Episode 11 Paul Hollywood's Pies & Puds

Sometimes in baking, you've got to go backwards to go forwards,

so today I'm revisiting the classics.

I'm using a medieval ingredient in my pie,

recreating an ancient pudding,

and celebrating the way our mothers used to bake.

Welcome to Pies & Puds for another helping

of Britain's heartiest comfort food.

For me, it's the best grub going.

'Today, I'm stepping back in time to delve into the history

'of the mysteriously-named pond pudding.'

Normally, I'll eat anything.

I'm a bit nervous about this!

'And I'll be creating my modern and devilishly decadent version.'

Wow.

My kitchen is your kitchen.

'Tom Kerridge shows me how to rustle up

'his mum's bread and butter pudding

'with a touch of Michelin star magic.'

-Did your mum have one of them?

-No, she didn't!

Pork and apple is a match made in heaven,

'so I'm making a scrumptious pork and apple pie'

but with a very special and a very ancient ingredient called verjus.

This is a sage and apple verjus.

And more recipe classics from the Hollywood archive.

This time it's jam tarts and ginger biscuits,

courtesy of my own mother.

-Have you not made these before?

-No!

And all my recipes are on the BBC website.

I love the part that pies and puds play in our food heritage.

Many of them are based on centuries-old, traditional recipes,

and Sussex pond pudding is the most ancient of puddings,

so I decided to roll back the years.

But what is a pond pudding?

I've come to the historic Michelham Priory

'in the heart of Sussex to meet archaeologist Dr Alex Langlands

'who, I hope, can help me get to the bottom

'of this curiously-named dish.'

-You're a Sussex boy, aren't you?

-Yes, that's right.

I grew up on the other side of the marsh here.

As an archaeologist and historian,

I'm always interested in Sussex life, Sussex archaeology,

and Sussex food as well.

It's specifically about the pond pudding.

I mean, what do you know about it?

Well, I mean, I've always heard it talked about when I was a kid

and it's always conjured up ideas of sludgy water, you know,

pond water and something that isn't particularly tasty.

But having raked around amongst a few recipes,

it's got a very basic structure.

A big ball of butter is encased in a suet crust pastry,

and the name, we think, comes from the idea that you cut this

pudding open and it's then surrounded by this pond of melted butter.

The original medieval ingredients of butter and suet

still remain, but over the years the recipe has evolved.

Here we go, Paul. Medieval kitchen.

Dr Alex has got some ingredients, and I think I know what's in store.

I'm beginning to feel the reason why I'm here.

I'm going to be making some pastry.

-You're going to be making some pastry, Paul, yes.

-Right.

Alex has rummaged through the history books for three recipes.

One from the medieval times, another from the 18th century,

and one dating from post-war rationing in the early 1950s.

The medieval pudding is made from a suet dough,

wrapped around a lump of butter.

That's a lot of butter to go inside something which is so ancient.

It's full of fat really, isn't it?

This is going to give us the taste of authentic medieval Sussex.

-Absolutely.

-That's great to see it coming together.

By the 18th century, the Georgians were importing

exotic new flavours from abroad,

so their recipe adds dried fruit and spices such as nutmeg.

One 18th-century pond pudding.

-You see, it's akin to a spotted dick.

-Mm.

Next up is the 1950s version.

This recipe uses a whole lemon in the middle.

Flavoured with brown sugar and a pinch of cinnamon.

-The connoisseur's touch.

-Yes.

With our three puddings wrapped and ready to go,

it's time to get cooking.

Back in medieval times, they didn't have ovens,

so Alex has recreated a medieval stove

on the lawn of Michelham Priory.

The plunge.

Leave the string out there.

On it goes.

And after two hours, our puddings are ready.

All right. Still bubbling there, but a nice, low heat.

Normally, I'll eat anything.

I'm bit nervous about this.

-They're not looking too bad.

-No.

OK, so this is our, our medieval...

This is the one I'm really looking forward to.

'Time for the moment of truth. Will our medieval pudding make a pond?'

-OK.

-There you go.

