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General Guide To Pastes & Pastry

Pastes Suitable for Pie Making

Savoury Pies

These pastes in general can be classified as follows:

Cold : 

This paste is for the making of pies which are usually consumed warm. E.g. Steak & Kidney, Chicken or Meat & Potato.

Hot Water or Semi-Boiled

This paste is for making pies that will be consumed warm or cold. E.g. Meat Pies, Etc

Boiled : 

This paste is for pies which will only be served cold. E.g. Pork Pies, Etc

Puff Pastry

This is generally only used in pie making for the lids of Steak & Kidney or Chicken Pies.

Puff paste is normally referred to as half puff i.e. half fat to flour weight, three quarter puff or full puff, with the appropriate increase in fat.

Lamination is carried out by turning the paste to form alternate layers of fat & dough.

The amount of turning will determine the final puff of the paste e.g. half puff requires less turning and will result in less puff or lift than three quarter or full paste.

The method of turning will be either single half turns ranging from four to six dependent on quality of the paste or by book folds ranging from two to five, again dependent on quality.

Scrap pastry from cutting is more difficult to utilize than with other pie pastes, and should be incorporated into fresh paste only as a last resort for best results.

Before actual preparations for pie making can be undertaken, the type of paste best suited to any particular type of filling must be decided.

Consideration must also be given to processing, storage and distribution;

Processing

Semi - boiled paste will block better on a pie machine than either of the other 2 pastes.

Storage

If the pies are being processed to deep freeze in a raw state the a paste with a higher fat content is desirable.

Distribution

If the pies are to be trucked over long distances then the strength of the paste must be considered and it may be necessary to reduce the fat content and replace it with a shortening additive.

Sweet Pies or Tarts

These pastes are all of the cold type, but vary in their degree of shortness and sweetness.

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In general the higher the liquid content of the pie e.g. fruit filled pies, the lower the sugar content. High sugar pastes for this work will result in pies with soggy or underbaked bottoms.

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The higher the fat content the shorter and more friable the paste becomes, likewise the lower the liquid content the shorter the paste becomes.

Shells for tarts can be blind baked in order to reduce the risk of under-baked bottoms.

The type of paste to be produced will be governed by:

  1. Mechanical processing involving blocking by a mechanical die needs a dry paste (more fat, less water).

  2. Sheeting by Mechanical sheeter needs a moister paste (less fat, more water).

  3. The type of filling the pie will contain. Very moist fillings need a low sugar paste, with the exception of jam tarts. Dry fillings need a high sugar paste.

Hygiene

**Please note - these regulations are subject to be revised or updated at any time.

Covered by the food hygiene (General) regulations and food hygiene code of practice.

Additions
Substances added during the manufacture of pies to enhance or improve the products.
Care must be taken to see that these additives do not infringe the regulations laid down either by:


The Emulsifiers and Stabilisers in Food Regs 1989

The Meat Pie and Sausage Roll Regulations 1967 (S1 1967 No. 860)
 

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