A standing crust for great pies is a traditional British recipe, based on Hannah Glasse's recipe of 1747, for a classic hot water crust pastry of a flour mixed with butter boiled in water that can be used for raised pies, particularly ones where whole birds are baked inside. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: A standing crust for great pies.
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This is a traditional British recipe redacted from Hannah Glasse's 1747 volume The Aft of Cookery Made Plain and Easy, the classic Georgian cookbook.
A ſtanding cruſt for great pies.
TAKE a peck of flour, and ſix pounds of butter, boiled in a gallon of water ; ſkim it off into the flour, and as little of the liquor as you can ; work it well up into a paſte, then pull it into pieces till it is cold, then make it up in what form you will have it. This is fit for the walls of a gooſe pie.
Modern Redaction
Ingredients:
1.77kg plain flour
900g butter
335ml water
Method:
Sift the flour into a bowl. Combine the water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Take off the heat then skim off the butter from the surface and work into the flour until your have a stiff dough.
Turn the dough onto a floured work surface, pull into small pieces and set these aside to cool completely. When cold, stick the pieces together and roll out quite thickly.
This pastry is suitable for raised pies and can be built very tall. Traditionally, in Georgian times this was used for the walls of a pie where a whole goose or turkey could be baked within. This needs to be rolled out thickly and baked slowly so that it does not collapse whilst being cooked.