-Right.

Oh, hang on.

It's butter that's soaked into the dough.

I think our pond has run dry, Paul. Go on, give it a try then, go on.

-It doesn't actually taste too bad.

-No.

I'm saying that so my head...

But actually...

It actually doesn't taste too...

Do know what? That's medieval.

That's 11th-century.

'Next, the 18th-century pudding with the dried fruits and spices.'

-Now, that looks more like a pudding, doesn't it?

-Yeah.

'And again not a drop of ponding butter in sight.'

-That's better.

-Better, yeah?

-Yeah, it's like a Christmas pudding.

-That's how it should be.

-Mm.

'And finally the 1950s lemon and cinnamon version.'

I'm going to try and cut it right down the middle.

Yeah. Take it away.

-Well?

-It's like the medieval one...

-but with lemon.

-OK.

So, I think we've taken a step back.

'So, there we have it,

'three Sussex pond puddings from three different centuries,

'but the common theme, a distinct lack of, well, pond.

'I wonder if I can do any better myself.'

-Hi, Alex, welcome to the kitchen.

-Hi.

I had a great time making that pond pudding,

which wasn't so much of a pond,

but we decided it could have been something else.

Yeah, that's right.

I mean, having gone back to the historical sources, in fact,

one of the earliest recipes, which is 1672,

refers to a pudding being cut open

and there being a POUND of butter in there.

Not a POND of butter.

-So, I think we've done a bit of revision there...

-Well done, Alex.

..and we're rewriting the culinary history of Sussex.

Easy as that, really.

What I'm going to make is a chocolate and orange

version of pond pudding.

'I'm making a sweet suet pastry by adding the zest of one orange

'to some self-raising flour.

'Then, throw in some cocoa powder, caster sugar

'and lastly some finely-grated suet.

'Mix the ingredients together by hand,

'then pour in a little milk to bring it all together.'

Don't be afraid to get your hands in there,

because at the end of the day,

you remember when you're mixing pastries and doughs

what it should feel like. That is perfect.

'Once the dough has come together,

'work it a little to build up the gluten.'

Now, I want to line this bowl now

with this beautiful, suet chocolate pastry.

Now, what I've got here...

I've got my dish, which has been lined with that beautiful pastry.

Now all I need to do is get the filling in there.

-I've got the butter here.

-Now, that's good to see.

Butter's important for me, you're messing with a Sussex tradition here.

And I think the thing that's keeping it real for Sussex

is the butter.

Actually, in The Diary Of A Georgian Shopkeeper,

he said he ate a pudding which had so much butter in it,

you could have drowned a pig in it.

-Really?

-Yeah, so you need a lot of butter.

Right. I've got a load of butter in there.

I've put brown sugar in there, as well.

I've got orange, which I'm going to

-stab to release all those flavours of the orange in there.

-Yeah.

I love oranges.

And so this is where you think your pond

is going to come from, do you think?

This and the fact of the melting butter and the sugar,

-which is going to turn almost like a toffee.

-Yeah, lovely.

Now, that goes in there, right in the middle,

'Pack the pudding with the rest of the butter and sugar,

'some dark chocolate,

'and finally the lid.'

There you have it, that's our basic pond pudding.

Pop the paper over the top, fold it down the side.

Happy with that.

Now, get a load of string.

So, what I've done, I've just tied it round

and I'm just making a little carrier on the top.

'And, as if by magic, here's one I made earlier.'

There we have it. I'm going to cut off the string.

Take away the lid.

PAUL CHUCKLES

Plate.

That looks like an ancient pudding straightaway.

But do you reckon this'll pond?

It looks the part, it really does.

And if it ponds, all the better.

'Drum roll please!'

DRUM ROLL

That...

..is a chocolate and orange pond pudding.

We're going to have to wait a little bit longer to try it.

That smells delicious, though.

'There you have it, a Hollywood adaptation of a medieval classic.

'My indulgent chocolate orange pond pudding,

'complete with a fruity, oozy core.

'Sussex, this one's for you.'

