Skip to main content
Bread

Suet Crust

A simple crust made from suet, flour, baking powder, salt, and cold water, used for pies or puddings.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 5 ingredients
Jump to recipe ↓

Suet Crust

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Remove skin from the suet and shred it into fine flakes without chopping.

  2. In a bowl, combine the shredded suet and flour, mixing well.

Make the dough

  1. Add the salt and baking powder, then gradually mix in enough cold water to form a stiff paste.

  2. Knead lightly, then roll out the dough.

  3. Use the crust for any hot pie or pudding.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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

All-purpose flour
Forms the main structure of the dough once mixed with water.
Suet
Adds fat that keeps the crust tender and rich as it cooks.
Baking powder
Releases gas that helps the crust rise and lighten.

The step that matters

Adding the cold water gradually. Water activates the flour's gluten, so adding it slowly and stopping at a stiff paste keeps the dough from becoming tough. Cold water also keeps the suet firm so it does not melt into the flour before baking.

“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.

More suet crust recipes

for Pies 9for Meat Pies 4for Puddings 3 See all 30 →

You might also like

CornbreadCornbread345 recipesBread PuddingBread Pudding336 recipesMilk Bread RollsMilk Bread Rolls242 recipesPotato BreadPotato Bread124 recipes