Ingredients
- 300g plain Flour
- 3 tbsp Caster Sugar
- 150g Cold Butter, cut into cubes
- 3-4 tbsp Ice cold water
- 1 Medium Egg, for the egg wash
Method
- In a bowl, add the flour, sugar, and butter. With your fingertips, rub the butter into the flour until it resembles bread crumbs. You can also do this in a food processor.
- Add the ice cold water bit by bit, until a dough forms. If the mixture is too crumbly, add a few more drops of water.
- Knead the dough into a ball. Wrap in cling film or put in a food bag, and leave in the fridge for at least 30 minutes (can be made a week in advance).
- When ready to use, remove from the fridge and leave at room temperature for 10 minutes (this prevents the edges of the pastry from cracking when you roll it out). If making a pie with a pastry top and bottom, divide the dough into two.
- Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface until it is about 4mm thick. Roll the dough 1.5cm wider than the pie dish, wider if its a deep dish, as the pastry will shrink slightly as it bakes.
- Grease the pie dish. Roll the pastry onto the rolling pin, lift, and then unroll over the pie dish. Gently press the pastry into the sides of the dish.
- Blind bake in an oven preheated to 180c for 20 minutes. To blind bake, place baking paper over the pastry, and fill with baking beads, dry chickpeas, or uncooked rice, to weigh it down. Remove the paper and weights halfway through baking. If you don’t have the things to blind bake, you can just gently prick the pastry with a fork, and bake until golden. Once cooled, gently press out any air bubbles.
- Next, add any filling of your choice, and cover with the second rolled out pastry. Trim any excess pastry, which you can cut into shapes and decorate the top of the pie with. (Instead of a solid layer on the top, I cut out stars with a cookie cutter, and place them all over the pie filling. You can use any shapes)
- Brush with the egg wash, and bake for 20-25 minutes, until golden and crispy. Enjoy!
- If you have any pastry leftover, you can cut into shapes and bake to make delicious biscuits! Or pop in a food bag, and store in the fridge for up to a week.
Pie Filling Ideas
- Mixed Berry Pie: 500g frozen berries, 50g caster sugar (add more if needed). Cook in a pan on medium heat for about 30 mins, until it starts to thicken, stirring occasionally. Leave to cool, as it cools it will thicken some more. Can be made a couple of weeks in advance.
- Apple Pie: 8 medium apples (peeled, cored, and chopped into chunks), 3 tbsp caster sugar (more if needed), 2 inch cinnamon stick, 5 cloves. Cook in a pan on medium heat for about 15 minutes, until apples start to soften and there is no liquid left. Can be made a week in advance.
- Strawberry and Cream Pie: 500g fresh strawberries, 50g caster sugar. Cook in a pan on high heat for about 10 minutes, until the strawberries become a bit mushy and the sugar has dissolved. Let it cool before pouring into a baked pastry base. Top with whipped cream or squirty cream and fresh strawberries, and enjoy!