Ray’s Hot Bread, Oxley

It has been pointed out to me that I may have been a bit too “CBD-centric” in my pie tests thus far.  So today I ventured out to Oxley to test out the pies at Ray’s Hot Bread.  

The pie I tested today was the chunky steak pie. 

Ray’s is another bakery that has received a number of awards over time for their pies (the significant number of trophies and plaques on display behind the counter attest to the that) and, with one limitation, Ray’s chunky steak pie lived up to its award winning billing. 

Here is how I rated this pie: 

Taste

For a plain pie this pie was really quite tasty.  The gravy had a more peppery flavor than I have experienced before as I have searched for Brisbane’s Best Pie and that flavor was a welcome addition.  

Meat and Gravy

The meat in this pie was as described: it was chunky and it was steak.  It was also plentiful which was pleasing.  The gravy was thick and rich and complimented the meat really very well with a hint of pepper, as noted above, that was quite nice.  

Pastry

Unlike a number of pies I have tested thus far (which have had undercooked pastry) I found the pastry on this pie to quite dry.  After the second bite of the pie I had to take a swig of water to get all of the pastry down.  Whilst it tasted quite nice the dryness was the standout factor and suggested the pie might have been a bit over cooked .  

Temperature

The Ray’s Hot Bread chunky steak pie was the perfect temperature for eating immediately.  Not too hot and better than lukewarm it was just right (which was a good thing because I had to eat it in my car for reasons that will become clear as you read on).  

Size

This was an unusually shaped pie in that it was more square than circular but that meant that it was slightly larger than most of the pies I have tried so far. 

Price 

$4.60

The Final Word

Ray’s Hot Bread is an award winner and it is easy to see why.  It is such a shame that I found the pastry of this pie to be on the dry side because all of the other elements of the pie were right on the money.  I will be interested to try another Ray’s pie in the future to see if I simply struck an “off day” when it comes to the cooking of the pie. 

Postscript

Ray’s Hot Bread is on Oxley Station Rd in Oxley in Brisbane’s western suburbs.  If you are travelling from more than a 5km radius away please note that there is no seating at the bakery so if you want your pie to be hot upon eating you might need to eat it in your vehicle.