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 prefer pastry pies to be fully covered, as the pastry is the best bit. I do make fruitnpies at home in a ramekin with only a pastry lid as it is much easier. I guess that makes me a hypocrite.

Casserole with a pastry hat is NOT a pie

So I guess that’s why @chattyness granny and my aunt used the term plate pie - to avoid confusion. They are my favourite because the pastry is never soggy.

I make plate pies, with top and bottom. And I never have soggy bottoms!

Plate pie - that's a term I've not heard in a while

Steak and kidney pie with puff pastry doesn't need a bottom

Aha, maybe it's because I'm from north of the Border!

If it doesn't have a bottom then it's just a stew with a hat on.

No, no, no !
It's definitely a pie and is sold as such- seen them on the local butchers named as such

I heard TKC and concluded the opposite. A pie needs a top otherwise it's just a tart. Without a bottom it's merely a casserole with a lid. Fish pie and cottage pie are different as they don't involve pastry.

Just to set the cat amongst the pigeons, I make a hybrid pie, shortcrust bottom, blind baked, filling, puff lid.

If I'm eating out I expect a bottom. At home a flaky top is just fine.

So the 5 million people in Scotland who call it steak pie are supposed to just think up another name because you say so? Unbelievable.

No they should make proper pies instead

I like a shortcrust pastry pie with top and bottom for preference, but if someone wants to knock up a quick and easy pot pie with just a ready-made puff lid I wouldn't say no, especially with some nice chips or mash on the side to give full carb rations.

Scottish steak pie never has a bottom just a puff pastry lid.

@trippily

No they should make proper pies instead

Yer bums oot the windae is the only answer you deserve.

Thank-you all. I've been helping DH fix our fence.
I should have done a poll for this ,I'll admit ,but he's just reveling in the fact that he's right.
So tomorrow I'm off to by baking beans to do the short crust bottom of the pie.

Depending what's in the pie you don't always need to blind bake it. That's mainly for quiches and pies that don't cook very long.

I don’t blind bake the bottom pastry when I make shortcrust.

Yes a pie needs a bottom.. otherwise its a flan.
Cottage pie/ fish pie is potato topped so that's different.

There's no need to blind bake.

Stick a Swiss roll tin or cookie sheet into your oven when you turn it on and let it get nice and hot. Put your pie, properly encased in pastry, onto the hot pan in the oven and bake. You'll avoid the dreaded soggy bottom.

There's nothing more disappointing than going to a pub and ordering pie to be presented with stew with a lid!

Fruit pies need to be encased, but meat pies can just have a top.

@mathanxiety this is a true backing hack! Does the filling need to be hot,though?

That’s politer than I can bring myself to be.

Also not amused at @ladymalfoy45 saying that her husband is correct and therefore ignoring the 5 million votes of all of Scotland.