CRIMP MY PIE! TWO EASY WAYS TO CRIMP AND SEAL YOUR PIES…

Let’s face it, pie is generally delicious no matter what it looks like. But a pretty pie is a next level pie

So if you’re about to embark on a spot of pie baking, have a quick read of my tutorial first, which shows you two different ways to crimp your pie lid.

WHY CRIMP YOUR PASTRY LID?

Well aside from anything else, it makes your finished pie look altogether more fancy pants. And who doesn’t love a fancy pants pie?

But it also helps to give your pastry lid a good seal onto the shell, keeping the contents firmly tucked inside and guarding against pie boil-out when it goes in the oven.

HOW TO CRIMP YOUR PASTRY LID

There are lots of different and creative ways to crimp your pie top, but here I have just two quick and easy examples that don’t require anything other than your fingers.

The first thing you need to do before crimping your pastry lid is seal the lid to the shell. You do this by brushing the top of the shell (and any overhang) with egg wash. Then you carefully place your pastry lid on top and gently press down to form a seal. Now you’re ready to choose your crimping method!

TOP TIP!

Have a little pot of flour on your workbench so that you can dip your fingers in it to stop them sticking to the pastry as you crimp.

POKE IT!

Use your index finger for this one and hold it about 1cm in from the edge of the pie and at a slight downward angle.

Press gently down and forward into the pastry to create an imprint of your finger in the top.

Continue all the way round the pie until you are back to where you started.

And there you have it – a beautifully poked pie lid!

PINCH IT!

You will be using the thumb and index fingers of your left hand on the outside of the pie and the index finger of your right hand on the top (or the reverse if you are left-handed).

Place your thumb and index finger up against the side of the pastry. Press gently down and forward into the pastry with your right index finger and pinch the pastry between your left thumb and index finger.

Continue all the way round the pie until you are back to where you started.

And there you have it – a beautifully pinched pie lid!

HAPPINESS IS A WELL-CRIMPED PIE

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HOW TO: A GLUTEN-FREE ROUGH PUFF PASTRY PICTURE TUTORIAL…

Since launching the gluten-free rough puff pastry mix, I’ve had quite a few requests from people purchasing it asking me if I do lessons on how to make it. Unfortunately I am not in a position to run classes at the moment. So I have put together this short pictorial guide on how to make rough puff pastry using the mix.

The pictures are a little rough and ready, but they should give you enough of an idea of each of the steps involved.

You may also find my simple six stage process to becoming the best baker you can be (Prep like a boss: bake like a pro) helpful to read.

A PICTURE TUTORIAL ON MAKING GLUTEN-FREE ROUGH PUFF PASTRY WITH OUR MAGICAL MIX…

STEP ONE: MAKE THE DOUGH

Tip the mix into a bowl and add the Stork. Rub it into the flour with your fingers. You can use a stand mixer for this if you wish (I do!).

Next, add the iced water and mix until the flour is hydrated and you can bring everything together to form a pliable dough.

STEP TWO: ROLL THE DOUGH

If you have a silicone rolling mat, place this on your work surface and lightly flour it. If not, lay a piece of clingfilm on your work surface and sprinkle lightly with flour.

Place the ball of dough on the work surface, cover with another layer of clingfilm and gently roll the dough out to a rectangle measuring roughly 45cm x 15cm.

STEP three: KEEP THE PASTRY MOVING

After every few strokes of the rolling pin, check to ensure that your pastry isn’t sticking to the work surface. If it is, sprinkle a little more flour on your worktop underneath the dough.

Keeping the pastry moving will also help stop it from sticking – so after every few strokes, gently lift the pastry just off the worktop and put it back down again.

STEP FOUR: NEATEN THE EDGES

Once your dough is rolled out, you can fix any cracks that might have appeared at the edges of the pastry by gently massaging the dough with your fingertips.

You can also push a ruler up to the sides of the dough to neaten the edges.

STEP FIVE: SCATTER THE BUTTER

You are now ready to add the butter to your dough. Remove the first portion of grated butter from the freezer and scatter over the bottom two thirds of the pastry.

Aim for a nice, even coverage but don’t spend too much time trying to get it perfect or the warmth from your fingers will melt the butter!

