Delicious mini mushroom pies encased in wholemeal hot water crust pastry. The recipe is a vegan twist on a classic favourite. The pastry is crisp on the outside deliciously saturated with mushroom gravy on the inside. Perfect comfort food for pie lovers and sturdy enough to take on picnics and potlucks.
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After watching Pie Week on The Great British Bake Off last week, I had to come up with my very own recipe for hot water crust pies. As I’m a big fan of Clive’s vegan mushroom pies, I knew immediately what I was going to make. One major divergence though, I was going to fortify my mushroom gravy with ale.
Dive Right In
- Why Make Mini Mushroom Pies?
- What Is Hot Water Crust Pastry?
- Mini Mushroom Pies
- Ingredients
- How To Make Mini Mushroom Pies
- Make These Mini Mushroom Pies Your Own
- Other Mushroom Recipes You Might Like
- Keep In Touch
- The Recipe
Why Make Mini Mushroom Pies?
If you’re a pie lover, you probably don’t need any reasons to make these mini mushroom pies. Suffice it to say they’re fun, cute and delicious. But if you do need some coaxing, here goes.
- Budget-Friendly – Bought-in pies are expensive. Mushrooms are relatively cheap as is making your own hot water crust pastry. Making mini pies at home is thus a cheaper alternative.
- Comfort Food for All – Hot or cold savoury pies are classic comfort food. This recipe hits the spot whether you’re after a hot dinner or a cold snack.
- Freeze and Reheat – These mini mushroom pies are freezer-friendly. This mean you can bake ahead or save some of the batch for later.
- Healthier Pastry – Using wholemeal flour instead of refined flour adds additional nutrition and fibre as well as a nutty flavour to the pastry. This makes my hot water crust pastry a healthier choice. What’s more there’s only half the amount of fat you’d find in most other types of pastry. The fat is coconut oil, which is itself lauded for its health giving properties.
- Homemade Goodness – It’s unusual these days to make your own pastry as it’s so easy to buy ready-made. But you can’t buy hot water crust pastry, so you’ll not only be offering something homemade, but something unique too.
- Mushroom Lovers Must Have – If you love mushrooms or cook for someone who does, this recipe will be a hit. The earthy and umami-rich flavour of mushrooms comes to the fore in these pies with the other ingredients playing only a supporting role.
- Perfect Party Food – Serve these pies cold and they’re great for parties and gatherings. You can make them in advance, they’re easy to serve and you can eat them with your fingers – just about!
- Plant Based – These mini mushroom pies provide a tasty and satisfying vegan alternative to traditional meat-filled pies. They’re perfect for pie-loving vegans and vegetarians who crave a bit of savoury comfort food.
What Is Hot Water Crust Pastry?
Hot water crust pastry is a traditional British pie-making technique with a long history. In a complete reversal of what we know about pastry making where everything should be as cold as possible, hot water is used to bind the flour and fat together.
This method creates a robust and sturdy pastry crust, primarily used for crafting deep savoury pies like pork pies. Its strength and resilience make it ideal for accommodating both heavy and wet fillings. Effectively, it serves as a vessel to encase delicious ingredients.
The hot water enhances the flour’s absorption abilities. This, in turn, makes the pastry more pliable and easier to handle compared to other types of pastry, such as shortcrust or flaky pastry. Its ease of preparation, pliability and resistance to cracking or tearing make it a joy to work with.
Hot water crust pastry is typically composed of a combination of both plain and bread flour, with the latter imparting a slight chewiness to the texture. While its flavour profile tends to be rather neutral, this is by design, as the pastry primarily functions as a container and it’s the fillings inside that really matter.
Traditionally, hot water crust pastry is made with lard. I, however use coconut oil instead. This results in a plant-based version suitable for both vegetarians and vegans alike.
Mini Mushroom Pies
As you’d expect my mini mushroom pies are vegetarian. However this recipe goes a step further. Both the filling and hot water crust pastry are vegan. They’re mushroom pies in their own right, but influenced by the classic steak and ale pie.
