1. For best results when making a pie with a pastry top or lid, choose a dish with a rim and allow the filling to get completely cold before topping with the pastry. Roll out pastry large enough to cover the dish and with some to spare. Cut a strip slightly wider than the dish rim from the sides of the rolled pastry.
2. Brush dish rim with beaten egg or water.
3. Place pastry strip on rim and press firmly down, continue with further strips until all rim covered.
4. Brush Pastry rim with beaten egg or water.
5. Roll pastry up on the rolling pin to lift it (as described in ‘Rolling out Shortcrust Pastry’ section) and gently unroll it over the pie dish.
6. Press the pastry down onto the rim firmly all round.
7. Using a sharp knife trim off excess pastry by cutting downwards against the edge of the dish. Retain the trimmings for decoration.
8. Knock up edges to form a good seal by holding a sharp knife horizontally against the cut edge and gently tapping the pastry edge all the way round.
9. Make a fluted edge by laying your thumb and forefinger of the left hand on the top of the pastry facing outwards, then with the fore finger of your right hand gently pushing the pastry edge up against the other two fingers as shown
10. Continue until all edge is fluted.
11. Make a small steam escape hole in centre of lid.
12. Re roll trimmings by gathering into a ball and kneading gently together and roll out as usual.
13. To make rounded leaves cut out rounds of pastry using a small biscuit or cookie cutter.
14. Then use cutter to cut out a ‘leaf’ shape from the discs, you should achieve two from each disc.
15. With the point of a sharp knife mark veins on the leaves.
16. Brush pie top with beaten egg for a golden glaze and arrange the leaves on top of pie in a pattern of your choice.
17. Brush again with beaten egg and bake as directed in recipe.

Using Jus-Rol™ Frozen ready rolled Shortcrust Pastry Sheets – which come in two discs – it is possible to make a quick pie without using a pie dish or tin.

• 1. Unroll one pastry disc and lay on a piece of baking paper, pile your chosen filling on to the pastry leaving a border all round.
  2. Brush border with water or beaten egg.
  3. Unroll second sheet of pastry and leave on its blue film, with a sharp knife cut a cross in the middle of the sheet.
  4. Then cut a second cross at the same place but at right angles to the first so that you end up with eight points in the middle.
  5. Carefully lift up the pastry, still on the film and lay it over the base pastry plus filling.
  6. Discard film and press edges firmly together all round.
  7. Knock up edges to form a good seal by gently tapping the blade of a sharp knife held horizontally against the two layers of pastry rim.
  8. For the flute, make cuts in the rim, radiating out to the edge at approx. 2.5 cm/1″ intervals all round.
  9. Brush edge with water and start to flute by lifting up one of the cut corners and pressing over towards the filling.
  10. Continue doing this with every second corner to achieve a ‘sunburst’ edge.
  11. Brush pie top with water and then fold back every other centre point made by cutting the crosses in the top pastry sheet.
  12. This will then allow the filling to show through.
  13. Finally, lightly dredge the pie top with caster sugar, slide the pie on it’s paper onto a baking sheet and bake as in the recipes.

1. For best results when rolling out shortcrust pastry use a large, clean dry area of the work surface and lightly dust it with plain flour.
2. Place pastry dough on surface and lightly dust it and the rolling pin with flour.
3. Roll pastry firmly, always rolling away from you, give the dough 2-3 rolls.
4. Then turn the dough a quarter turn.
5. Dust again if necessary and continue rolling out, frequently turning the pastry so it is not always rolled in the same direction as this causes shrinkage.
6. When the pastry has increased in size, pick it up to turn/ line the tin by rolling it round the rolling pin.
7. Lift the pin with the pastry around it carefully and turn it to lay out and continue rolling. Again this is done to prevent the pastry from stretching as you lift it which in turn would result in shrinkage in baking. Shortcrust pastry should be rolled out to approx. 3-5 mm. depth.