There are lots of dishes I cook now

that bring back wonderful childhood memories

and there's nothing better than home cooking,

especially a meal made by your mum. Is there, Tom?

Nothing better than one done by your mum, no.

Now, you've got some ingredients here

that I know what this is going to be and I love this.

This is an absolute classic.

It's bread and butter pudding.

It's one of the dishes me mum used to make on a Sunday.

She called it bread pudding, not bread and butter pudding.

-That's the difference, I think.

-Well, listen, mate,

-my kitchen is your kitchen.

-Thank you very much.

-Welcome.

Anything you want to know where it is, just let me know

-and I'll sort it out.

-OK. First thing, sliced white bread.

-Now, you could use flashy bread.

-No, you don't.

Exactly. My sentiments exactly.

You don't want that, you want sliced white bread, sandwichy stuff...

Yeah, and proper butter.

And proper butter and don't be shy.

This is what I think people really want.

Yeah, it's proper homely food. It's stuff that people understand.

But it's getting the simple things right.

Like fresh nutmeg for me, freshly grated on and a lot...

-I've never had that, though.

-Really?

It would have been a powder for me in a jar

that's probably sitting at the back of me mum's cupboard

-for about six years.

-That's it, exactly.

Me mum's would've been the same.

You've got your mum's recipe and given it a 21st-century kick.

Yeah, that's it, pretty much, yeah. Me mum would be very pleased with it.

'Tom cuts his buttered bread into triangles

'and starts on the all-important custard.'

So, I've got a pint of double cream. A vanilla pod, just been scraped

and the seeds go in.

I've got eight free-range, lovely, yellow yolks and some caster sugar.

-That's really yolky, that one, isn't it?

-It's really yolky, yeah.

This is the thing that will kind of thicken.

Is there anything you've taken from your mum

which you've taken to the pub to cook and it's been a massive hit?

It's not dishes as such, it's an attitude.

My mum didn't have very much money, it was a single-parent family,

but when my mum cooked, she cooked properly,

so whether it was a stew or spaghetti Bolognese

or whatever else, that attitude to food

being true and lovely and flavoursome,

rather than the cheap option on going down frozen packets

or whatever else. I mean, that attitude to food

is one that has definitely been installed in me.

That understanding of trying to make sure that food is loved and cared for

-and is fun, as well.

-Yeah, exactly.

When the double cream comes to the boil,

Tom pours it onto the eggs and sugar and whisks thoroughly.

Tom pours some of the custard into a lined oven-proof tray,

and adds a sprinkling of raisins

He layers the buttered bread into the tray

with the alternate layers of custard and raisins

before leaving it to sit for 20 minutes.

He then bakes it at 130 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes

until the custard is set.'

And this one has just been cooked.

PAUL CHUCKLES

You see, it's just set, there's a bit of runny custard underneath.

Nothing wrong with that.

But the bread has just absorbed all that custard flavour.

I'm going to give it a sprinkling of demerara sugar.

-You love food, don't you?

-I absolutely love it.

I think it's the best thing ever.

-Did your mum have one of them?

-No, she didn't!

No, she didn't have a blowtorch.

-A lighter?

-Yes, she had a lighter and really dodgy grill.

I remember my mum's dodgy grill,

and she's still got the same oven, me mum. I must get her...

I'll get you a new oven, Mum! It is awful!

A Michelin-starred chef caramelising his sugar

on a bread and butter pudding.

What more do you want?

-For me, you can't beat that.

-You're a legend, mate.

An absolute legend. Can't wait to tuck into that.

Tom's mum's bread and butter pudding is an absolute classic,

and the addition of fresh nutmeg and caramelised sugar

makes this a truly sweet treat.

My next recipe is a pie

using one of those legendary food combinations -

pork and apple.

But I want to add something different

to give it an extra punch.

I've been told of a magical medieval ingredient

that fits the bill and there are just a few people who still make it.

This is Richard Perton, one of the very few producers in Britain

making this unusual ingredient that's got so many chefs excited.

So what exactly is it?

