George Bryant

Flaky pie pastry recipe

Flaky pastry that's easier to make than puff pastry

Posted 2020-08-30

Prep: 30 minutes active, 2 hours fridge
Cook: 20 minutes blind bake + 20-30 minutes with filling

Whisk flour, sugar and salt together in a medium bowl.
Cut the butter into cubes no smaller than 12mm, and toss with the flour mixture to break up.
Smash each cube flat with your fingertips.
Stir in water and knead dough against the sides of the bowl until it forms a shaggy ball.
Check dough temperature - should be at most 18-21°C. If not put in the fridge briefly.
On a generously floured work surface, roll dough into a ~25x40cm rectangle.
Fold the short ends into the centre, then close this packet like a book. Fold in half again the other way to make a thick block.
Divide in half with a sharp knife or bench scraper.
Check dough temperature again - should still be at most 18-21°C. Refrigerate if it’s too warm.

The original recipe has instructions for different types of pie here, but here’s what I did for a double crust pie:

Roll one piece of the dough out to a circle a fair bit larger than the pie dish, to allow for a load of overlap.
Transfer the pastry to the pie dish, dusting off excess flour with a pastry brush.
Trim the excess to about 3cm around the rim.
Roll out the other piece of dough to a circle big enough to cover the pie, plus a bit to account for shrinkage. Transfer to a plate.
Cover both pieces of pastry with cling film to prevent them drying too much.
Refrigerate both pieces of pastry for at least 2 hours and up to overnight.
Blind bake the base filled with baking beans at 180°C for 20 minutes.
Add the filling, preferably cold so it doesn’t start melting the top.
Brush the edge with egg and add the top piece of pastry.
Pierce the lid and brush with egg.
Bake at 180°C for 20-30 minutes if filling is hot, or 40 minutes if cold.

This is a solid pastry that works really well for pies! It’s buttery and flaky and also has enough structural integrity to hold together.