STEP SIX: FOLD THE DOUGH

You are now going to make a ‘letter fold’ with the pastry.

To make this easier, you can make two little indentations along the length of the pastry at the 15cm and 30cm mark so that you know where to make the folds.

The first step is to fold the top third of the pastry down towards you, as shown in the picture.

STEP SIX: FOLD THE DOUGH

Now fold the bottom third up to the top.

Do this carefully but with determination and with one swift motion. This will help the butter stay in place and not make a bid for freedom across your worktop!

STEP SEVEN: NEATEN THE PASTRY PARCEL

You have now completed your first letter fold of the pastry. You now need to neaten the parcel you have created so that it is ready for the second fold.

Use your fingertips to seal the edges of the pastry and to close up any cracks that may have appeared as you made the folds.

Then use your rolling pin to gently but firmly press down across the width of the parcel to further seal the contents.

STEP EIGHT: REPEAT STEPS TWO – SEVEN

Turn your pastry parcel through 90 degrees so that the long edge is vertical.

Repeat the steps outlined above of rolling the pastry into a rectangle, adding the butter, folding the dough like a letter, sealing the butter in and neatening the packet.

STEP NINE: your gluten-free rough puff pastry is ready!

Your gluten-free rough puff pastry is now ready! Wrap it in clingfilm / food safe wrap and chill it until you are ready to bake.

You can also freeze the dough at this point.

Follow the instructions on your recipe and enjoy the fruits of your labour

A NOTE ON DOUGH TEMPERATURE

It is very important that your ingredients (water and butter) are very cold when you start to work with them. So keep them in the fridge/freezer right up until the moment you are ready to use them.

If your kitchen is warm, you may need to chill the dough after the first fold before starting the second fold to stop the butter from melting.

When you are ready to use your gluten-free rough puff pastry to make something delicious, don’t use the dough straight from the fridge. If it is too cold, it may crack as you roll it. So allow it to warm up by a few degrees before starting to work with it.

HAPPY BAKING

The post HOW TO: A GLUTEN-FREE ROUGH PUFF PASTRY PICTURE TUTORIAL appeared first on The Little Bakery of Happiness.

TOP TIPS FOR GLUTEN-FREE BAKING SUCCESS…

Here are some top tips to help you up your baking game…from someone who has made every single baking mistake in the book (and a few more besides) and would love to help you avoid them!

PAY ATTENTION TO BBE DATES ON RAISING AGENTS

Don’t keep raising agents (baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, yeast) beyond their best before date. They can lose their oomph as they age and therefore may not work as intended.

For more information on raising agents, read my article on the difference between baking powder and bicarbonate of soda.

EMBRACE THE LUMPS!

When making muffins and waffles, mix the batter only until any traces of flour are barely visible but don’t worry if your batter is lumpy. These lumps will help keep the texture of your muffins or waffles light and airy. Overmixing can result in a dense, closed texture.

ALWAYS BAKE BY WEIGHT

There are *lots* of recipes out there, particularly those originating from the United States, that give ingredient quantities in cups (and parts thereof). In other words, ingredient quantities are given in volume.

Please, for the love of all that is holy, if you come across this kind of recipe, put the book back on the shelf – or keep scrolling if you’re looking at recipes online – and use a recipe that gives ingredient quantities by weight.

I have always been genuinely puzzled why people don’t bake by weight. It’s not as if a kitchen scale is an expensive piece of kit (well it can be if you go for a really fancy pants one, but it doesn’t have to be!)

Baking by weight is accurate. Baking by volume is not.

Buy yourself a kitchen scale and you will, in this one small purchase, instantly become a better baker.

You can pick one up for as little as £10 but I would recommend you invest in the best you can afford, especially if you are going to be doing a lot of baking.

I highly recommend a digital kitchen scale for much better accuracy (which is critical when it comes to gluten-free bread baking!) Have a look at the BBC Good Food review of the 11 best kitchen scales for some options.

DON’T OVER GREASE YOUR CAKE TINS

When greasing (but not lining) your cake tins, don’t use too much fat or you will end up lightly frying the edges of the cake. They will be crunchy with an oily taste – deeply unpleasant!