Verjus is the juice of any unripe fruit that is used in cooking.

Biting into unripe fruit tastes sour and acidic, but this flavour,

known as verjus, was popular in kitchens for centuries.

However, as the world developed, it was replaced and forgotten.

But what I really want to know is how this unusual ingredient is used.

Verjus can be used for all sorts of cooking.

It's fantastic in savoury dishes with pork, oily fish, duck,

even in vegetarian dishes, and it's wonderful in desserts.

You can concentrate it down and drop it on desserts,

you can use it to add even more apple-yness to apple pie,

you can make a fantastic sorbet out of it.

Blackberry isn't right for my pork and apple pie,

but sage will complement the ingredients perfectly,

so Richard's preparing a sage-infused apple verjus

just for me.

I'm going to chuck the whole bottle in.

I'm going to put the lid on this, put it in the fridge overnight

and, fingers crossed,

it'll make a really good apple and sage verjus,

which will be perfect for Paul.

I've never come across verjus before,

but I can't wait to give it a whirl in my pie.

I had no idea what verjus was.

Apparently, it's been around for a long, long time.

Yeah, well, it sort of originated way back in Mesopotamia.

In fact, they still use it a lot

in the Middle East and it's called husroum.

So, which one do you recommend that we try here?

Well, in order to taste it first of all,

I would just start off with just the plain verjus,

and then you can try the sage one if you like, to see

if the sage levels are going to be right for your dish.

So you wouldn't normally have this as a drink.

-This is in addition to something, a sauce, or...

-Yeah, yeah.

You use it instead of lemon juice or vinegar

in a sauce or in a dressing.

Can I have a little taste, then, please?

So, it was really when lemons and limes

came around from abroad

that this whole thing became, well, not obsolete,

but it certainly quietened down and then died away slowly?

Yeah, because before that, the need to get sour things into cooking

was such that, you know, there was only really vinegar

and lemons for a short period in certain parts of Europe,

when they were in season.

Straightaway, you can tell it's apple.

Certainly, the aftertaste tells you what it is.

But you've got this very peppery flavour to it,

sharpness to it as well,

and it does sort of dance around your tongue quite a bit, doesn't it?

Yeah, and there's a bit of grassiness there as well,

from the greenness of the apples.

I'm going to show you how to do a dish.

So, what I'm going to do is a pork and apple pie,

but I'm using a very different type of pastry.

'To start my pie filling,

'I've sweated off some diced onions and celery until soft.

'I then put the softened vegetables aside

'and melt some butter with a splash of oil in the same pan.'

Pork and apple's a marriage made in heaven, isn't it?

I mean, the good thing, particularly about

the sharpness of this apple

is that it cuts through any of the oil

that might be in the pork, any of the fat in the pork,

and balances it out perfectly.

'Next, sear the chunks of pork in hot butter and oil.

'Once the pork has been browned,

'return the onion and celery mixture to the pan.

'Next, add some flour to the pan to coat the meat,

'which will also help thicken the sauce later.'

Beautiful.

I'm then going to add my cider and chicken stock.

The smell of this is incredible!

'Next, roughly chop your apples

'and add them to the pan along with some sage.'

Give it a bit of a stir.

'Cook everything down for 45 minutes and allow to cool.'

Let's run through the pastry ingredients. This is unusual.

'Adding the cider and the olive oil first,

'I'm putting in the ingredients the wrong way around.'

Egg straight in.

Whisk this up a little bit.

'I add baking powder and three quarters of the flour

'and mix thoroughly.'

This is really odd.

Because you're adding so much olive oil to this,

the pastry actually looks like a hot water crust pastry.

Now add the rest of the flour.

Stir this around.

'When the dough has come together,

'turn it out and fold a couple of times.

'Chill the dough in the fridge

'then rest at room temperature for five minutes.'

There you have it.

The pastry is almost sweating with the amount of olive oil in there.

'Break off a small piece and roll into a long, thin strip

'to form the rim of the pie.'

This will help the lid bind to this when you put it in the oven.

There you go. I've got my mix here.

