A Great Big Savory Pie to Try

Like many, I have been watching "The Great British Baking Show" (or "Bake Off" in Britain), and it has impacted me in a really big way. Ever since Season 1, watching them make savory "picnic loaves" piqued my interest. I had never heard of such a thing as a great big savory pie that is chilled and taken on picnics. I can't even remember when the last time was that I went on a picnic. And, I'm not British. 

One of the criteria for these "pies" or "picnic loaves" is that it hold together when sliced, so it's easy to pick up and bite into. Of course, it will be cold, or at least cool, on a picnic, so it's best to make ahead. Though, with temps hereabouts in the minus numbers, there will be no picnics outside soon! So instead, I tried this out yesterday to eat for dinner. 

Beef & Pork Pie in Hot Water Pastry

Conceptually, it should be made ahead and eaten cooled, if not chilled. But after working on this pretty much all afternoon yesterday, it was our dinner, and it was hot, having been taken from the oven only half hour prior. Still, it held together quite well, considering it had no chance to cool. It looked pretty and appetizing, with the layers I created. 

And the Crust!

Paul Hollywood used a Hot Water Pastry to make this sort of pie. And in all my cooking career spanning nearly 48 years, I had never even heard of a hot water pastry, so I was terribly intrigued. I must have read over 25 recipes for this sort of pie. Most of them used a hot water pastry, because it is stronger and holds up better. It gets crisp on the bottom, which was another criteria for these kind of pies on that baking show, despite being filled with things that could make it soggy. In many of the recipes, people commented that the crust had no earthly reason for being other than holding the fillings together while it baked and was sliced, as it had no particular flavor. 

Beef & Pork Pie in Hot Water Pastry

I don't know about that, or maybe my husband and I are just "crust lovers," but I found it a delightful addition to the whole outcome. My husband gave this pie a "Five-Thumbs-Up!" And I would agree. And there wasn't a scrap of crust left on either of our plates, I can tell you. Considering that in the show I watched called "Masterclass," Paul Hollywood made his Hot Water Pastry with the addition of butter, "just to make it taste a bit better," paraphrasing, I would say he meant it to be eaten. I wrote down the instructions as I watched the show, and made the recipe just as he did, and it turned out perfectly, both to work with and to bake. And I didn't take a single photo while making this crust. Possibly it was just my total absorbed focus on something so new. Possibly it was that my hands were mightily greasy while working with it. But, no photos resulted from this first attempt.

Hot Water Crust Pastry, a la Paul Hollywood

The recipe for the Hot Water Crust Pastry, taken straight from watching the TV show, consists of placing 150g lard and 200ml water into a saucepan and heating just to a simmer, when the lard will have melted. Granted, you do need a scale for this, though most measuring cups have milliliters marked on them. In a bowl, combine 450 grams of all-purpose flour and 100 grams of bread flour and rub in or cut in 75 grams of butter (⅓ cup). Once the lard and water are hot and melted, pour this into the flour mixture and mix with a spoon (it will be hot at first) until most of the flour has been mixed in, then use hands to bring it all together in a somewhat spongy-feeling ball. 

This pastry does not lend itself to rolling out to any great size, so to line a pan, first divide out about ⅓ of the pastry and set aside, then use the rest to pat or roll into a disc and set into a very well greased (with lard) spring-form pan, working it up the sides until there is at least a ½-inch overhang all around the top rim of the pan. Press the dough to close any holes or tears. Fill the crust as soon as it's ready in the pan. This means have all your filling ingredients all ready! Once you've layered all the fillings in and patted it firmly down, roll out the remaining pastry into a disc slightly larger than the pan diameter. Brush the top rim of the inner crust with egg wash, so the top crust will adhere properly. Carefully roll the top crust over your rolling pin and unroll over the top of the pie. Press into place, then trim the edges, having bottom crust and top pressed together, right at the top edge of the pan. Then crimp with fingers or a fork. Cut a hole in the center of the top crust to release steam. Use any scraps to cut out leaf shapes for the top of the pie.

The "Tin"

In the show I watched, and on some others throughout this series, they used a pretty, fluted, oval mold of a type used in Victorian times. Paul used one when he made the Christmas Leftovers Pie on the show. I was fascinated by this tin, partly because it is so pretty and results in such a pretty and decorative pie. Partly, I suppose just because I love new things and am acquisitive ( as well as inquisitive). 😀

Fluted Game Pie Mold

So I started hunting online to see if I could locate one, and wow, are they expensive. Meanwhile, when I decided to make my first attempt yesterday, all I had are spring-form pans. And, these work just fine. At first I thought of using my 8-inch pan, a true 8-inches in diameter. The more I looked at all the filling items I had going, the more I thought that a 9-inch would be far better, so 9-inch is what I went with. I was using 2 pounds of meat, plus vegetable layers, plus veggies added into the meat layers. The 9-inch pan turned out perfect for this particular size of pie. It can be made in a 10-inch spring-form pan as well, though it will be less tall, and possibly the cooking times would need adjustment.

