Pie Dolly - Solid Wood - Perfect for Pie Making, Handcrafted in Ukraine

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While visiting Ye Olde Pork Pie Shoppe in Melton Mowbray would be a dream for many, you can enjoy the same authentic taste in the comfort of your own kitchen. Let’s explore a basic recipe for making a homemade Melton Mowbray Pork Pie. The Ingredients

Pasteurized Egg: If you have egg allergies or concerns, ensure that the pastry uses pasteurized egg. Sift flour and salt into a warm bowl and rub in 15g of lard. Gently heat the remaining lard and water together until boiling, then add to flour, mixing until mixture is cool enough to knead. Knead well. Reserve a quarter of the pastry for the lid. Shape the remaining piece into a ball-like dome and leave in the fridge overnight. Mold the Pastry: Shape the pastry into a ball and roll it out. Carefully line a pie tin with the pastry, ensuring it’s securely pressed against the sides. Seal the Pie: Add a pastry lid and make a hole in the centre. This open-top design is a signature feature of the Melton Mowbray Pork Pie.

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Brush the top of the pie (not the crimp) with egg and make a hole in lid centre. Chill thoroughly, preferably overnight. When finished you must clean your dolly thoroughly not with water. Remember that wood does not like water under any circumstances, not in the dishwasher, wood also dislikes too much heat, dampness hot cupboards even direct sunlight so avoid at all costs. Simply wipe your Dolly with Kitchen Roll then finally a dry cloth & leave to air dry then store in a dry cool cupboard. Make a well in the flour and pour in the warm lard mixture. Mix well to combine, until the mixture comes together to form a dough. Knead for a few minutes, then form into a ball and set aside.

So-called raised pie recipes often tell the domestic cook to raise the dough around a jam-jar. It may well work, but a professional chef should invest in a wooden dolly. The dolly is a cylinder of wood with a handle on top. For a 1lb pie the cylinder should be 23/4in in diameter and 31/2in high, plus the handle. Ye Olde Pork Pie Shoppe owns a few antique ones, but it also had others run up for it by a local turner. Wood absorbs fat over time and it's easier to prise the raw shell away from it. First thing is to roll out your pastry & cut out a 210mm diameter circle then place your tamper in the middle pull the pastry edges up the sides of the tamper whilst inverting the tamper. This little cylinder of wood has a handle on the top. You will need to put the wooden dolly down in the middle of your pastry and press, then raise the pie up the sides of the dolly, keeping your thumbs on the shoulder of the dolly. Turning the dolly, you will then be able to raise the pie with your palms, hence the idea of the 'hand-raised' pie! You can then ease the dolly out of your pastry with a slight twist. You may have heard that there are alternative tools for this age-old method, but there really is nothing else which does the job so well. Plus, you will find that, over time and repeated usage, the wood will absorb a certain amount of fat. This will make it even easier for you to prise the raw pastry shell away from it. Small pork pie dollyYou don’t need to be a connoisseur to know there is a world of difference in making pork pies by hand versus mass production. What is their role in making a Melton Mowbray pork pie? Now your filling of choice whether it is steak & kidney, cheese & onion or even a savoury item like apple or even a custard pie mix the choice is endless.