Sean Gleaves celebrated National Pie Day by trying Holland's Pies for the first time and showing you how to make a simple shortcrust pastry.
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00:00 Hi, my name is Sean Glees and I'm a Live Reporter for the Lancashire Post and Blackpool Gazette.
00:05 So Tuesday, January 23rd marks National Pie Day, so as a bit of a treat to myself, I'm going to try some Holland's pies, which were first made in Lancashire.
00:14 So I've got a cheese and onion pie and a potato and meat pie, and I've never actually tried these before, so we'll give them a whirl.
00:22 And I'm also going to show you how to make a basic pie crust, just if you have a bit more time on your hands, and then you can impress your family and friends.
00:30 So let's go. So the first pie that I'm actually going to try is the potato and meat pie, only because I think I'm going to like the cheese and onion pie more, and I kind of want to save that till last.
00:38 But I'm hoping these are good because I feel like they'd be a really good alternative to a pre-packaged sandwich at work when you want something quick.
00:45 So I'm going to make it now, and I'm going to give you a few Holland's pies facts as I make it, you know, just try and make it a little bit more interesting.
00:51 And then I'm going to taste test it and let you know what I think about it.
00:55 So my microwave's just gone off, so I'll take it out, give it a try.
01:00 And I must say that Holland's pies actually first started in 1851 as a small confectionery shop in Haslingdon.
01:06 So this has been going for a really long time. So let's hope it's good.
01:10 So I've got the pie here. I've actually cut it in half just so I can sort of like dissect it and take a look before I eat it.
01:17 And I've got to admit, like, it doesn't look too appealing, I suppose.
01:21 Like, you know, it looks OK, but it's the taste that counts.
01:25 So I'm going to give it a go. I'm just going to sort of cut into it with my fork.
01:29 And of course, because it's been in the microwave, it's not crispy, but you can also cook it in the oven.
01:33 I think that takes about 25 minutes.
01:41 That is actually pretty good. You know, if you're on a lunch and you want something really quick,
01:46 that's really good.
01:51 So before I try my cheese and onion pie, I just wanted to say that Holland's pies now sells more than 900000 pies a week.
01:58 That's a lot of pies. And it also employs 250 people.
02:03 So it's a huge business. And I'm only just trying it.
02:06 So I think I've been missing out, especially with the last pie that I just had, which was really good.
02:10 So we'll see if this one is just as good.
02:12 So I have the pie here. I've just dissected it again just so I can have a look inside.
02:16 It's basically what you'd imagine. It's just a cheese and onion pie.
02:21 So I'm going to try it now. I guess my only complaint with these so far is the pastry isn't flaky, like crispy.
02:27 But I guess that's with putting it in the microwave.
02:31 I suppose if you put it in the oven, it will be better.
02:42 It's alright. This one's OK. The meat and potato one was actually definitely better.
02:47 I actually thought I would like this one more.
02:51 I think I'd have to give that like maximum a six.
02:56 It's not bad by any means. It's just like missing something.
03:01 And now I'm going to show you how to make your own pastry.
03:03 So if you have a bit more time and want to impress your friends and family, you can make your own pies.
03:09 So let's go. So as my reviews just showed, the Holland's pies are actually a really good alternative if you just want something quick for dinner.
03:16 But I'm sure some of you this National Pie Day will want to try and make your own homemade pie crust.
03:21 And it's really easy. I used to think it was something that was really hard to make until I made it.
03:25 And I realised why didn't I do that sooner?
03:28 It only takes four really simple ingredients that most of you will have at home.
03:32 And that is 250 grams of sifted plain white flour.
03:38 And then here I have 125 grams of butter that's been cubed.
03:43 I've just sort of scooped out little chunks. You can cube it as well.
03:47 And then this is going to depend on how your mixture is forming.
03:50 So you need a bit of milk. I just have like a little bowl of milk here.
03:55 You'll need about one to three tablespoons. You'll see what I mean when we're forming the dough.
04:01 It all depends on the consistency. And then just some salt, just a sprinkle of salt.
04:06 So I'm going to move you down to the counter so you can see what I'm doing a bit more.
04:10 And I'm going to show you how to make some simple pastry.
04:13 So I've got my bowl of sifted flour here.
04:16 I'm just going to get my butter out of the fridge, but I'm just going to put this into the bowl.
04:21 Just sort of dot it around. Put that to the side.
04:26 And now the next step is just to use your fingers and rub the butter into the flour
04:32 until you make breadcrumbs pretty much.
04:35 So all you do is you get the butter and the flour in your hands and just with like a rubbing motion,
04:44 sprinkle it back into the bowl. And you just keep doing that over and over again until you get breadcrumbs.
04:50 Right. So I think that's done. I'm going to move my phone for you and just sort of show you what I'm looking at.
04:57 And I'll show you the next step. So this is the sort of texture that you're looking for.
05:01 You're looking for like a breadcrumb texture.
05:04 All right. So since I've got my breadcrumbs, I'm going to start adding the milk.
05:08 Now you want to do this really slowly at a time. So I'm just going to start with a tablespoon right now.
05:15 Just put that in there. It's always better to go slow. It's surprising when it starts forming how little you need.
05:22 So that means a little bit more milk. So I'm going to just do maybe about half a tablespoon.
05:31 See where that gets us. So I'm basically just trying to form into a ball at this point.
05:40 Add a little bit more milk. About one more.
05:51 I'll just use a little bit more milk. It's so closely informed, I don't want to overdo it.
06:00 I might just add a tiny, tiny, tiny amount more milk.
06:07 Just barely anything. Just to help the last bit stick.
06:16 Form it. You should have something that looks a bit like this.
06:21 So this is your dough. I'm not going to add much more liquid to this because I don't want to make it too soft.
06:27 But as you can see, maybe do this a little bit more.
06:31 The bowl is basically clean. And this is formed into one ball now.
06:38 So then I'll show you what to do now. So once you've got your dough ball, I'm just going to slowly just flatten it a bit.
06:45 Gently bring it together and shape it into a bit of a disc. It doesn't have to be perfect.
06:55 Like so. I'm just going to get some cling film.
07:02 Just wrap it up. It doesn't have to be neat or tidy or anything, as long as it's covered.
07:13 Like so. So you've got your cling film all nicely wrapped on your dough.
07:18 And then all you have to do now is put this in the fridge for about at least 20 minutes.
07:23 That makes it easier to work with when you're making a pie. You can basically do anything with this now.
07:29 You could make a savoury pie. You could make a sweet pie.
07:32 You could make a sweet pie as well by adding a little bit of sugar to this mixture.
07:36 You could make mince pies. It's a really, really versatile pastry.
07:41 So there we have it. My review of the Holland's pies in which the potato and meat pie was definitely the winner.
07:46 Give that one about an 8. Cheese and onion was fine. Give that about a 6. But I'd recommend that one.
07:51 And then my quick recipe on how to make a simple shortcrust pastry.
07:56 And if you do attempt to make this, let us know. Show us your pictures.
07:59 I'd love to see what pies you've made to impress your family.
08:02 And I hope you have a wonderful National Pie Day.