As regular readers know, finesse is not my forte. You can probably tell that anyway from the look of my mini mushroom pies. They leaked a bit, but that’s because I was too impatient to find something to give me the right size base. This meant there wasn’t enough pastry at the top to properly seal the lids.
But please don’t be put off by their rough and ready looks, these pies are ever so tasty. And if you have a bit more patience than me, your pies will look much tidier.
Although the pies are small, they’re actually quite filling. This is mostly because of the pastry, which is not only sturdy, but a bit thicker than your average pie crust. So although you might want two for a main meal if you’re hungry, you might find that one is enough. This is especially true if you serve them with mashed potato and veg.
Eat them hot for a comforting main meal or cold as a satisfying snack or picnic item.
Ingredients
Most of the ingredients needed for these mini mushroom pies made with hot water crust pastry are easy to get hold of. I haven’t mentioned everything as you’ll find the full list in the recipe card at the bottom of this post, but I’ve highlighted the majority.
Flour
As with most of my baking, I use wholemeal spelt flour to make hot water crust pastry. You can find out why if you click on the link. However, it’s fine to use ordinary wholemeal flour instead.
But one of the secrets to a good hot water crust pastry is the addition of strong bread flour. It gives the pastry a bit more strength and a certain amount of chewiness. I use strong wholemeal flour.
Coconut Oil
Coconut oil is a saturated fat and has similar properties to lard. It is, however, a healthier fat as it lowers LDL (bad cholesterol) – or so it’s said anyway (Ref: Healthline).
You don’t need much for this recipe, so if you’ve only got standard unrefined oil, go with it. But if you can find odourless coconut oil you won’t get any coconut flavour in your pastry.
Mushrooms
As well as fresh mushrooms, I also used dried ones in this recipe. Dried mushrooms give quite a boost in flavour and you don’t need many of them. You need to soak them for at least ten minutes to soften them first though. The water takes on quite a lot of the mushroom flavour, so you have the added benefit of almost instant stock.
I like to use dried shiitake mushrooms for flavour, but porcini and morel are both excellent.
Chestnut mushroom are a good bet for these pies. They’re fairly robust, cheap and easy to get hold of. However, most other mushrooms work too.
Ale
By ale I mean British ale. That is any type of beer that isn’t lager, porter or stout. It’s really up to you what you use, but a good strong ale is ideal and will enhance the overall flavour of the pies.
Having said that, if you’d rather not buy ale specifically for these pies, you can use red wine, more mushroom soaking water or a good vegetable stock instead
Arrowroot
Arrowroot (Maranta arundinacea) is my go to for thickening sauces. It comes in the form of a white powder which is extracted from the tuber. I prefer it to cornflour as it is less refined and has several beneficial properties. However, it’s fine to swap it for cornflour if that’s easier.
Tamari
Tamari is the queen of soy sauce. Although it’s more expensive than most, you get a more intense flavour and thus need less of it. It’s also less salty than most others.
You can use your favourite type of soy sauce instead, but I can’t recommend tamari* highy enough.
Herbs
Thyme pairs really well with mushrooms and as I grow thyme in my garden that is what I’ve used. It gives a lovely herby flavour with both floral and peppery tones.
However, tarragon is another herb that goes well with mushrooms. It has bolder aniseed notes that also works well with the ale. If you can find some it’s well worth using instead of thyme.
How To Make Mini Mushroom Pies
Although these mini mushroom pies look impressive, you don’t need any extensive culinary skills to make them. In fact, hot water crust pastry is the easiest of all pastries to make.
Step 1. Soak Mushrooms
The very first thing to do is boil a kettle. You can use the opportunity to make yourself a hot beverage to fuel you through the bake.
Place the mushrooms in a small bowl then cover them with the just boiled water. Leave them to soak whilst you get on with the rest.
Step 2. Make Filling
Using a sharp sturdy knife, dice your onion, carrot and celery finely into more or less even size pieces.
Set a large wide pan over a moderate heat, then pour in the olive oil. Add the onion, carrot and celery and fry for ten minutes, giving an occasional stir. This is a classic Italian soffritto, even though my recipe for mini mushroom pies is not an Italian one.
Whilst the soffritto is cooking, wipe or brush the mushrooms to clean them, then slice thinly.