Check out my recipe for making DIY cake release to use when greasing your cake tins.

MAXIMISE THOSE FRUITY FLAVOURS!

Add fruit zest (lemon, lime, orange etc.) to the butter and sugar while creaming to release the oils from the fruit skins and add more flavour. Do the same when making buttercream if the recipe calls for zest.

A WHITER SHADE OF PALE (BUTTERCREAM)

Buttercream made with butter has a yellowy hue, which is not ideal if you are aiming for white. One solution is to use shortening (such as Trex) in place of the butter but this completely changes the taste and mouthfeel of the buttercream. And not for the better, in my opinion!

To achieve a whiter buttercream when using butter, beat the butter for a minimum of five minutes before adding the icing sugar and it will become a lot less yellowy.

You can also add a teensy (and I mean teensy) drop of violet/purple food colouring. This will neutralise the yellow and make your buttercream look whiter.

You can also buy a product called icing and buttercream whitener, which does the job as well.

PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE: SO CHILL, CHILL, CHILL!

If a recipe calls for a specific chill time (e.g. cookie or pastry dough), don’t be tempted to skip it. It is there for a reason and ignoring it could result in a baking disaster (like biscuits that spread while baking and end up like crunchy pancakes!)

BE ORGANISED: PREP LIKE A BOSS, BAKE LIKE A PRO

Good preparation is key to successful baking. While the ‘wing it with what’s in the cupboard’ method of cookery can work successfully for rustling up a meal on the hoof (works for me *a lot*), this is a one way ticket to recipe disaster in the world of baking.

Because baking is a science and each ingredient has a very specific role to play in producing a star bake, ‘winging it’ with alternative ingredients will result in something other than intended.

So always start your baking session by reading the recipe and then reading it again to ensure you have understood it. Next prepare your mis en place (the fancy term for gathering together all your ingredients).

Once you know you have everything you need, re-read the recipe one last time then you’re good to go to bake like a pro!

SLOWLY DOES IT! ADD YOUR EGGS ONE AT A TIME

This tip is for cake recipes using the creaming method. The creaming method involves beating the sugar and fat together until light and fluffy. The primary goal of this method is to add volume and air to your cake batter.

So after taking the time to whip up lots of air and volume while creaming the fat and sugar, you don’t want to undo that effort in the remaining stages of making your cake batter.

By adding the eggs one at a time – and beating between each addition – you will be helping the creamed mix retain all that lovely air and volume.

And air and volume trapped in your cake batter will lead to a lovely light and airy finished cake.

CURDLED CAKE MIXTURE? DON’T PANIC!

Nothing strikes fear into an unsuspecting baker like a curdled cake mixture!

It might look like something out of a horror movie, but it’s actually not the end of the world if this happens. You can still bake your cake and it will still look and taste like cake. It’s just that the texture won’t be quite on point. And the curdling can inhibit the rise.

So it’s always best to try and avoid a curdled cake batter in the first place. And there are some simple steps you can take to do this…

Make sure you really cream the fat and sugar together well. This is the foundation stone of a cake based on the creaming method, so it is really important not to shortcut it.

Slowly add your liquid ingredients (this includes egg) to the creamed mixture and resist the temptation to dump them all into the bowl in one go.

As mentioned in the tip above this one, adding too much egg too quickly can knock out air and volume. It can also cause your cake mixture to split / curdle.

Adding your eggs one at a time and beating after each addition will reduce the risk of a curdled mixture.

You can also add a tablespoon of the recipe’s total flour weight with every egg. This will stabilise your cake batter and reduce the risk of it curdling.

An imbalance of ingredients can throw a cake recipe out, which is why it is important to carefully weigh all your ingredients. Including the liquids. Too much liquid will split your cake batter so never guesstimate with liquid quantities and always use the size of egg specified in the recipe.

And finally, always bake with room temperature ingredients. This will help reduce the risk of your cake batter curdling. So if you are someone who keeps eggs in the fridge, lift them out an hour or two before you are ready to start baking.

ALWAYS FOLLOW THE RECIPE – DON’T BE TEMPTED TO WING IT!

