Does a pie need a top and bottom?

[ladymalfoy45]

So,I'm making a chicken pie and my DH is of the opinion that a pie needs a top and bottom. I think it just needs a top. ( Like Cottage or Shepard's pie) .
The recipe just has a short crust top( but I fancy making a flaky pastry one instead).
So does a pie need a bottom? TKC ( The Kitchen Cabinet) says not.
I don't mind doing the bottom as well as the top ,but it's the definition of ' pie' that I need you all to help me with.
It's a recipe from Saturday Kitchen Live I'm making. Just to address any further question.

I'll be honest I don't leap to the thought of calories when eating a pie.

It needs to be sealed OP for a proper pie

Shepherds and cottage pies don't count as pies IMO.

Can you imagine the uproar of an apple pie with just a lid!

Can you imagine the uproar of an apple pie with just a lid!

Avoid controversy and time by making a crumble.

Yes, I think this is the key- as long as the filling is completely encased, it doesn’t matter if part of the casing is not edible.

Double crust pie: top and bottom.
Single crust pie: top only
Tart / flan: bottom only

Then there is the matter of Homity pies, the double carb deliciousness of mash in pastry.

Yes. And a pie with no top is a tart.

Puff pastry doesn't do well on the bottom so if you want to do a traditional pie go with shrtcrust.

I think for shortcrust it should have top and bottom, and be blind baked but if puff or rough puff just a dish with a lid.

I remember the utter outrage when I made a pie with no bottom, just the once. A decade on my DS still asks are we having proper pie when he sees I have made pie. Then an always needs a soggy bottom comment. reckon he will be a 90 year old grandad still asking and then mutterings about soggy bottoms.

Yes, and sides as well.

A stew in a pot with a pastry lid is NOT a pie.

Yes it needs a bottom and sides.

Stew with a hat is not a pie.

Unless you're a pub chef with time on your hands before the Bank Holiday customers all start rolling in for their puff pastry hatted meat stew and chips to arrive in twenty minutes or under from 'can I take your order, please?' to 'Service!', it needs a bottom, sides and a suitably crimped lid.

@goldfriarsbabby and @IvorTheEngineDriver do you realise that what you are saying is rude and an insult to Scottish culture? (And no, I’m not joking).

How hard can it be to accept that the word “pie” means different things to different people?

Potato topped pies fine, pastry topped need both otherwise it's not a pie. If you're getting a soggy bottom you're not doing it right.

FFS.This is about language, not cooking.

Cottage pie only has mash on the top.

I make a corn beef pie and it has pastry on the bottom. It’s so delicious.

Pie without bottom = soup with a lid

Pie without a top = pizza

Dictionary says "typically" with a top and bottom

Bottom only is a flan I would say not a pizza

Oh but another dictionary ( America focus) says top only

And. A third dictionary says bottom only sometimes with a top

Wow

I seem to recall someone in the family suggesting that top and bottom was the cheaper way to feed people

Lemon meringue has a lid of meringue.

Another here who's an advocate for the traditional Scottish style steak pies with only a puff pastry lid.

I was served a gluten free pie at a hotel, it was just the filling and had no pastry at all 😭 I had pre-ordered it and was so looking forward to it, pies should have a top and a bottom!

I hope you complained, loudly.

@ErrolTheDragon I didn’t as it was my friend’s pre wedding dinner at the hotel where the reception was the next day. It was very disappointing though, and then at the evening part of the wedding they put out the gluten free food and everyone else ate it and there was no more for the people who needed gluten free ☹️

If a pie needs a top, bottom, and sides then why isn’t a pasty or slice considered a pie?

I think arbitrary distinctions are coming into play here…!