Help making a pie please

room512

Hi
I am making this pie later - http://www.frugalqueen.co.uk/2014/09/as-british-as-pie.html
I am using puff pastry (as that is what I have) and am wondering do I need to blind bake it first? I am using a large deep cake tin (metal) as I do not have a pie plate. Also, how long do I need to cook it for as it doesn't say?

So basically - blind bake first and if so how long please?
Then how long to cook it once it is assembled.

TIA for any help - I have never made a pie before so am a bit freaked!

happy35

i have never used puff pastry as a base only as a lid

If I were making it would make the filling put it in a dish, leave to cool and then do a puff pastry lid

I only every use shortcrust pastry as a base in a pie, I would be more likely to make a plait or giant pasty type thing if I was using all puff pastry.

I am sure that someone will be along who will know for definite if you can use puff pastry for a base though

moments_of_sanity

room512 wrote: »

Hi
I am making this pie later - http://www.frugalqueen.co.uk/2014/09/as-british-as-pie.html
I am using puff pastry (as that is what I have) and am wondering do I need to blind bake it first? I am using a large deep cake tin (metal) as I do not have a pie plate. Also, how long do I need to cook it for as it doesn't say?

So basically - blind bake first and if so how long please?
Then how long to cook it once it is assembled.

TIA for any help - I have never made a pie before so am a bit freaked!

I always blind bake the bottom of my pies otherwise I end up with a soggy pie bottom. Line the tin and put some parchment paper or tin foil on the top of the pastry but you will need to put something with a bit of weight on top of the paper/foil otherwise the pastry will rise. I use baking beans but not everyone has these. Blind bake for about 15 mins.

The whole pie will take about 25 minutes once made up.

Cally_Smart

I have only ever done it as a topping for the pie over a cooked filling.Glazed with beaten egg to give it a golden look as it cooks. Takes only about 25 mins then.Good Luck with your pie

room512

I do have some ceramic baking beans that I had for Christmas many moons ago that I have never used. Maybe now is the time to try them out. I thought if I pricked the base it wouldn't rise too much. Thanks for all of the advice - I want to have a whole pie (not just a top) as my husband looked mightily impressed when I told him I was making a complete pie!

happy35

I dont know how a puff pastry base will work, it cant rise as it will be filled I would be worried it would be soggy and fall to bits. The recipe you have given shows a hot crust pastry this will crisp lovely and it something that I will try out

Do you have flour etc? if yes would you consider making short crust pastry for a base? I make my pies like this, then bake blind for about 10 mins with beans in and 5 without to make sure it is cooked through, I then fill and put on a pastry before baking again

my friend is a chef and I have just picked her brains, she thinks it would just go all oily and soggy.

SailorSam

I've heard the words 'blind baking' but didn't really know what it was.

Cally_Smart

I think that,s why some pubs & restaurants make the filling like a stew, say of Steak & Kidney and cook a circle of pastry for a lid( which they cook like a biscuit on oven tray entirely separately) and just plonk the lid on when it goes to the table. I always feel cheated with this- thats not a pie! A pie is when you get all the lovely flavour of the gravy bubbling up through the lid!

Callie22

Puff pastry doesn't work as a bottom for pies because it has a really high fat content - it's the layers of fat between the layers of pastry that make it puffy. If you use it as a base the moisture from the pie filling will stop it puffing up and it'll go very greasy. Blind baking won't work either as you'll lose all of the puffiness when you put the filling and topping on and it'll probably go a bit gooey.

The best thing to do, if you don't want to make some shortcrust pastry for the bottom, is just put the filling in your dish and make just a lid with the puff pastry. I often do this as OH isn't that fond of pastry but will eat a puff pastry lid - it makes the pie a bit healthier too as you're only eating half of the pastry You could use the rest of the puff pastry to make a quick tart or something. I often make a quick 'Greek' tart by rolling out some puff pastry on a tray and topping it with some sun-dried tomato paste or passata (whatever I have on hand), some thinly sliced red onion, some sliced preserved or pickled peppers, black olives, oregano and feta. It's really tasty.

Callie22

SailorSam wrote: »

I've heard the words 'blind baking' but didn't really know what it was.

Blind baking is when you make your pastry base, put it in your tin, put some paper or foil over it, put some dried beans or rice in it, then part-bake it before adding your filling and top. The reason you do this is because pastry bases tend not to cook brilliantly if you cook them from raw with a wettish filling in them - you'll find that you'll get a grey layer of undercooked pastry at the bottom of your pie. The blind baking gives the base that bit of extra cooking it needs and ensures that it cooks through and stays crisp.

The dried beans (or rice, or fancy ceramic baking beans) weigh the pastry down so that you don't get bubbles. If you don't weigh the base down what can happen is that the air trapped underneath the pastry in the tin will expand as it gets hot, and you can get scorched bubbles that will break when you put the filling in.

andygb

Please DO NOT do what I did on my only attempt so far so make a quiche (would apply to pies as well).
I used instant Jus Roll puff pastry - :beer:

I rolled it out nice and thin - :beer:

I expertly laid it over the quiche tin, then gently pressed it into place, and left a little overhang - :beer:

As I hadn't any baking beans, I had heard that chefs sometimes use rice instead, so I added a cup of rice, to weight the pastry down - :beer:

I cooked it at the right temperature, until it was a nice golden colour, and removed it from the oven, ready for my mixture - :beer:

As I was emptying the rice out, I realised my one, very silly mistake -

I had forgotten to put baking parchment in before adding the rice, so I now had extra hard bits of rice embedded in my lovely pastry - :mad: