Index of Pies
Our family has always been more into pie than cake. As far back as the early days on my great grandfathers cattle ranch in the San Joaquin, pies were almost a way of life. Pie was served at every meal, even breakfast. The cowboys would have cried if they couldn’t finish breakfast with a big slice of pie.
Every time I ask my sons what their favorite pie is, the answer, “Pie.” I recently tried to narrow it down a bit. I asked my oldest, “O.K. So there are twelve of your favorite pies on the table and you may only have one slice. Which one would you choose?”
“Only one slice,” he said. “Mom, I’d just have a nervous break down.”
Here are some pie tips to help you on the road to making perfect pies. These tips are the result of many generations of pie making in my family. I hope they prove helpful.
What Makes a Successful Pie Crust?
1. Each molecule flour needs to be coated with fat, yet remain independent from the others, as opposed to something like cookie dough or cake batter where you want them blended. This is far easier to achieve if the ingredients, particularly the fat, are cold. This is why you “cut” the fat into the flour instead of “stirring” it in. You want to work the flour and fat mixture as little as possible. Only by keeping the particles of flour and fat independent from each other can you achieve a truly flaky pie crust.
2. When adding the liquid, you want just enough to not actually blend the ingredients. You just want enough moisture to allow you to gather all the ingredients together. The liquid should be as cold as possible. Do not over work the dough. This will cause the fat and flour to amalgamate, or blend, resulting in a less than rewarding end result. Less is better than more. It’s O.K. if the dough appears cracked and lumpy. In this case, smooth is bad.
3. If time and space allow, chill the crust for at least thirty minutes before using. To chill, pat the dough into disks that are about one inch thick.
This allows for more even and thorough chilling.
High Baking Temperature:
You will notice that many pie recipes call for putting the pie into a high temperature oven, 500° to 550° for the first five minutes or so of baking, then reducing the heat to a traditional 350° or 375° for the remaining baking time. Your pastry needs all the help it can get to be light and flaky. In addition to keeping the method described above, you can help the process with the baking temperature. Consider; your pastry has moisture in it. You chill the pastry and if possible, even the pie its self before baking. Then you put that chilled pastry into an hot, hot oven and the result is steam. Steam is one of the most powerful elements on the planet. After all, it can move a locomotive. The steam generated by putting the cold pastry into the hot, hot oven, literally blows the pastry apart into layers, resulting in a tender, flaky crust.
Choosing the right pan: I prefer glass baking pans. My mother began using Pyrex for her baking as soon as it was readily available on the market. Glass gives a more even heat. Shiny metal pan reflect the heatand can prevent the crust from browning properly. Shiny metal pan reflect the heat and can prevent the crust from browning properly. Disposable aluminum pans are the least desirable, however, if like me, you often bake pies to give to friends, you certainly are not going to give them your expensive Pyrex. I buy my disposable aluminum pans at a restaurant supply store where I can get a package of twelve for about three dollars. When I get them in a regular grocery store they are usually about three dollars for a package of three.
Over Browning the Edges:
Sometimes the edges of your pies may get too brown. To prevent this, I cut a circle of foil a bit larger than the pie. Then cut out the center out of the circle leaving a ring about two and a half inches wide. I place this on the outer edge of the pie, shiny side up and leave it for the first fifteen to twenty minutes of the baking.
Rolling Out the Crust:
O.K. So this sounds like a given. NOT! You have no idea how many of my students ask me, “How do I keep the dough from sticking to the work surface,” or “How do I keep the dough round” and “How do I keep the edges from cracking?”
First, and as it says in Bea’s_Perfect_Pastry, work with chilled pastry, unless using hot water pastry which is a totally different critter. Work on a lightly floured surface. Pat the disk of dough out into a circle about one-half inch thick. Wipe the surface with a wee bit of flour. Give the disk of dough a quarter turn; that is, turn it so that the edge that was facing away from you is now facing to the left or right.
Before we go further, a word about rolling pins. I know that most to the T.V. chefs use those things that look like sticks with beveled edges as rolling pins. In our family, we haven’t had to roll out our pastry with a broom handle since the depression. I much prefer a good, basic rolling pin with handles and ball bearings for easy and smooth rolling.
Before we go further, a word about rolling pins. I know that most to the T.V. chefs use those things that look like sticks with beveled edges as rolling pins. In our family, we haven’t had to roll out our pastry with a broom handle sincethe depression. I much prefer a good, basic rolling pin with handles and ball bearings for easy and smooth rolling.