Remove the leaves from the thyme sprigs and add them to the soffritto along with the garlic and salt. Then stir. Let the garlic cook for thirty seconds or so, then add the mushrooms.
Turn the heat up a little and fry the mushrooms for five to seven minutes or until they’re starting to brown and any liquid they’ve produced has evaporated. Give an occasional stir to ensure they cook evenly and don’t stick to the bottom of the pan.
Meanwhile, drain the dried mushrooms. Reserve all but the dregs of the liquid. There’s often a bit of dirt or grit that settles on the bottom. Chop the mushrooms finely.
Stir the arrowroot into some of the mushroom liquid, then add it to the pan, along with the chopped dried mushrooms and ale. Give everything a really good stir, turn down the heat a little then allow the mushrooms to bubble away until the liquid has mostly evaporated and you have a saucy gravy.
Turn the heat off, add the pepper and taste for seasoning. If you feel it needs it, add a little more salt or soy sauce, then stir in the parsley.
Leave the filling to cool whilst you make the pastry.
Step 3. Make Pastry
Place the two flours into a large bowl and whisk to combine. Make a well in the centre.
Pour the water into a small saucepan, add the coconut oil and salt. Place the pan over a moderate heat and wait for the oil to melt. As soon as it’s melted, bring to the boil, then immediately pour it into the flour well.
Using a flat bladed knife, sturdy fork or spoon, stir from the inside out until the water is thoroughly combined with the flour.
Bring the dough together with your hands into a ball and knead briefly. By this time the dough shouldn’t be too hot, but be careful not to burn your hands, just in case.
If the dough doesn’t come together easily and feels a bit too dry, work in a spoonful of water, then another one until it’s pliable, but definitely not wet.
Step 4. Roll Dough
Divide the dough into two halves. It’s easier to roll smaller amounts than it is one large one. Roll one ball out to the required thickness. You shouldn’t need to flour your board or rolling pin as the dough is quite oily and shouldn’t stick.
Try to work as quickly as you can so that the dough doesn’t cool down too much. The warmer it is, the easier it is to handle.
Stamp out six large circles and six smaller ones with a pastry cutter. If you don’t have one the right size use a saucer or other round object and cut round it with a knife. Roll the second ball of dough when needed, then gather up all the bits leftover from cutting, form them into a ball and roll again.
You’ll probably have a bit left over. Use this for any patching that might be needed and/or for decorations.
Step 5. Assemble Pies
Lightly grease a six hole muffin tin or silicone mould. I prefer to use a silicone one as it makes it easier to get the baked pies out later. However, a tin will give you a crisper bottom. To each their own.
Line the holes with the larger pastry circles. Ideally you want a bit of an overhang so you can attach the tops later. If you need to patch up any bits, use some of the leftover pastry and press it into the existing dough.
Don’t look too closely at my images as I was too lazy to find the right size cutter and my pastry fell short.
Spoon the cooled mushrooms into the pastry cases. Press them down and fill right to the top.
Place the smaller pastry circles over the top, then crimp the two bits of pastry together to form a tight (and preferably decorative) seal. Again, don’t look too closely at my images.
Use any leftover bits of pastry to decorate the tops, if liked. Poke a skewer through the middle of each lid to create a hole for steam to escape.
Mix the vegan glaze ingredients together in a small cup then use it to brush the lids (and any decorations) with it.
Bake near the top of a hot oven until the tops are nicely bronzed.
Allow to cool for ten to fifteen minutes, then carefully turn the pies out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Alternatively, devour whilst still warm.
Make These Mini Mushroom Pies Your Own
If you’re anything like me you’ll want to go your own way with this recipe. Please go ahead and adapt your mushroom pies so you can eat them just the way you like them. Here are a few ideas:
For a more substantial filling, add beans to the mix. Black beans or small white ones are best.
If you like leek and mushroom, add a leek. I have a leek and mushroom filling recipe in this savoury pancake post. It’s not vegan though.
Use red wine or stout instead of ale for the gravy. Or keep it alcohol free and use a good veg stock instead.
