Paste for Raised Pies
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Put the flour and salt into a warm bowl and let it sit near the fire until dry and warm.
Make the dough
Boil the lard and water for 5 minutes, then pour into the center of the flour and mix with a spoon until cool enough to knead.
Knead the mixture well, keeping it warm, and let it rest near the fire for about 1 hour.
Re-knead the paste and use it immediately.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Flour
- Forms the structure of the dough as its proteins and starches bind with water.
- Lard
- Adds fat that shortens gluten strands, giving the crust a tender, flaky texture.
- Water
- Hydrates the flour so gluten can develop, and turns the boiled lard into an emulsion.
The step that matters
Pouring the boiling lard and water into the flour. The hot liquid partly cooks the starch and begins gluten development. Mixing it in while still warm and kneading thoroughly keeps the dough workable and gives it an even, pliable texture.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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