To avoid the disappointment of at best an under par bake or at worst an epic bake failure, always follow the recipe. To. The. Letter. I cannot stress this enough!

A well written, researched and rigorously tested recipe will not let you down, provided you follow the ingredients and method exactly as instructed.

Each ingredient and its corresponding weight will have been selected precisely for the role it plays in producing a mighty fine end product.

Brown sugar in a recipe, for example, will have been chosen for its depth of flavour, higher moisture content and the colour it adds to a bake. Subbing it for caster sugar may not result in a total baking failure, but it won’t look and taste the way it was intended.

So if your recipe calls for brown sugar and you only have caster sugar, pop to the shops before you start baking. Or save that recipe for another day and find something to bake that uses caster sugar.

I know that it is tempting to substitute one ingredient for another, particularly when you are trying to bake without certain ingredients for dietary reasons.

But you are far, far better to take the time to find and follow a recipe that caters specifically to your dietary needs than to ‘wing it’ by making changes to a recipe with ingredients you can’t consume.

And I say this because, at best, this approach will result in an OK bake. And I’m not about OK baking. I’m about *great* baking. And helping *you* become the best baker you can be.

So I will say it again…

Always, always follow the recipe. To the letter. Please and thank you

WORKING WITH MULTIPLE PIPING TIPS

If you are piping more than one design in buttercream on a cake or cupcakes, you are going to need to change the nozzle/tip on your piping bag.

There is a little gadget called a coupler that holds the piping tip on the outside of the bag. This allows you to change the tip while continuing to use the same bag of icing. I sell these – see the baking equipment section of the online shop.

If you drop your tip into the bottom of the bag before filling with icing, you are obviously not going to be able to get the tip out until you’ve used all the icing.

If you don’t have a coupler and you want to change your piping tip halfway through a bag of icing, you can do this…

Put your piping nozzle into one disposable piping bag then cut the end off another bag and fill it with buttercream. Now drop this piping bag into the one with the nozzle in. Then, when you want to change the nozzle, just lift the inner bag of icing out of the outer bag, change the tip and drop the inner bag of icing back in again. Simples!

I hope you have found these tips helpful and I wish you one hundred thousand triumphs with baking yourself happy at home

The post BAKE TALK: TOP TIPS FOR TIP TOP GLUTEN-FREE BAKING! appeared first on The Little Bakery of Happiness.

Baking for someone with coeliac disease? Here’s what you need to know…

If checking labels for sources of gluten, worrying about cross-contamination and interrogating ingredient lists isn’t a daily occurence for you (as it is for coeliacs) then it is completely understandable that you may feel a little daunted about baking for someone with coeliac disease.

I have written this article to help those of you who may be thinking of baking for someone with coeliac disease for the first time. It may also be helpful to you if you have coeliac disease and need to communicate to friends and family the importance of vigilance when it comes to baking and cooking for you. This can sometimes be a challenge as not everyone fully understands our condition (and why would they if they’re not living with it day in, day out!)

THE IMPORTANCE OF NOT DIGESTING GLUTEN WHEN YOU HAVE COELIAC DISEASE

For those of us living with coeliac disease, a strictly controlled gluten-free diet is vital for our ongoing good health and wellbeing. Even the slightest crumb of a food containing gluten can make us ill for days on end.

I know this may sound far-fetched. And it was something I struggled to wrap my head around following my diagnosis. I mean, how can you eat *all* the gluten for *all* the years and then suddenly a tiny speck of it can make you ill? But it really, really is true. It is not attention-seeking behaviour, it’s not being over-dramatic or paranoid and it’s not that “a little bit of gluten every now and again won’t do you any harm.” It will. And it does. Trust me, I (as do many of my fellow coeliacs) speak from first-hand, deeply unpleasant experience.

FINDING GLUTEN

The main sources of gluten are the grains wheat, barley, rye and oats, with other less common sources including spelt, einkorn and emmer. I have seen repeated claims over time that baked goods made with spelt are gluten-free. This is categorically untrue. Some people with a gluten-intolerance report being able to more easily digest ancient grains such as spelt, but this does not make these grains gluten-free. And they are absolutely not safe for coeliacs.

