Small-N-Grubby announced that he wanted an apple pie, now that apples have been added to his diet. I haven't made pastry since I was a child but nothing ventured nothing gained. Turned to Delia for the basics. She recommended 4oz of plain flour to 2oz of fat. So I made up the minimum using butter for the fat.Sieve the flour well to add air. Gently rub in the room temperature fat until you have a bread crumb consistency. Bring together into a dough using water which has been cooled in the fridge. Add the water a little at a time. Bring the dough together with a knife initially, then get your hands in! Form into a ball which should pick up any loose mixture from around the bowl. If it won't pick up it needs a tiny bit more water. Wrap the ball of pastry in cling film and place in the fridge for at least 20-30 minutes.
The pastry is now ready to use. Roll it out and cut rounds for small pies. The 4oz portion will make six pies with tops or about 9 with a little pastry left to decorate on top.
Now you can add what ever filling your diet allows. I cored and peeled 3 eating apples and cooked them on the hob with 2 tablespoons of water and 1oz of sugar for about 10 minutes.
I mashed them up a bit to reduce the size of the chunks and drained off any excess water before filling the pies and adding the top decoration. I used milk to stick the lids on but water can be used instead. Cooked at 200c for about 20 minutes.
The results weren't too pretty but the pastry was good and they disappeared fast!
** Kate **
