Proper Cornish Pasty Recipe

[@TheLostCat2000]

My dad owned henderson's pasties, in Cornwall. Quite a big successful pasty co going back. Alway, he taught me to make pasties a similar way to this video and it's the only one on youtube that replicates the pasty dough we used. The trick was the large chunks of butter. Do not listen to anyone who tells you to make shortcrust pastry and make it into fine breadcrumbs, you'll just get a crumbly pasty. You need the large chunks worked in. Then when you turn it on itself several times you're integrating layers. It needs a lot of layers to become puff pastry, and rough puff pastry uses around 3-5 layers and several rests. My dads company turned it into itself 3 times quickly, no resting, then rolled a final time to make the dough, then worked in it straight after that before the butter melted. In this video the guy is making a flaky pastry with the large chunks of butter, and folding it into itself is going down the route of a puffier pastry, so it becomes very flaky but not quite puff. So take it from me, someone who was around the pasty industry a lot, this person has nailed it pretty close. We also used a a strong bread flour, and most places tell you not to, because of the gluten buildup, but trust me, it will be easier to work with and crimp and if you work in a good timeframe you won't have gluten issues.

[@LukeSmithKitchen]

Jon Burhan thanks Jon, I've actually refined it closer to What you've described now too :)

[@TheLostCat2000]

Glad to hear Luke. How have you gotten on with it? You should find a more flaky pastry, with less puff, but no crumbling. I was always taught that the resting just gives gluten a chance to do its thing and turn the pasty into a more solid contraption, so that's why my dads company always tried to get them in the oven as soon as possible, so they would be crispy/flaky but not too "hard".

[@LukeSmithKitchen]

Jon Burhan yeah really well. I won't go into details, but I work very fast with a short chilling as otherwise it's too warm to work (hot house) :)

[@TheLostCat2000]

Gotcha mate. Good stuff :)

[@grahamd1318]

Hmm. Interesting. I'd never have thought trying Bread (Really Strong) Flour. But I get your point. My Bread Flour is 12% protein, which is just borderline Strong.

[@LoriCiani]

The most delicious pastie I ever ate was in front of a pub in St Agnes, Cornwall. It was a family holiday and my father-in-law brought us some pasties from a local bakery. Sunshine, cold drinks, hot and tasty pastie. 😊

[@LukeSmithKitchen]

I know the one! Friends of mine used to live in Goonbell just outside :-)

[@kernowprincess]

That would be St Agnes bakery...they are very popular....😊😋😋

[@kernowprincess]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/gneWe4ODo9N-aJY

[@presidentoxford]

Excellent. By far the best pastry method on youtube. Thnx.

[@LukeSmithKitchen]

Hi Natasha, I wouldn't have folded and wouldve rubbed for bread crumbs if I'd wanted a short crust pastry, but I wanted a rough puff like the majority of pasty makers in the sw use (although not traditional) :)

[@George-cy3yz]

Thanks for taking the effort to share. I appreciate your use of a puff pastry technique. Does it result in a flakier crust ? Also, it looks like the whole recipe should yield 6 large pastys. I wonder if anyone's had any experience making smaller, kid-sized pastys. These would go well in the lunchbox. Thanks again.

[@paulscholar57]

Great video. Love pasties, and yours could be straight from Michigan's upper peninsula.

[@operationumbrella230]

i liked the video is quiet with no extra sound

[@LukeSmithKitchen]

I'm from Cornwall too. everyone has a version. this is a bakery style pastry rather than a short crust.

