Bake 14: Cornish Pasties

Technical time! This round we can give thanks to Paul Hollywood for a traditional Cornish Pasty. These hand pies were often eaten as a full meal which will be perfect as we are having them for lunch for the next few days! The recipe calls for 4 servings. I found that to be huge so I made 6 servings but I would recommend making 8 servings unless you are going to be working in the field all day and need that extra sustenance. 

Ingredients

1 lb 1 oz bread flour

4 ounces vegetable shortening

1 teaspoon salt

1 ounce butter

6 fluid ounces cold water

1 egg, beaten with a pinch of salt (for glazing the pastry before cooking)

12 ounces good quality beef skirt, rump steak or braising steak

12 ounces waxy potatoes 

7 ounces swede*

6 ounces onion

3 tablespoons butter

*swede is rutabaga, but if you can't find that use turnip 

First mix the pastry, and note, you can and should be firm about it, this is not a gentle pastry! Add the flour, shortening, salt, butter, and water to the bowl. Use a spoon to combine the ingredients, and then use your hands to smoosh it all together, Turn the dough onto a clean surface (no flour or oil) and knead to combine the ingredients. Knead for 5-6 minutes until you have a smooth and glossy dough.

Once smooth, wrap in plastic wrap and rest in the fridge for 30-60 minutes. 

Prepare the filling, chop the beef, potato, swede, and onion into similar small cubes. I removed the peel of the potato and swede, and I actually didn't use onion, I replaced that with 1/2 an apple. Salt and pepper the mixture and set aside. 

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Prepare a baking tray with parchment paper or a silpat baking sheet. 

Remove the dough from the fridge, separate into 6 or 8 parts. Roll each into a large circle, about 7-8 inches for 6 servings, and 6-7 inches for 8 servings. Spoon the filling onto one side of the circle, dividing the filling evenly between all the circles. Put a spot of butter on top of the filling (divide the 3 tablespoons between the servings). Carefully fold the pastry over, joining the edges and pushing with fingers to seal. Then crimp with a fork, or make small twists along the sealed edge. Cornish pasties are very particular and have 20-21 crimps. I did not count mine. Fold the end corners under the pastry and place on the tray.

Wash the top with the egg salt mixture and place in the oven. Bake 45-50 minutes. They will be golden brown. If they are not browning enough, increase the oven temperature to 350 for the last 10 minutes of baking. I did need to do that to ensure some browning happened as mine were looking as pale as the moon at the beach. Allow to cool and enjoy! They make a great lunch on the go because they are sturdy and filling.