Deep Dive
The meat: depth through layering
Fallow starts with quality sausage meat and seasons it aggressively — sage (chiffonaded raw), five spice, fennel seeds, garlic powder, paprika, salt, pepper. He breaks in slightly stale bread to absorb fat. The secret move is the shallot layer: finely chopped shallots sweated in duck fat, then caramelized with ale and dark muscovado sugar plus red wine vinegar until sticky. This glazed shallot paste goes into the filling, adding umami and sweetness the standard Greggs roll never touches. The caramelized shallots cool spread on a tray so steam doesn't wreck the pastry's rise later.
The pastry: rough puff through discipline
Fallow uses strong white bread flour grated cold butter into flour with a spoon — hands are too warm. Water binds it, then it's kneaded minimally and wrapped for the fridge (ideally overnight). The lamination happens through three fold cycles: fold top down to center, fold bottom back over, turn 90 degrees, rest 20 minutes. Repeat twice more. Each fold roughly triples the dough's size. This rough puff method creates the flaky texture without needing a day-long classic puff process. The pastry must be cold when filling, so it stays in the fridge until the last minute.
Assembly and the lattice detail
He cuts the pastry into 24x24cm squares, spreads caramelized shallots and sausage meat across (leaving the far edge dry for sealing), brushes with egg wash and water, then rolls it like a log. The lattice comes from reserved pastry: 2cm slits with 0.5cm gaps, scored in alternating rows. These strips pull over the roll and wrap around the outside. Everything freezes for five to ten minutes to firm up. Baking starts at 200 degrees for ten minutes, then drops to 180 until the internal temperature hits 68 degrees Celsius. The result is visibly superior to Greggs — golden, flaky, loaded with intentional flavor.