Oats are a constant source of confusion in the gluten-free diet. The grain itself does not contain gluten but the way in which it is grown, harvested and milled has a high potential for cross contamination. As such, standard oats are not considered gluten-free. Gluten-free oats do exist and they are safe for coeliacs if they are certified gluten-free.

BUT (and there’s always a but!) some coeliacs can’t tolerate oats – even the certified gluten-free ones – so do please check with the coeliac you are baking for before using them.

I SEE YOU: SPOTTING GLUTEN-CONTAINING INGREDIENTS IN PRODUCT INGREDIENT LISTS

When you are shopping for ingredients to bake for a coeliac, you need to check for the presence of all/any of these gluten-containing ingredients and put them back on the shelf if they appear in the ingredients list.

It is a legal requirement for food to be labelled with any gluten-containing ingredients. It is the grain, not the word gluten, that you are looking for in the list. Allergens must be highlighted in some way so that they are easy to see. And most manufacturers use either bold type or CAPS or both. As an illustration, below are the ingredients lists for a packet of standard digestive biscuits and a packet of gluten-free digestives, which I have lifted from the Tesco groceries website.

STANDARD DIGESTIVE BISCUITS:
Wheat Flour (with added Calcium, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Vegetable Oil (Palm), Sugar, Wheatgerm (5%), Raising Agents: E500, E503, Salt, Dried Whey (Milk), Natural Flavouring
GLUTEN-FREE DIGESTIVE BISCUITS:
Gluten Free Oat Flour, Muscovado Sugar, Maize Starch, Palm Fat, Rapeseed Oil, Palm Oil, Partially Inverted Sugar Syrup, Raising Agent (Sodium Bicarbonate), Flavouring, Salt, Emulsifier (Mono- and Di-Glycerides of Fatty Acids).

We can see immediately from these two ingredients lists that the standard digestive biscuits contain wheat and are therefore not safe for coeliacs. The gluten-free digestive biscuits have no gluten-containing ingredients highlighted in the list and no may contain warnings, so we know that they are safe for coeliacs. BUT they do contain gluten-free oats, so we need to check with our coeliac friends/family members that they can tolerate gluten-free oats before we use these biscuits in our baking.

WARNING. THIS IS NOT A DRILL!

May contain warnings. A headache for coeliacs and a source of controversy and confusion for a variety of reasons.

The term gluten-free is legally protected, which means that a product should not claim to be gluten-free unless it is under 20ppm. It is not uncommon to have an ingredients list with only non-gluten-containing ingredients but with a may contain warning for a gluten-containing ingredient (for example, wheat).

Here the manufacturer is communicating to the consumer that there is a high probability of cross contamination with the ingredient mentioned. As an example, this is common on some Cadbury chocolate products where products with gluteny ingredients are produced on the same line as those with no gluteny ingredients and the process isn’t segregated to guard against cross contamination.

CADBURY DAIRY MILK (BAR)
Milk, Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Cocoa Mass, Vegetable Fats (Palm, Shea), Emulsifiers (E442, E476), Flavourings
May contain nuts, wheat.

We can see here that this product is not safe for coeliacs because of the possibility of it containing wheat. Please don’t use this chocolate if you are baking for a coeliac. There are plenty of chocolate bars that are safe to use and if you’re set on Cadbury chocolate, their buttons and giant buttons do not carry a may contain warning.

It is worth stating here that it is my personal choice not to eat any foods where there is a may contain warning on the label. This is in line with the advice from Coeliac UK. I am aware that not everyone takes this stance. But for me it is not up for debate and you will therefore not find me saying anything other than to avoid them.

IT’S GOOD TO TALK

When someone goes out of their way to help us feel included at an occasion where food is involved, it really does make those of us with coeliac disease feel warm and fuzzy on the inside. But at the same time it is an enormous source of anxiety. Do they know about cross contamination? Or that we can’t eat foods with may contain warnings in the ingredients list? Might they have used an open jar of jam in the cake filling? Should I check and risk offending them after they have gone to the bother of catering for me? Or should I keep quiet and risk getting ill?

