Should my puff pastry pie have a base?

[HillaryWhitney]

I'm making a chicken, gammon and leek pie and I have bought some ready made puff pastry. Do I line the pie dish? Or should I just do a lid?

Pie novice here
TIA

A pie isn’t a pie if it’s just filling wearing a puff pastry hat.

I swear I haven’t signed this petition! Lol

Make wrongly describing a casserole with a pastry lid as a pie a criminal offence
petition.parliament.uk/archived/petitions/64629

I prefer a top crust only pie myself, but realise this isn't a popular opinion.

I do cheats pie... Put a ready made puff pastry sheet on a tray, put filling down one side of it, fold top over and crimp together. Brush with egg or milk, bake. Sooooo easy and everyone thinks it took actual effort.

Puff pastry, just the lid.

Shortcrust pastry, line the bottom.

Those are my the official rules.

If you're using puff pastry I'd go for top crust only.

If it hasn't got a bottom it's an upside-down tart.

Not with puff pastry it'll be an uncooked mess inside.

Puff pastry won't cook properly as a base, it'll be all soggy.

Shortcrust would be fine.

You don’t need a different base

www.kitchensanctuary.com/creamy-chicken-puff-pie/
It might sound a little strange using puff pastry for the base of the pie (since all the puffiness is going to be squashed down with pie filling), but it works, and it saves the effort of using a different type of pastry for the base

A pie needs a bottom! Blind bake first to prevents sogginess of bottom.

Using the folding over method above has never resulted in a soggy bottom. Just need a hot oven, a metal tray, a long enough time.

I wouldn't cook puff as a base, and even when I use a shortcrust base I cook that in the dish first, then add the (pre-cooked) filling and cook the pastry on the top.

That way my pies come out nice and crunchy rather than soggy and claggy.

But yeah, top only for puff pastry :).

I'm having a slow cooked casserole with puff pastry tonight, just reminds me I'd best go and sort the pastry out!

I find puff pastry on the bottom to be too much.

Possibly too late now, but I make Nigel Slaters (more or less) which you take the pastry sheet and put half with topping and fold over to crimp and bake - having it tonight from left over roast chicken and gravy... so it has a bottom and a top!

[quote Notanothernamechanged101]A pie isn’t a pie if it’s just filling wearing a puff pastry hat.

I swear I haven’t signed this petition! Lol

Make wrongly describing a casserole with a pastry lid as a pie a criminal offence
petition.parliament.uk/archived/petitions/64629[/quote]
Oh that's brilliant very funny!
I am off to sign it too!!!

A pie should always have a base

@BeyondMyWits

I do cheats pie... Put a ready made puff pastry sheet on a tray, put filling down one side of it, fold top over and crimp together. Brush with egg or milk, bake. Sooooo easy and everyone thinks it took actual effort.

I'm intrigued by this. What fillings work best?

Pie without a base is just not on.
Best of all worlds is a blind baked shortcrust bottom and puff lid. 😍

@Raera - Chicken/ham/leek is my favourite - cook it up and cool before filling. Or a simple steak or steak and mushroom - again I cook and cool the filling - the filling is best done the day before.

Also a proper cheats pie - same method, ready made puff pastry, tin of M&S minced beef. Heaven.

Or sweet - same method with a tin of Princes cherry pie filling.

So I went with a puff pastry base and it's just blind baking. I will but shortcrust next time.

The filling is absolutely unreal I think I've eaten half of it 🤦🏼‍♀️

Loving all the pie ideas especially the sweet version.

Will update later

Personally with a puff pastry I just like the top

[quote BeyondMyWits]@Raera - Chicken/ham/leek is my favourite - cook it up and cool before filling. Or a simple steak or steak and mushroom - again I cook and cool the filling - the filling is best done the day before.

Also a proper cheats pie - same method, ready made puff pastry, tin of M&S minced beef. Heaven.

Or sweet - same method with a tin of Princes cherry pie filling.[/quote]
Thank you.
Sounds like an oversized Greggs, nothing wrong with that!!

It is not a pie without a base to it, it is a stew with a hat!