Pasty Pastry For Cornish Miners' Pasties - cooking recipe

Ingredients

3 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup shortening or 1 cup lard
3/4 cup ice water (the colder the better!)

Preparation

Mix dry ingredients in mixing bowl.
Cut in shortening with a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Add ice water a little at a time, tossing with a fork to make a pastry-like dough.
Add a bit more water if it seems dry and won't hold together when squeezed lightly.
Gather into a ball, press firmly now, then wrap with plastic wrap and chill while preparing the pasty ingredients (see Recipe # ).
Roll dough out on a lightly floured surface (or on top of a piece of plastic wrap which can easily be folded over and then peeled off once the pasty ingredients are loaded).
Edges of pasty should be brushed with a smidgen of water and then crimped VERY firmly with a fork (and I fold them and crimp again -- so none of the liquid seeps out).
Brush tops of finished pasties with milk to enhance the crust (it will bake to a beautiful golden brown).
NOTE: Like pastry dough, pasty dough should be handled as LITTLE as possible to ensure flakiness. So, *handle with care* !