Meanwhile, as I told my husband about the pretty, fluted Victorian style tin, called a "Fluted Game Pie Mold" or "Pate Mold," he said he would order one for me, if I sent him the links, so I happily passed on the links to him.  He went on to also get me a second one, in an oval shape without the fluted sides; more utilitarian, but simple to use, that link found here.

There is another option out there, for a smooth sided version of this kind of oval mold, and there is also a mini version that holds six mini pies and is adjustable. I liked the mini version of that kind, just because it gave options for the size of pie made. 

Beef & Pork Pie in Hot Water Pastry

Serves 8 to 10

Beef & Pork Pie in Hot Water Pastry

1 recipe (above) Hot Water Pastry Crust, fitted into a greased 9-inch springform pan
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1 sweet potato (about 7.5 ounces/215 grams)
1 - 2 small white potatoes (total weight about 7.5 ounces / 215 grams)
4 teaspoons salt, divided
1 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced, divided
12 ounces ground pork (356 g)
5 ounces bacon, minced or ground (145 g)
2 stalks celery, minced
1 tablespoon minced fresh sage leaves
1 pound ground beef (450 g)
1 medium carrot, shredded
1½ teaspoon minced fresh rosemary leaves
1 jar (12 ounces / 355 ml) whole roasted red peppers, drained
1.75 ounces / 50 grams fresh spinach leaves
4 teaspoons all-purpose flour, divided
1 egg +1 tablespoon water for egg wash

In a saucepan, place the sweet potato(es) and white potato(es) and cover with water to at least an inch above the tops of the potatoes. Bring to a boil, add in 2 teaspoons of the salt and lower to a simmer. Cook for about 20 to 25 minutes, or until the potatoes are easily pierced with a knife. Drain and set aside. Once cooled, peel or don't peel, as preferred, then slice across thinly. Set aside until needed.

Pour out the roasted red peppers into a colander and allow to drain thoroughly. Set aside until needed.

In a medium skillet, over medium low heat, fry the ground/minced bacon until nearly crisp. Strain out the bacon to paper toweling, leaving the drippings in the pan. Add in the onion and ½ teaspoon of the salt and fry until golden, then divide the onions evenly between two mixing bowls.

Add the ground pork to the pan and fry, adding in ½ teaspoon of the salt, ½ the minced garlic, with the celery and sage. If there is too much liquid in the pan, use paper toweling to blot it out. When no pink remains to the meat, sprinkle with two teaspoons of the flour and mix until no white flour remains. Pour this mixture into one of the bowls with onion, add in the fried bacon and mix well. Cool completely.

Cooked potatoes - drained red peppers - pork mixture - beef mixture - pie in oven

Return the skillet to the heat and add in the ground beef, along with 1 teaspoon salt, the remaining garlic, carrot, and rosemary. Cook, breaking up well, until the meat loses its pink color, again blotting with paper toweling if there is liquid in the pan. Sprinkle on the remaining flour and stir in, then turn the meat out into the second mixing bowl with the remaining half of onion. Stir well. Cool completely.

Wash the spinach leaves, then place the wet leaves into the skillet and toss until wilted. Drain off any remaining water.

Preheat the oven to 345 or 350 degrees, or 320 on Convection, for more even browning.

Place the ground beef mixture into the prepared crust, pressing well into the corners and making the meat a neat, level layer. Set the white potato slices over top, in a single layer. Over top, lay the red bell peppers, opening them flat. Next, layer in the ground pork mixture, again leveling the layer and pressing down to make the layers nicely compact. Over top place the sweet potato slices in a single layer, then set the spinach leaves over all. Press down neatly. Cover with the top crust, pressing into place against the lower pastry edge. Trim the top edges of pastry neatly with the rim of the pan, then crimp with fingers or a fork, keeping the edges inside the pan. Cut a ½-inch hole in the center of the top crust. Any remaining scraps of dough can be rolled out and cut into shapes to decorate the top of the crust.

Set the pan on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for about 70 to 75 minutes, and nicely golden. Remove from oven and increase oven temperature to 375 degrees, or 350 on Convection. Whisk together the egg and water for the egg wash. At this point, the pie should be strong enough to remove the springform rim. Unlatch and carefully remove and set aside. Brush all the top and sides of the pastry with the egg wash. Place back into the oven for 15 to 20 minutes, removing once more after 10 minutes to apply a second coat of egg wash, then return to oven for the time remaining.

Allow the pie to cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing, or if time permits, cool completely. Refrigerate if you prefer to serve it chilled the following day.



My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.