It´s time for another baking basics post, and this time it´s all about hot water crust pastry!!!
Hot water crust pastry is so underrated!!! It DOES NOT get the credit it deserves! I don´t understand why it´s not used more… I always see chefs like Jamie Oliver showing people how you can “easily” make shortcrust pastry to top a pie, but that pastry can be quite hard to make – so many stages where it can go wrong. Whereas hot water crust is pretty much fool-proof!
It´s so easy to make!
I absolutely love making hot water crust pastry! Not only is it really tasty and great for making pies, but it is also very easy to make and work with! Unlike other pastries, like shortcrust or puff pastry, this pastry actually likes/has to be handled! Plus, it is really easy to shape and work with!
Click on the button below to jump straight to my step-by-step picture guide to make hot water crust pastry!
How do you make Hot Water Crust Pastry?
As the name suggests, this pastry is made with hot water. The water is heated in a pot with a small amount of lard (or vegetable fat) until just below boiling point.
Whilst you are waiting for that to heat, in a separate bowl, you can begin by rubbing the butter into the flour and salt, until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
Once hot, all you do is pour the hot liquid over the dry ingredients and mix it with a wooden spoon until it comes together into a nice smooth ball of pastry.
Then all you have to do is knead it a little on a floured surface (careful as it might still be hot) and then it´s ready to use! It´s that quick and easy!
Hot Water Crust Pastry – What do you use it for?
Hot water crust pastry makes the most amazing pie crusts/cases/lids!
As we all know, fat tastes good! And this pastry is made with both butter and lard (so don´t make it all the time to spare your waistline…😊). This does result in an amazing flavour though and makes the perfect case for a delicious pie! Pork pies, chicken and leek pie (my favourite!), steak and ale pie – you name it!
Vegetarian, Vegan or Dairy-Free Options
As I have vegetarian and dairy-free friends who I wouldn´t want to deprive of a DELICIOUS pie, I have tested out making hot water crust pastry that is both vegetarian and/or dairy-free. If you use an appropriate butter/vegetable fat, you can even make this pastry vegan! It´s so versatile!
For a dairy-free option, simply use dairy-free/vegan butter to rub into the flour. If you are wanting to make a vegetarian option, you can use solid vegetable fat as an alternative to the lard. You can find it in the supermarket next to the normal lard/butter. I get mine from Morrisons, by a brand called Trex.
Hot Water Crust Pastry – The Basic Recipe – A step-by-step Guide
This recipe makes enough hot water crust pastry to easily create a lid for a large family pie, or make one fully encased, small-medium sized pie. To make a large pie that is fully encased in pastry, you could always double the recipe. If you are only topping a small pie, the recipe can also be easily halved.
Ingredients:
- 200g plain (all-purpose) flour
- 40g strong white flour (bread flour)
- 50g unsalted butter (can be vegan/dairy-free), cold and cut into small chunks
- 60g lard or solid white vegetable fat
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
- 100ml boiling water
- 1 egg, beaten (to glaze)
Method:
- Place the water, lard (or vegetable fat) and salt into a small saucepan. Gently heat until the lard has completely melted into the water and the mixture comes to just below boiling point.
- In the meantime, mix together the two flours in a bowl and rub in the butter until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
- Next, carefully pour the hot water and lard mix into the bowl.
- Mix with a wooden spoon and stir until everything starts to come together into a smooth pastry ball.
- Tip the hot water crust pastry onto a floured work surface.
- Start working/kneading the dough gently (careful as it might still be quite warm) until it cools slightly and becomes soft and smooth (the pastry may seem a bit greasy to start with but that´s normal).
- The hot water crust pastry is now ready to roll and shape! Once you have shaped the pastry (either by hand or by placing it into a mould), chill the pastry in the fridge until completely cooled and hardened before adding your filling and baking!
- You should also make sure your filling has cooled completely before adding it to the pastry case, or before laying your pastry on top as a lid.
- Hot water crust pastry is also great for scoring and you can use any pastry scraps to make some decorations or writing for on top of your pie. Chill those in the fridge until needed, too, and stick them on with a little beaten egg before baking.
- Before baking, brush the pastry with some beaten egg with a pinch of salt in it, to give it a nice golden colour when it bakes in the oven.
Recipes that use this pastry include my Mini Pork Pies or my FAVOURITE Chicken, Bacon and Leek Pie!
Check out some of my other pastry baking basics posts, for example, how to make Shortcrust Pastry or Puff Pastry.
Or try some of my other cooking recipes, like this Homemade Red Pesto Spaghetti, Creamy Chicken and Coconut Curry, Vegan Mixed Bean Chilli or this Delicious Red Lentil Soup (Mum´s Recipe!).
You have an error in these directions. You wrote, “ Gently heat until the lard has completely melted into the butter and the mixture comes to just below boiling point.”
I think you meant melted into the water…
Hey Donna! Yes, haha, so I did! Changed it now, thanks for letting me know!