[@andrewcullen8635]

OK are you aware of EU regulations regarding "Cornish Pasties"? Because firstly they must be made in Cornwall, Secondly there is a recipe that must be adhered to. Firstly the Pastry must be a Robust one and Rough Puff is not. Most people use Short Crust Pastry made with Plain and Bread Flour. This is the miners wrapped them in cloth and carried them in their pockets. Not Lunch Boxes. All the ingredients must be Sliced not Diced and not mixed together before it goes on the Pastry. Bottom Layer is the Potato, Then the Swede (Purple skin, Orange flesh never Turnips). Next is the Onions, Last layer is the Meat (Skirt). Some Flour is normally sprinkled on top to help make the Gravy and knobs of Butter right on top, Again to help make the Gravy. Some people prefer to Season each layer whilst other will Season above or below the Meat layer. This is recorded in the EU Regulations as to how a "Cornish Pasty" must be made. You can deviate if you call yours a "Cornish Style Pasty". They do look good and similar to what my mum made and she made different sizes depending who it was for with 6 Kids and 2 Adults in the family. I can remember when we lived in Portsmouth and used to come to Devon for our holidays, Last stop before heading home would always be to pick up some Dewdney's Pasties which would be warming up whilst we unloaded the car, And in those days they were a lot bigger than they are now? Todays Giant would have been a Large and a Giant would feed a family of 2 Adults and 2 Kids.

[@LukeSmithKitchen]

@@andrewcullen8635 Hi Andrew, thanks for your reply. Whilst I myself have evolved the recipe over the last few years, and my pastry sits between a tight short crust and flaky pastry, the recipe does fit within everything the Cornish Pasty Association states is required to call it a genuine Cornish Pasty, including the use of a rough puff. In the same vein, veg can be sliced or diced. While the original recipe was handed to me back in the 90s, even if the EU directive that came in during 2014 did make it not a Cornish Pasty (which it doesn't), is it any less Cornish as a result? A friend of mines family has been in this Cornish village for over 400 years. Their family Cornish Pasty recipe is one of the oldest, but they HAVE ALWAYS crimped over the top, not in a D. Does that mean their recipe is not Cornish? I like my top crimping friends are not commercial bakers which is the main reason for the EU directive, to prevent cheap immigration rubbish being churned out as it was.

[@ЗаремаГаммадаева]

Спасибо замечательно получилось

[@cheshirelasslani3939]

You need a bigger brush lass for the egg wash and poke a hole in pastry 👍🏼👍🏼

[@LukeSmithKitchen]

I use a food grade paintbrush nowadays and always poke some holes too. My recipe has changed somewhat too 🙂

[@LukeSmithKitchen]

that's so very kind president Oxford, thank you :)

[@ericgeorge5483]

Great video, they looked delicious!!

[@LukeSmithKitchen]

Thanks again Eric - I've just been working on a new pasty, the roast dinner leftovers - complete with chicken thigh, parsnip, bread sauce, homemade gravy, roasted potato, stuffing and seasoning. It's lovely!

[@donnamcgowan7691]

I thought you were going to cut it and I want a bite so how many times did you refrigerate it and pulled it and roll it 3 I've been having trouble with pastry dough so I'm going to try it your way thanks a lot Jesus is coming

[@LukeSmithKitchen]

What kind of trouble are you having? I need to do an update as my process is a lot easier now. It's not so fussy and takes 2 mins in a food processor

[@donnamcgowan7691]

I have a hard time rolling it out or it always comes out too hard and I don't have a food processor I'm used the ice cubes in different recipes I haven't tried lard I'm going to try the lard

[@LukeSmithKitchen]

Baking block is best for pastry to work with. Don't be precious with the lard or baking block. I now use 2 baking blocks. I have both in the fridge, but put one in the freezer for 20 minutes while prepping, then lop slices off with a sharp knife. The chunks of block or lard help keep the pastry flakier. Try 400g strong bread flour with 1 baking block or lard. Lard will be a tougher shorter crust. Other than that all you need is 150 to 200ml ice cold water and half a teaspoon of salt to season. Good luck!