That's been cooled and is ready to go inside.

But I'm also going to add... This is the sage and apple verjus.

Give it a little bit of a mix round together.

I'm really looking forward to this dish.

This floats my boat, this.

Pork and apple.

Ooh! Come here!

Fill your pie dish around the funnel with your mixture.

Then, rolling out the remaining pastry, cover the pie,

making sure to leave a hole for the funnel.

Then trim the edges and finish with a little crimping.

There you have it.

A very beautiful-looking pie.

'Before baking, brush the top of the pie with a beaten egg

'and bake at 200 Celsius for 30 to 35 minutes.'

I've got one in here that's been cooking for about that time now.

-Look at that.

-It looks fantastic.

That smells absolutely gorgeous.

Now that is a proper pork and apple cider pie,

with sage and apple verjus.

"The juice," if you're in Kent.

My pork and apple pie is a match made in heaven,

and the addition of the verjus

elevates it to a whole new level.

'Earlier, Tom Kerridge made me a bread and butter pudding,

'a dish he learnt from his mum.

'Now, he's got a surprise for me. It's a letter from my mum.'

-And this is some recipes from your mum.

-From my mum?

From your mum.

'It's instructions for my next baking challenge.'

A jam tart. She's written, "Terribly difficult. You do the grams."

She's written it all in ounces!

THEY LAUGH

Then she's got ginger biscuits.

OK, I'm going to create my mum's tea-time treats.

They are ginger biscuits and jam tarts and I'll see what you think.

Love 'em.

'I've been baking professionally for years

'and I can rustle up a loaf with my eyes shut,

'but having to do justice to my mum's jam tarts

'and ginger biscuits - no pressure.'

I am going to start with the ginger biscuits, Tom.

If you just check that method out.

I'm passing that onto a Michelin-starred chef, Mum.

-"Melt marg, sugar and syrup gently in a pan."

-OK.

-Margarine?

-Margarine.

-Not butter?

-Not butter. Margarine, of course.

-OK.

-In a pan.

-Yeah.

-Right. OK.

Margarine goes in. Syrup.

I remember this coming out of the bowl when I was a kid thinking,

-"Ergh! What's that!"

-Golden syrup?

-Yeah.

-It's amazing stuff.

-I know, it's been around for donkey's years.

-Yeah.

-What else is in there?

-Sugar.

-She's almost making a caramel, isn't she?

-Yeah.

-Have you not made these before?

-No.

THEY LAUGH

Not like this!

You left them to your mum, yeah?

Yeah, if I was coming home, my mum would invariably make

a barrel full of the biscuits.

If I park that, that's for the ginger biscuits.

When it comes to the jam tarts, I sort of figured this one out.

Flour, she's got self-raising flour, has she?

-She's got self-raising flour, 6oz of it.

-That's about right.

-Does she use butter or marg?

-Butter or marg, 3oz of it.

It's up to you but it looks like you've got a choice here, Chef.

I'm using butter.

I'm going to crush this. Did she say what to do?

Rub together ingredients with a small amount of water.

-What, with water?!

-That's what it says, Chef.

We're doing two at once, it's confusing.

-Yeah.

-The bit where it says, "Terribly difficult," she's right.

There's three ingredients and we're getting it wrong.

I've got water here! How much water does she say?

It just says, "Small amount."

-And that's it?

-That's it.

I can't... It needs more water.

Maybe.

Oh, hang on, I think I've made this too wet now.

-I can bring that back.

-There you go, look.

I can bring that back. OK.

Now, if I get some flour...

I'd rather have a slightly wetter paste

and then work... Did she say work it together?

No, she just says, "Roll onto a board -

"use a pastry cutter to cut out about 20 shapes."

Rolling pin?

I've hardly touched this.

-I've just left it as it is, so it's quite buttery.

-Yeah.

I'm going to cut out the jam tarts.

'Once the pastry is cut out, pop them into a greased cupcake tin.

'Meanwhile, the butter, sugar and syrup have all melted

'for my mum's ginger biscuits.'