You may have no idea that this is what goes on inside the head of many a coeliac in these situations. How could you be expected to if we keep it to ourselves? Which is why I am telling you here

And it can also be an anxious time for you if you’re going to be catering for us: worrying about how to prepare things and what to think about to make sure we don’t get ill. Which is why I am advocating that you talk to us about how the food we are about to eat has been prepared. And never be afraid to ask questions if you’re unsure about anything.

Having a chat with the coeliac(s) in your life before cooking or baking for them with get any anxieties that either of you have out in the open and will result in a happy eating experience. Which of course I would champion!

NO OFFENCE, BUT WHAT’S WITH ALL THE QUESTIONS?

As coeliacs, we don’t live in a gluten-free bubble and so we have to make decisions every day on how safe it is for us to eat certain foods in certain places and in certain situations. Informed decisions help us to stay safe and well. Which is why it is so good to talk and ask questions We’re not questioning your cooking or baking skills. And neither are we saying that we don’t trust you. It would be unreasonable of us to expect you to know the intricacies of a medical condition you don’t live with! So we’re just asking questions to make those informed decisions that will help keep us from being glutened.

DON’T BE DOUBLE-DIPPING

If you’re baking a cake for us, the chances are you will be using butter (or another form of fat) and maybe jam or chocolate spread or something else from a jar. Please always make sure that you use a fresh pot of jam or a fresh packet of butter when baking for someone with coeliac disease.

If yours is not an exclusively gluten-free household (and let’s face it, how many are?), the chances are that the pot of jam in your fridge has had a knife dipped in it, spread on a slice of gluteny toast and then dipped back in the jar for a second helping. This is a one-way ticket to what us coeliacs refer to as a ‘right royal glutening.’ So please start a new packet, pot or jar of any ingredient you are using to cater for us in order to mitigate this risk.

SEPARATING THE WHEAT FROM THE…

In an ideal world, the perfect kitchen for a coeliac would have a completely separate set of cooking and baking tools and equipment than those used to cook gluteny things. But for many this is neither practical nor financially viable. And if you’re just baking something gluten-free for a friend or family member once in a while, it seems a little OTT.

Most of us are accepting of the fact that you will be baking for us using the things you use for your own food on a daily basis. But do please always check with the coeliac you are baking for, as we are all different and have different levels of acceptance when it comes to how our food is prepared.

That said, please give all your pots, pans, tools, tins and utensils a nice and thorough wash in hot soapy water (or better still, run them through the dishwasher if you have one) before you bake for us.

IT’S NOT HIP TO BE SQUARE

We need to talk tins. Baking tins.

As discussed above, not everyone is in a position to have separate baking tins that are used exclusively for gluten-free baking. And the chances are, if you are baking something gluten-free once in a while for a friend or family member, this is you.

My advice in this situation is to give square, oblong and straight-edged cake tins a wide berth if you have already baked gluteny things in them. Stick to round tins and / or cupcake pans lined with cupcake cases.

I say this because it is next to impossible to get baked-in cake batter out of the corners of a square/oblong cake tin. And even those few pesky crumbs can make a coeliac quite unwell.

I hope you have found this little guide to baking for someone with coeliac disease useful. It may seem a lot to remember, so you can always bookmark this page for future reference. But the simplest way to bake safely for someone with coeliac disease is to chat with the person you are doing a spot of gluten-free baking for before you start. Coeliacs don’t bite – unless we’re very, very hungry

The post BAKING FOR SOMEONE WITH COELIAC DISEASE: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW appeared first on The Little Bakery of Happiness.

FOLLOW MY METHOD TO CONFIDENTLY LINE A TIN WITH GLUTEN-FREE PASTRY…

This little tutorial shows you how to line a pie tin with gluten-free pastry. It will help you to avoid the rips, splits and tears that sometimes appear when handling pastry.

The pictures and detailed descriptions below will take you through a five-step process to lining and lidding a 20cm (8″) round sandwich tin with gluten-free sweet pastry.

You may find it useful to read through the whole tutorial a few times before lining your tin with pastry.

STEP ONE: PREPARE YOUR WORK SURFACE

Line your worksurface with enough clingfilm to cover an area just larger than the size you want to roll your pastry to.