[@grahamd1318]

I have made a lot of pasties. I have watched a lot of videos. BUT This is one of the best. Congratulations Mr Smith and his Nanny :) Very enjoyable. Just off to make some now. lol. My only alteration is that I shall be using Lard as well as Butter....BUT worse... I'm going to commit Cornish Sacrilege by ADDING CARROT...Aaarrgh. It's just my wife 'Likes it'.

[@LukeSmithKitchen]

Thanks very much. I need to do a revised video though, my pastry has improved loads and is a lot less fussy now. :)

[@keithdaviscoys8588]

Geddon!!! bleddy bewdy!

[@keithdawes2685]

Is the ingredient list correct? 500g Butter to 500g Flour.

[@LukeSmithKitchen]

Hi Keith, yes that's correct.

[@harrybond007]

Are you sure it's 500g flour 500g butter!, that's a lot of butter, every other recipe I've seen for short crust pastry the flour/butter ratio is 2:1

[@kernowprincess]

Just another tip here hun..roll up your sleeves...definitely not very hygienic to have a jumper sleeve touching pastry etc.......otherwise pasties look bleddy gorgeous!!! 😋😋😋😊👍

[@LukeSmithKitchen]

Lol, thanks and I couldn't agree more. My act is cleaned up and the recipe amhas evolved over the last few years. I will do an update video soon :)

[@kernowprincess]

Another tip my love..mix all your filling together gently in a bowl with plenty of meat and onion, salt and pepper ...add a little flour and stir in.... Easier to put into the pasty and saves all that time of separate adding ingredients...I do that and my pasties are lovely oh and that nob of butter added for gravy!!!😋😋 Yum!!!😋😋

[@BobG127]

500 grams of bread flour is nearly FOUR cups, not 2 1/5.

[@LukeSmithKitchen]

BobG127 hi Bob, thanks so much for the feedback. Not sure what happened there. As you can tell I don't work in cups. I'll try to add an annotation this evening.

[@barbarahvilivitzky430]

What a mess! Why not use a big bowl and the same technique? Only a man who doesn't have to clean regularly would make such a fuss about pastry! Otherwise a good recipe.

[@LukeSmithKitchen]

I didn't have a big bowl at the time Barbara, but I do certainly work tidier nowadays. I don't like the pastry in this one anymore, it's too fussy. I make it much more towards a shortcrust with elements of rough puff. Plus I have a new kitchen, so I feel some recipe revision coming on :-)

[@bettymoroney7286]

Funny

[@tash8430]

Took way to long to make the pastry. You don't need to take that long. Make breadcrumbs with your fingertips : use thumb and fore finger and run flour and butter chunks together. Takes about 2 minutes, if that. Don't bother with folding the pastry and all that nonsense. No point. Just knead it before you put it in the fridge. Knead it well then chill for 3 hours. After the 3 hours, divide it into however many pasties you want to make. Roll out each chunk individually. Don't cut to get rid of excess. It helps when you crimp to have excess. Obviously get rid of if there is loads but little bits it's a waste!! You could have kept all the pastry you cut off.

[@George-cy3yz]

Tash, if one wanted to make a smaller, kid-sized pasty, would you just divide the whole recipe into more portions? How would it affect the baking time, if at all ?

[@georgeangus2645]

But you are making a shortcrust pastry, he is not!

[@LukeSmithKitchen]

H George, not sure why you're asking Tash as it's not her recipe, but yes divide it up, that's fine. It will cook quicker, just go by eye more than anything. I find now a slower longer bake (150c ish for 30-35 mins) when making a pasty like this. then hit it up to 230c for another 10-15 mins at the end. The pastry I use is a rough puff pastry which my nan always used to make. Die hard pasty lovers will tell you it must be shortcrust, but pretty much all the bakeries in Cornwall go with a rough puff which has a slightly flakier finish and in my opinion tastier. The Cornish Pasty Association accept both are correct.

[@LukeSmithKitchen]

Cheers George :)

[@tash8430]

Yes, just divide it up :)

[@davidmeale9572]

For God's sake roll your sleeves up.