Smells like me mum's biscuits.

-With dried ginger.

-Yeah.

The powdered stuff, there's nothing like it, it's really intense.

It's a flavour that I always remember as a kid,

whether it's steam puddings, or biscuits, that dried ginger's lovely.

I'm going to come back to that. I'm going to carry on with these.

So, has she given any baking instructions?

OK. "Put into individual cupcake tray

-"and add a teaspoon of jam into each."

-A teaspoon?!

A teaspoon, not too much, this is with an exclamation mark, mind.

"Not too much or it will ooze everywhere!"

That's a warning there, chief.

OK. I'm happy with that.

A good teaspoon.

-Does she say what jam?

-No.

-I've got raspberry here.

-OK, raspberry jam.

-OK.

"Gas mark five or six, 200C, 400F

"and cook until pastry is pale and brown.

"Maybe 30 minutes."

-30 minutes for these?!

-Yeah.

They'll be as black as coal!

TOM CHUCKLES

-Maybe in her oven.

-Yeah, yeah.

That one that the dial comes off all the time. What's this setting?

Those jam tarts are ready.

When it comes to the ginger biscuits, what does she say?

I've got the paste ready.

"Roll into 50p size balls, place on a baking tray,

"mark with back of a fork, makes about 40 biscuits."

-40?

-Yeah.

Do you reckon you'll get 40 from that?

Roll into 50p size balls.

I think these are about right.

I remember getting glossy hands when I was a kid, making these.

-I'll do nine on this.

-Nine. Not 40?

40? There's no way I'll get 40!

Maybe it's me mum's eyes.

THEY CHUCKLE

-You're not going to get away with that.

-I'm dead, aren't I?

-Yeah!

I remember this pastry when I was a kid because we used to nibble on it.

-Raw cake mix.

-Raw cake mix.

Because of the ginger you can sort of get away with it.

So she doesn't flatten them, she just uses a fork.

"Mark with back of fork."

So, OK.

All right. I remember the fork going on them

because I remember there was always a slight indentation

when they came out.

-It's pretty basic, though, isn't it?

-Yeah, but when you were a young 'un,

that's pretty exciting, isn't it? You say it's basic, I'm looking at,

"I can't wait for a jam tart."

What did she say about the bake on the ginger biscuits?

"Approximately 12 minutes, gas mark four,

"180C or 350F, until golden brown.

"Or a little bit later to make dunkers."

OK. I want some dunkers.

I can't wait to see what these are like when they're baked.

Tom, I think we're going to have to reveal them at the table later.

I'm looking forward to it.

Thank you. I'll take one of those.

'It's time for my guests to sample today's dishes

'and I hope they enjoy them.'

This is the best part of the day, time to tuck in.

TOM: This is pork and apple pie.

'Pork and apple is a great flavour combination

'and I can't wait to taste it with Richard's verjus.'

-You are getting that sharpness from it?

-Really, sharp.

The sage comes through as well.

The sage does come through, without being too powerful.

-Do you like that, Tom?

-That's a delicious pie.

-It's that apple, isn't it?

-That apple's so good with it.

You can't beat a good pie.

'I loved exploring the historic pond pudding with Alex

'and coming up with my own modern twist.

Oh, my good man.

-TOM: Chocolate and orange.

-That's magical.

And there's no going back now,

-certainly not to the medieval version I cooked.

-No!

I want to try this bread and butter pudding now.

For me, this looks just like me mum would have done it.

That is stunning. You lucky lad, growing up with that.

THEY LAUGH

'And, finally, a jam tart and ginger biscuit dunker from days gone by.'

They're a very simple and easy biscuit recipe to do. It's lovely.

They're good. It's so simple.

Your mum's got this sewn up!

We're going to start a business, Mum, it's going to happen.

We've definitely recreated some British classics today,

including me mum's jam tarts.

I hope you'll try these delicious recipes too.

-Anyone for another jam tart?

-Absolutely.

-It's a winner.

Cheers, Paul's mum.

Yeah. Cheers, Mum.