Place your ball of chilled* pastry in the middle and then place more clingfilm over the top.

*For best results, lift your pastry from the fridge around 15mins before you want to use it (but don’t skip or shorten the initial chill time!)

STEP TWO: ROLL OUT YOUR PASTRY

To line a 20cm (8″) sandwich tin, I use a 650g ball of pastry. Our gluten-free sweet pastry mix makes up roughly 800g pastry.

Roll your pastry out between the two sheet of clingfilm until it is the right size and thickness.

I use a set of green (4mm) rolling pin spacers for this type of pie.

You will need to roll to a length and width of around 27.5cm (11″).

STEP THREE: CUT YOUR BASE

Remove the top layer of clingfilm and gently place a 25cm (10″) circle on top of your pastry. Mine is the base of a cake tin, but you could use a plate or a circle of baking paper if you don’t have a 10″ cake tin.

Cut around the circle with a knife.

Gather up the pastry trimmings (which you will use for the lid) and carefully remove the cutting circle you placed on top of your pastry.

STEP FOUR: LINE THE TIN

Place the top layer of clingfilm back over your pastry circle then slide one hand underneath the bottom layer of clingfilm. Place the other hand on the top layer.

Quickly but carefully flip the pastry over and place it back down on your work surface. Remove the top layer of clingfilm (which was the bottom!)

This is simply to loosen the pastry from the worksurface, making it easier to lift again when you move it to the tin.

STEP FOUR: LINE THE TIN…

Leaving your pastry on the worksurface, place the base of your sandwich tin in the centre of the rolled out pastry. If, like mine, your base has a rim on one side, you want this rim facing up towards you.

Now place the wall of the tin gently in place over the base of the tin. You need to have the bottom of the tin wall facing up towards you.

You need the base and wall facing this way so that you are definitely lining the inside of the tin!

STEP FOUR: LINING THE TIN…

Now place your hand, wrist and the lower part of your arm over the sandwich tin. Slide your other hand under the clingfilm on your worksurface.

Now, in one swift movement, flip the tin over and put it down on your worksurface.

This action will result in the base dropping to the bottom of the tin, taking the pastry with it.

STEP FOUR: LINING THE TIN…

Leaving the clingfilm where it is for the time being, gently press the pastry into the base and around the walls of the tin so that it sits flush with the tin and there are no gaps.

Gently peel the clingfilm away from the pastry then use a sharp knife to trim away the excess pastry. This will leave you with a nice neat rim at the top of the tin for your pastry lid to attach to.

STEP FIVE: MAKING AND ATTACHING THE LID

Set your beautifully pastry-lined tin to one side so that you have enough space to make the lid.

Prepare your worksurface in the exactly the same way you did in step one.

Roll the remainder of your pastry out so that it is at least 22.5cm (9″) in diameter. Remove the top layer of clingfilm.

STEP FIVE: MAKING AND ATTACHING THE LID…

Place a 20c, (8″) circle gently on top of the pastry. Cut around the circle, removing any offcuts (which you can use to decorate the top of your pie if you are feeling creative).

Fill your pastry-lined tin with your filling of choice and now you are ready to attach the lid.

STEP FIVE: MAKING AND ATTACHING THE LID…

Crack an egg into a small bowl and lightly beat it with a fork. Lightly brush the egg around the rim of the pastry to give your lid something to stick to.

Slide your hand under the clingfilm that is underneath your pastry lid. Position your hand so that the rim of the pastry lid is right next to the edge of the tin.

With one swift movement, flip the pastry lid over onto the top of your tin.

STEP FIVE: MAKING AND ATTACHING THE LID…

You can make slight adjustments at this stage by gently wiggling the clingfilm if your flip was slightly off centre

Once you’re happy with the alignment of your lid, carefully peel away the clingfilm. Using your fingertips, press the edges of the lid into the rim to create a seal.

AND FINALLY

Congratulations! You now have a delicious gluten-free pie waiting to be baked and devoured

Egg wash your pastry lid for a lovely golden finish. Bake according to the instructions in your recipe, then kick back and enjoy the fruits of your labour

Happy baking!

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