Although both thyme and tarragon work particularly well as herby flavours for these pies, why not experiment with different herbs and/or spices? Rosemary, sage and oregano can all enhance the flavour of mushrooms. Likewise nutmeg or cloves are a good pairing. A touch of chilli rarely goes amiss.
And if you don’t like the idea of homemade hot water crust pastry? Simple, just use the mushroom filling recipe with the pastry of your choice. You could even simply top it with mashed potato.
Other Mushroom Recipes You Might Like
- Chard & mushroom pasta
- Creamy garlic mushrooms on toast
- Dried mushroom risotto
- Mushroom & chestnut vegetarian rolls
- Mushroom pâté (vegan)
- Mushroom tart
Keep in Touch
Thank you for visiting Tin and Thyme. If you make these mini mushroom pies, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below. Do you have any recommendations or advice for making hot water crust pastry?
Please rate the recipe. If you post pictures of your creations on social media, use the hashtag #tinandthyme so I can see them.
For more delicious and nutritious recipes follow me on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest. And don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE to my weekly newsletter. Or why not join the conversation in our Healthy Vegetarian Whole Food Recipes Facebook Group?
If you’d like even more mushroom recipes, follow the link and you’ll find I have quite a lot of them. All delicious and nutritious, of course.
Choclette x
Mini Mushroom Pies. PIN IT.
Mini Mushroom Pies With Hot Water Crust Pastry
Equipment
- 1 silicone muffin tray (affiliate link) optional
Ingredients
Mushroom Filling
- 10 g dried mushrooms shiitake, morel or porcini are good
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion finely diced
- 1 carrot finely diced
- 1 celery stick finely diced
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme or 2 of tarragon
- 1 pinch sea salt
- 3 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 300 g chestnut mushrooms thinly sliced
- 2 tsp arrowroot can use cornflour instead
- 2 tsp tamari (affiliate link) or your favourite soy sauce
- 100 ml ale can use stout, red wine or veg stock instead, but don't use lager)
- 1 bunch fresh parsley finely chopped
- good grinding of black pepper
Hot Water Crust Pastry
- 220 g wholemeal flour (I used wholemeal spelt flour)
- 80 g strong wholemeal flour aka bread flour
- 140 ml water
- 65 g odourless coconut oil
- ½ tsp sea salt
Vegan Pastry Glaze
- 2 tsp plant milk of choice
- ¼ tsp soy sauce (I used tamari)
- ¼ tsp maple syrup*
Instructions
Mushroom Filling
- In a small bowl, cover the mushrooms with just boiled water. Leave them to soak whilst you get on with the rest.10 g dried mushrooms
- Pour the olive oil into a large wide pan and place it over a moderate heat. Add the onion, carrot and celery and fry for ten minutes, giving an occasional stir.2 tbsp olive oil, 1 onion, 1 carrot, 1 celery stick
- Add the leaves from the thyme sprigs, garlic and salt then stir. Let the garlic cook for thirty seconds or so, then add the mushrooms.4 sprigs fresh thyme, 1 pinch sea salt, 3 cloves garlic, 300 g chestnut mushrooms
- Turn the heat up a little, then cook the mushrooms for five to seven minutes or until they’re starting to brown and any liquid they’ve produced has evaporated. Give an occasional stir to ensure they cook evenly and don’t stick to the bottom of the pan.
- Meanwhile, drain the dried mushrooms reserving all but the dregs of the liquid. Chop the mushrooms finely.
- Stir the arrowroot into 50 ml of the mushroom liquid, then add it to the pan, along with the chopped mushrooms, tamari and ale. Give everything a really good stir, turn down the heat a little then allow the mushrooms to bubble away until the liquid is reduced and saucy.2 tsp arrowroot, 2 tsp tamari (affiliate link), 100 ml ale
- Turn the heat off, add the pepper and taste for seasoning. If you feel it needs it, add a little more salt or soy sauce, then stir in the parsley.good grinding of black pepper, 1 bunch fresh parsley
- Leave the filling to cool whilst you make the pastry.
