Perfect pastry for pies

A quick question – do you buy ready-made pies for emergencies and are constantly disappointed? One thing is for sure they are not cheap so if you finish up with only half a filling and the remainder is fresh air it's not good. That's why I make my own – it doesn't have to take forever – it's not a competition and you don't have to go learn the art of pastry making – cheat, buy the sheets – either puff or shortcrust – make it easy on yourself!

If you feel brave you could have a go at batch cooking and freezing your own pies – there's every shape and size of foil pie dishes known to man to suit everyone – single deep dishes, shallow versions and larger too. Equally there's the same choice of enamel pie dishes too or ceramic if you prefer. The world is your lobster – you can spend very little or mega bucks. Personally I find that foil is convenient and doesn't take up too much space in my freezer although I do get that you wouldn't want to serve a glorious pie for a supper/dinner party in a foil tray so may be treat yourself for special occasions.

If you wanted to try making your own pastry you could do a lot worse than making a pie with wholemeal pastry. I can definitely confirm that the recipe I use is kind and does everything it should and more. It freezes very well.

Wholemeal pastry doesn't generally get a great reaction – I think it goes way back to when you could use it for crazy paving! Here's an extract from a message my friend and student M sent me after a recent class :

“… M has had her mind corrected on the wholemeal pastry, the Homity Pie made a lovely lunch next day. The wholemeal pastry that I had previously was dry and crumbly but this was delicious ...”

What does make a difference is the quality of the flour – I use Doves Farm Organic – I'm sure there are others, it's just a guide.

Wholemeal Pastry

200g plain wholemeal flour

100g unsalted butter

pinch of baking powder

ice cold water to bind

Rub the butter into the flour and baking powder until it resembles breadcrumbs, then gradually add a glug of water and use a round bladed knife to bring the pastry together.

You can use a processor to reach the breadcrumb stage if you prefer – I'd then tip the pastry into a mixing bowl and add the water by hand. Rest the pastry in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Using the Rummage Pie recipe as a template, line, fill and top your pie dish but don't egg wash - freeze. (By the way you can freeze ready-made pastry sheets in pies if they have come from your fridge, in other words “chilled”). Double wrap in foil. You can cook straight from your freezer, egg wash and then bake in a pre-heated oven 180fan/200c/Gas 6 for 40 minutes – turn after 20 minutes and check after 35 – ovens vary.

The cooked Rummage Pie freezes perfectly if you've any leftovers. Freeze in portions to suit. I normally take the pie from the freezer and fridge in the morning to re-heat as above for 20 minutes.

Live dangerously – give it a go and think how virtuous you'll feel when serving up your own comfort food.