Posting Date: October 27, 2013
My oh my, I was nervous for this challenge! Hannah of
Rise and Shine
was our October 2013 Daring Bakers’ hostess and she challenged us to
bake our own double crusted savory pot pies. Using any from-scratch
crust and filling we choose, we were allowed to get completely creative
with our recipe, showing off the savory flavors and fillings from our
own home or region.
I was nervous for this challenge because I have never made a successful pie. While I have always been able to perfect the crust, my insides have been way to runny. I also decided to temporarily leave my tried and true pie crust for the one below which was scary because that's been my ONLY success with pie! But, alas, I broke out of my comfort zone and tried something completely new. I have loved these challenges because the recipe offers a new chance to explore in the kitchen, to play with different recipes that I never would have chosen to do on my own.
Classic Chicken Pot Pie:
Servings: about 8 (one 9 1/2 inch pie)
Ingredients
Flaky Pie Crust:
3 1/2 cups all-purpose (plain) flour
1 tablespoon brown sugar, firmly packed
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup cold shortening (I always use butter flavored), cut into pieces
3/4 cup cold unsalted butter
1 3/4 cup ice water (the recipe called for a full cup but I could have probably only used 1/2)
Chicken Pot Pie Filling:
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 large carrots, peeled and diced
1 medium onion, diced
1/2 cup celery, diced (omitted due to a food allergy)
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons butter, room temperature
1/3 cup flour
2 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup half and half
2 tablespoons
white wine, light beer or chicken stock
1/2 teaspoon dried
thyme italian seasoning (I was out of thyme)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3 cups cooked
chicken turkey, chopped (I prefer turkey)
1 cup frozen peas, not thawed
Directions:
1.
Mix flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Drop in shortening
and quickly grate butter directly into the bowl using a cheese grater.
2. Using your fingers, a fork or a pastry cutter, work butter and
shortening into the flour mixture until it's broken down into course,
chunky crumbs. Stop mixing when the largest crumb is about the size of a
pea.
3. Using a fork, quickly stir in very cold ice water. Turn the rough dough and crumbs onto a floured surface.You can do the method above OR you can save time and dishes by using a food processor with a dough blade! Place all ingredents, except the water in the food processor, and process for a few seconds. Add 1/4 cup of water and mix. Mix until the largest crumb is about the size of a pea. Add water, 1 tablespoon at a time, as needed to get the crumbs to pea size.
4. Turn the rough dough and crumbs onto a floured surface. Knead just until dough starts to hold together in a rough mass,
up to 10 times.
Do not over mix! You will be able to see chunks of
butter in the dough and this is a good thing.
5. Divide the dough in half and pat each half into a disk. Wrap each
disk in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour before use.
The dough will keep in the fridge for a full day, or you may freeze the
dough for up to 3 months (and bring back to a thawed chill before
rolling).
Side-note: I love to leave frozen dough in my freezer so that I am ready to go when the desire strikes! Pie dough is awesome for quiche, pie, rugala, and tarts.
6. Preheat the oven to moderately hot 200°C/400°F/gas mark 6.
7.
Heat oil in a wide bottomed skillet or sauce pan over medium-high
heat. Add carrots and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often. Add onions,
celery and salt and sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a
medium mixing bowl and set aside.
8. Meanwhile, make a thick paste by mixing the butter and flour in a small bowl with a fork.
9. Heat 2 cups (500 ml) chicken stock in the empty skillet over
medium-high heat. Drop the butter/flour paste into the stock and whisk
vigorously until it come to a simmer. Boil briefly until thick like
honey. Whisk in the half and half. Turn off heat, stir in wine, thyme
and black pepper.
Side-note: This is my new favorite way to make a rue - super easy and no flour chunks!
10. Stir together the cooked vegetables, chicken, peas and sauce.
11. Roll out one half of the chilled dough about 1/4 inch (5 mm)
thick using a floured rolling pin on a well-floured surface. Once your
round of dough is about ten inches (25 cm) across, dust the top with
flour, pick the round up from the counter and dust under the dough again
before rolling out completely to about 15 inches (38 cm) across. Hold
your pie plate up to the round of dough to ensure it is large enough to
fit your pie plate. (I used a cake pan because my pie plate is pretty shallow.)
12. To set the dough into your pie plate, fold the round of dough in
half, then in half again to create a large triangle of dough. Point
the tip of triangle of dough into the center of the pie plate and
unfold. Be careful not to stretch the dough while you ensure that you
have the dough tucked into all corners.
13. Pour the filling into the unbaked pie shell.
14. Roll out the top crust and cover the filling. Trim excess dough
and seal the edge crust by folding the top dough layer under the bottom
and pinching the dough together with your fingers or pressing with the
tines of a fork.
15. Bake in the lower third of your oven until the pastry is golden
brown, 45 to 50 minutes. To ensure the bottom is browned, you may
choose to prop an electric oven open using the handle of a wooden spoon
for the last ten minutes of the baking time. If at any point you fear
the top crust is over-browning, cover with foil for the remainder of the
baking time. Serve immediately while warm.
The finished pot pie was a yummy success! My husband had seconds and I maybe had thirds.... Dan even requested that this become a regular dinner for us!
