No. 145

Pastes for Hot Pies

Pates a Pates Chauds

Lay in a circle on the table one pound of sifted flour; make a hollow in the center and into this put a third of an ounce of salt dissolved in a little water, eight ounces of butter, two egg-yolks and two gills of water. Mix first the butter with the eggs and water, add the flour working it in a little at the time, also pour in a little water as it becomes necessary, being careful not to get the paste too thin, and still avoid being too dry, otherwise it will not hold together well; knead the dough twice, detach it from the table and form it into a ball on the floured table, and when smooth, cover and let it rest.

Another recipe is: one pound of flour, eight ounces of butter, half a pint of water, four egg-yolks, and a third of an ounce of salt dissolved in water; to be prepared the same as the above.

← No. 144 Pie Paste (cold) (pate a Pate)Elementary Methods No. 146 Puff Paste and half Puff Paste →

For the Modern Kitchen

This is Ranhofer's workhorse lining dough for pies meant to be served hot — sturdier than puff paste, richer than his cold pie paste. Two versions are given; they differ only in the number of yolks.

The measures in modern termsOne pound of sifted flour is roughly 3 1/2 to 4 cups; eight ounces of butter is two sticks. Two gills of water is one cup, and the second version's half pint is the same amount, so the only real difference between the two pastes is two extra yolks.
A third of an ounce of saltThat is roughly 9-10 grams, or about 1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons of fine salt — a lot by dessert-pastry standards, correct for a savory crust that will carry forcemeat or game. Dissolving it in a little of the water, as directed, keeps it from leaving gritty streaks.
The hinge: build the wet center firstThe flour is banked in a ring and butter, yolks, salt water and water are worked together in the well before any flour is drawn in. Doing it in that order gives an emulsified, evenly hydrated dough rather than the layered, flaky structure of puff paste — which is what you want in a paste that has to hold a filling and its juices without splitting.
Butter temperatureRanhofer does not say, and it matters: the butter should be pliable, around 60F, not cold and cubed and not melted. Cold butter will not blend into the yolks and water in the well; melted butter makes the paste greasy and short.
"Knead the dough twice"This means two brief passes to bring it together and smooth it, not a bread kneading. Overworking builds gluten and the shell will shrink away from the mold as it bakes.
RestingRanhofer gives no resting time, only 'cover and let it rest'; modern practice would be at least 30 minutes. In a modern kitchen, refrigerate it wrapped and let it come back to a rollable temperature before shaping. A rested paste rolls thin without springing back.
YieldOne pound of flour makes enough to line and cover a 9- to 10-inch deep pie, or a standard hinged pâté mold, with trimmings for decoration. The ingredients as listed come to roughly 2 lb of dough.
BakingNo temperature is given because it belongs to the pie, not the paste. A modern approach for a filled hot pie of this kind would be to start hot, around 425F, to set the shell, then drop to 350F for the remainder; the crust is meant to color deeply and stay crisp under a moist filling.

A Little History

The Epicurean (1894) is Charles Ranhofer's summing-up of some three decades as chef at Delmonico's in New York, and its "Elementary Methods" section runs through the basic pastes in the order a French-trained kitchen would learn them: cold pie paste, hot pie paste, puff and half-puff. Pâte à pâté chaud is the lining dough for a pâté en croûte or raised pie brought to table hot — the crust functions as a mold and a serving vessel as much as a pastry, which is why it is enriched with yolks and generously salted rather than made flaky. It is worth noting that this is not the English hot-water crust of the same era, where boiling water and lard produce a stiff, moldable paste; Ranhofer's "hot" refers to how the finished pie is served, not to the temperature of the mixing. Ranhofer gives no reason for offering two variants.