Hot Water Crust Pastry
- Place the flours into a large bowl and whisk to combine. Make a well in the centre.220 g wholemeal flour, 80 g strong wholemeal flour
- Pour the water into a small saucepan, add the coconut oil and salt. Place it over a moderate heat and wait for the oil to melt. As soon as it’s melted, bring to the boil, then pour it into the flour well.140 ml water, 65 g odourless coconut oil, ½ tsp sea salt
- Stir with a flat bladed knife until the water is thoroughly combined with the flour.
- Bring the dough together with your hands into a ball and knead briefly. Do be careful not to burn your hands, it should be nice and warm but no longer hot.
- Roll the dough out to 4mm in thickness. Don’t flour your board or rolling pin as the dough is quite oily and shouldn’t stick.
- Stamp out six 9 cm circles and 12 cm circles out with a pastry cutter. If you don’t have one the right size use a saucer or other round object and cut round it with a knife. Reroll the pastry, as necessary.
Assembly
- Set the oven to 190℃ (170℃ fan, 375℉, Gas 5).
- Line six lightly greased muffin holes with the larger pastry circles. Ideally you want a bit of an overhang so you can attach the tops later.
- Spoon the cooled mushrooms into the pastry cases, filling them right to the top.
- Place the smaller pastry circles over the top, then crimp the two bits of pastry together to form a tight (and preferably decorative) seal.
- Use any leftover bits of pastry to decorate the tops, if liked. Poke a skewer through the middle of each lid to create a hole for steam to escape.
- Mix the glaze ingredients together and brush the lids (and any decorations) with it.2 tsp plant milk of choice, ¼ tsp soy sauce, ¼ tsp maple syrup*
- Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the tops are nicely bronzed. The darker the pastry, the firmer it will be.
- Allow to cool for ten to fifteen minutes, then carefully turn the pies out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Alternatively, devour whilst still warm.
Notes
Nutrition Estimate
This post contains affiliate links which are marked with an asterisk* or (affiliate link). If you buy through a link, it won’t cost you any more, but I might get a small commission. Thank you for your support of the brands and organisations that help to keep Tin and Thyme blithe and blogging.
Monica says
The filing was delicious, but we found the crust a bit too sturdy for our tastes. I may have overworked the dough and activated the gluten?
Choclette says
Good to hear you had a go at making the pies. The dough is sturdy, but shouldn’t be tough. Unlike normal pastry, it’s okay to knead it a bit. It could be that it was a bit too dry. Thanks for feeding back.
Erin says
Yum! Love that these mini mushroom pies are vegan. The mushroom filling is so good and making and rolling out the pastry was fun! Will be making this again during the colder months as they totally hit the spot!
Choclette says
They absolutely do hit the spot Erin. And you’re right, hot water crust is a really nice pastry to work with. Glad you liked them and thanks for the feedback.
Tavo says
Hey! l loved your approach to blending spices with the rich umami of mushrooms created a flavor that was both hearty and comforting. I appreciated the clear, step-by-step instructions, which made the process approachable even for a weekend baker like myself. These pies are a fantastic addition to any gathering, and they definitely left my guests impressed!
Choclette says
Mushroom pies are a firm favourite with us, so I’m glad you and your guests enjoyed them. Thanks for letting us know.
Mary says
You are too hard on yourself, your pies look really tasty. In fact, if it wasn’t bedtime I could polish off one right now!
I have made hot water crust in the past, I think I was making a Pork Pie. It must have turned out okay. What I do remember is that it is a very easy pastry to work with and I will certainly be making some Mushroom Pies very soon. Have to, it’s starting to look like Summer!! :))
Choclette says
Ah, summer at last! You’d better make those pies quick before all you’re craving is salad. Thank you for your kind words, finesse is not really my thing. And yes, it’s quite surprising just how easy hot water crust is to work with.
annette says
oh wow these sound fantastic -will definitely make these .so glad to get a wholemeal spelt flour recipe for hot water crust pastry as I always make my shortcrust from this and it is lovely and crispy and nutty. ( Not sure how Paul H would react to it though as I like my pastry quite thick and well done!!).
Choclette says
Hahaha, I very much doubt PH would approve of my pastry. But wholemeal is not his thing. He’s missing out. Hot water crust is a lovely pastry to work with.