Recipe: Jamaican patty pastry

mix the spices and flour

As promised, here's the recipe I used to make the Jamaican patty pastry for our little trip to the Caribbean.  I think this is the most important part about the patties since it has such an important role in what sets this food apart from others.  In so many cases with other types of meat pies, the pastry is often quite neutral - as long as it's flaky, it's acceptable.  With Jamaican patties, there's so much flavour in the pastry itself, it has its own identity within the form.  Indeed, the colour it pretty tell-tale - as I was rolling these out, people instantly knew what I was making.  Not to take away the importance of the filling, but that tends to be the sort of thing that everyone has their style - maybe even handed down from a grandmother.  Dan and I experimented with three different fillings and while one was "traditional", all were indisputably Jamaican patties.  Why?  The pastry was proper.  This recipe made us 6 big patties, but could be stretched to as many as 8 -10 smaller ones.

rub in the butter

You will need:

300g / 10.6oz (2C)         all purpose flour (plus more for working the dough)

175g / 6.2oz (3/4C)        unsalted butter (cold and cubed)

5ml / 1tsp                        curry powder

5ml / 1tsp                       ground anatto seed (achiote)

5ml / 1tsp                       ground black pepper

2.5ml / 1/2tsp                 tumeric

to taste                            kosher salt (about 5ml / 1tsp)

work the pastry

125ml / 1/2C                  ice water

as needed                       egg wash

Method

 - cube the butter and keep it cold

 - mix all the flour, spices and salt

 - add the butter to the flour and use your fingertips to break up the butter

 - when you start to get a pea-sized crumb, add the ice water

 - mix until the dough is just shy of coming together

 - turn the dough out on a floured surface

roll thin

 - use the heel of your hand with a twisting press to mash the butter bits into the four 

 - when the dough has come together, divide into portions (ours were 100g each)

 - use your hands to form disks with the dough and wrap with plastic 

 - let the dough rest (I left mine overnight, but a 1/2 hour will be fine)

 - on a floured surface again, roll the disks out thin

 - transfer to a paper lined tray

 - place your filling on half the patty and egg wash the edge

 - fold the dough over and crimp the edge with a fork

 - cut a few vents in the top

 - heat the oven to 375F / 191C if you have convection, or 400F / 204C in a still oven

 - cook about 15 minutes, rotating if necessary

ready for the oven

 - let cool slightly

 - enjoy!

ready for my belly!