Perfect pie tops - tips for covering a pie dish

I will keep this post short and sweet, because in checking my facts online I have found that someone else has already written a very helpful post on covering a pie dish.

These are the 4 key points I was going to make before having read the above post:

1. Roll the pastry out so that you have a top that is slightly larger than your pie dish (approx 5cm overhang on each side); this is to help the pastry stay in place, but also because the pastry will shrink when cooking. If the pie dish is light, you can turn it upside down on top of the pastry and cut around it. Otherwise, just go with a generous estimate.
2. Use some of the trimmings to cut one long or several shorter 2cm wide strips of pastry so that you have enough to press around the rim of the pie dish. Before doing so, moisten the dish with a little water. 
3. Having lined the rim of the dish, brush the pastry rim with a little more water or egg wash and put the filling in the pie. Then carefully put the pastry cover over the top, pressing down round the edges to seal the it (you can do this with your fingers or a fork). Then trim any excess pastry.
4. Cut a little slit, make a small hole or prick several times with a fork so that the steam can get out when the pie is cooking. This is so that the pastry doesn't get soggy.

The post that I mentioned above has some other useful tips; particularly helpful is the suggestion that one should pile the filling around the middle of the pie dish, so that when the pastry cover goes on, it will sit slightly on top of the filling. I would recommend looking at this post for a more comprehensive instructions. It also covers other pastry techniques, such as lining a flan tin and baking blind.

Comments

[Helen]

Hi there.....pls forgive me if this is a very silly question - but I am new to the world of pastry lids :-)

Made two individual beef & guinness pies tonight which were awesome, as a trial run for a St Patrick's Day Party......for 16 people. Given that putting the pastry on the rim, then cutting and placing the lids on top will take time........I wanted to cook the lids seperately. My question (silly most likely) do I still need to put a whole/slit in the centre of the pastry........or is that only needed to let steam out. Also do I still need to cut them 3-5 mm larger than the individual dishes. Thank you

[Vix]

Hi Helen - not stupid questions at all! I have to admit that I pretty much always cook my pie lids separately because it ensures a perfectly crisp and golden lid. You are right that the slit in the top isn't necessary when you do it this way for exactly the reason you suggest. However, you do still need to cut the lids 3-5mm larger than the dish as the pastry always shrinks during cooking. A perfect pastry that has had the minimum amount of water/liquid added will shrink less than one with a lot of liquid, but it will always shrink a little.