Pasty Pastry For Cornish Miners' Pasties

Total Time: 10 mins Preparation Time: 10 mins

Ingredients

• 3 cups flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup shortening or 1 cup lard
• 3/4 cup ice water (the colder the better!)

Recipe

• 1 mix dry ingredients in mixing bowl.
• 2 cut in shortening with a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
• 3 add ice water a little at a time, tossing with a fork to make a pastry-like dough.
• 4 add a bit more water if it seems dry and won't hold together when squeezed lightly.
• 5 gather into a ball, press firmly now, then wrap with plastic wrap and chill while preparing the pasty ingredients (see recipe # ).
• 6 roll dough out on a lightly floured surface (or on top of a piece of plastic wrap which can easily be folded over and then peeled off once the pasty ingredients are loaded).
• 7 edges of pasty should be brushed with a smidgen of water and then crimped very firmly with a fork (and i fold them and crimp again -- so none of the liquid seeps out).
• 8 brush tops of finished pasties with milk to enhance the crust (it will bake to a beautiful golden brown).
• 9 note: like pastry dough, pasty dough should be handled as little as possible to ensure flakiness. so, *handle with care* !