chopped
    • 125g butter, chopped
    • 650g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
    • 2 eggs, 1 beaten, 1 separated egg yolk for glazing (freeze the white for another recipe)

Direction

  1. Rub the lard and butter into the flour with a generous pinch of sea salt until completely combined. Add the beaten egg and 100ml ice-cold water and mix until you have a soft dough. Transfer to the fridge and chill for at least 1 hr, or until needed.

  2. Divide the pastry into 12 equal pieces and roll out into rounds on a lightly floured surface. Use six of the rounds to line the bottoms of six individual pie dishes, leaving an overhang. Fill the pies with the mixture of your choice, brush the rims with some of the egg yolk, top with the remaining pastry rounds, then trim and crimp the edges. Decorate with the trimmings, if you like. Glaze with more egg yolk, or as indicated in the filling recipe, and chill until you’re ready to cook.

  3. Heat the oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 6 with a baking tray inside. Put the pies on the hot tray and bake for 30-35 mins until golden. Leave to rest as directed, then serve in the dishes or turn out onto plates.