Brioche Mince Pies | Bread Recipes | Jamie Oliver (2024)

FAQs

How to pimp up mincemeat? ›

I like to pimp up my mincemeat with a couple of extras though – a little apple adds some extra juiciness, and some dried cranberries for a modern (& tasty!) touch.

The fat in butter can also extend the shelf life of your baked goods. Consider a baguette and a loaf of brioche. The baguette contains absolutely no fat, so it goes stale and becomes dry within a day. Brioche, on the other hand, is loaded with butter and, in turn, will stay moist and soft for several days.

I can put lots of filling in, press the filling down and it never spills over. When I used to buy mincemeat, I often had the same problem and the only solution was to keep the amount of filling down.

Mince pies were first served in the early middle ages, and the pies were quite sizeable, filled with a mixture of finely minced meat, chopped up fruit and a preserving liquid. Mincemeat originally came about as a good way of preserving meat, without salting, curing, smoking or drying it.

Heat a pile of mincemeat in a pan with sugar, orange and lemon juice, orange peel, half a cinnamon stick and brandy, wait for it to thicken and then stir in some whipping cream.

Store-bought mincemeat can contain alcohol, and if it doesn't, here's my tip: add some. It will kick your mince pies up to the next level. Rum or brandy go especially well with the other ingredients.

For breakfast, the French love a sweet moment to start the day, and will have brioche slices with jam or Nutella spread on them, served alongside a warm, milky coffee. Of course, there's not really any wrong way to enjoy brioche.

Too much butter will result in a very soft, sticky dough that's difficult to shape, and bakes up greasy and dense.

Bread has a best-by date instead of an expiration date, but it's best to examine it yourself to determine whether it's safe to eat. Throw away bread if it's moldy or has a strange taste or smell.

Fill each pie level with mincemeat, don't overfill as the pies have a tendency to leak and glue themselves to the tins if you do. Dip your finger in the egg and run around the edge of each mince pie and top with a lid, pressing gently together to seal.

Why are my mince pies soggy on the bottom? ›

If the bottom crust doesn't set before the filling soaks in, it's going to be gummy. A metal pie pan placed on a preheated surface will set the bottom crust quickest; once cooked, the liquids from the filling above won't soak in, and as a result: no soggy bottom.

English tradition demands that the mince meat mixture should only be stirred in a clockwise direction. To stir it anticlockwise is to bring bad luck for the coming year. Another English custom is for all the family to take a turn in stirring the mincemeat mixture whilst making a wish.

By the 18th century it was more likely to be tongue or even tripe, and in the 19th century it was minced beef. It was not until the late Victorian period and early 20th Century that mince pies dropped the meat and had all fruit fillings (albeit with suet). Even today there are traditions associated with mince pies.

They became a popular treat around the festive period thanks to a tradition from the middle ages, which saw people eat a mince pie for 12 days from Christmas day to Twelfth Night. Doing this was believed to bring you happiness for the next 12 months.

Mincemeat pie is a dish that isn't very common in the American kitchen, which can lead to some confusion for cooks, even those on the Allrecipes staff.

Consider the fat content of mince before you buy. Beef mince, and sometimes lamb, is graded by its fat content, and remember that some fat is desirable as it adds flavour and helps to keep the meat moist during cooking. The standard fat content of mince is 20%, but you can opt for a lean or extra-lean version.

Add onions and tinned tomatoes

If you want to make your meals go further then every time you make a mince dish you should add twice the amount of onions and two cans of tomatoes.

If you particularly want a wetter mincemeat, you can add a splash of orange juice or alcohol when you come to use it. They are in for a real treat!

While you can cut down on the amount of ground beef that you use in most recipes, it's usually best to mix extenders, such as breadcrumbs, rice, or grated veggies, into the beef so it goes further.