Place the rolling pin in the center of the dough and roll away from you, lifting up a bit as you come to the edge. Now roll towards you, again, lifting up just a bit as you come to the edge. This lifting up is what helps prevent cracking. Do this two or three times.
Now, dust the top lightly with flour, gently lift the dough and flip it over. Position it so that the edges that were on the top and bottom are now on the sides. Doing this periodically is what keeps the dough round. Continue in this manner until the dough is a bit thinner than one-quarter inch. Make sure you lightly dust the top each time before flipping the dough.
To cut the dough to correct size, place your pie pan upside down on the circle of dough and cut out a circle that is about two and one-half inches larger than the outer edge of the pie pan.
Lining the Pie Pan:
There are two easy ways to move the circle of pie dough from the work surface to the pie plate.
1. Gently fold the circle of dough into quarters and place it in the pie shell with the folded corner in the center. Then unfold it.
2. Place your rolling pin at one end of the circle and gently roll the pastry up onto it. Lift the rolling pin with the dough to the pie pan, place the rolling pin at one edge of the pie plate and unroll.
Gently, ease the dough into the pan, lightly pressing it into the corner of the plate with your fingers. With a small sharp knife, trim off the excess dough all around the pie dish. You are how ready to place your filling into the lined pie pan. Fill the lined pie pan and set aside.
Two Crust Pies:
To make a two crust pie, follow the directions above for rolling the dough and transferring to a pie pan. Add your filling. Now, using a small sharp knife, trim the crust to be just the size of the outer rim of the pie shell.
Roll out a second circle of dough. Before transferring to the filled pie pan, paint the outer rim of pastry in the pie pan with an egg that has been beaten with one tablespoon of cold water. Transfer the second circle of pastry to the filled pie pan. Using a pair of kitchen scissors and trim the top pastry to be about half an inch larger all around than the outer edge of the pie plate. Carefully, use your fingers and gently tuck the bit of extra crust hanging down under the first piece of dough, sort of like you were making a bed. Do this all the way around the pie.
Finishing a Two Crust Pie:
To give your pie a fine finish and beautiful appearance, paint the surface with an egg wash which is an egg lightly beaten with one tablespoon of cold water. If you are making a fruit pie it is a nice addition to lightly sprinkle the surface of the pie with a bit of Raw, Turbinado or Demerrara sugar.
And finally, you need to make several small slits in the surface of the top pastry. This is necessary to allow the steam to escape, otherwise your lovely pastry will be soggy. You may simply use a small sharp knife and randomly make a few half inch long slits in the top, however, since you have gone to all this work, why not make your slits in an attractive pattern? You are now ready to bake your pie according to your recipes directions.
Crimping the Pie:
You are now ready to crimp or seal the outer edge of your pie and there are several ways to do this.
The easies is to press the tines of a table fork into the pastry all around the outer edge. This makes an attractive finish for your pie and it is very easy.
The classic finish of course is to pinch a bit of dough between your thumb and forefinger and give a bit of a twist. Do this all around the outer edge of the pie to give a classic farmhouse finish.
A third way to crimp the outer edge is to place the fore finger and index finger of one hand on the outer edge of the pie, place the fore finger of the other hand between them and press down gently.
Now use your thumb and forefinger and crimp all around the edge of the pie to seal. Paint the surface of the pie with egg wash. Use a small sharp knife and make several slits in the top of the pie. This is to allow the steam out and prevent the crust from being soggy. I usually try to make the slits in a decorative pattern.
Finishing a Two Crust Pie:
To give your pie a fine finish and beautiful appearance, paint the surface with an egg wash which is an egg lightly beaten with one tablespoon of cold water. If you are making a fruit pie it is a nice addition to lightly sprinkle the surface of the pie with a bit of Raw, Turbinado or Demerrara sugar.
And finally, you need to make several small slits in the surface of the top pastry. This is necessary to allow the steam to escape, otherwise your lovely pastry will be soggy. You may simply use a small sharp knife and randomly make a few half inch long slits in the top, however, since you have gone to all this work, why not make your slits in an attractive pattern? You are now ready to bake your pie according to your recipes directions.
Lattice Top Crust:
Lattice or Criss-cross pies a bit tedious to make but well worth the effort. They are traditionally used for berry pies. Form the bottom shell as you would for a standard two crust pie. For the top crust, roll out another piece of pastry dough just as if you were making a standard top. Using either a small sharp knife or a zigzag pastry wheel, cut the pastry into half inch wide strips. Use these strips of pastry to form a basket weave over the top of your pie. And if you can’t figure it out, don’t think you are an idiot. It can be confusing. As soon as I figure out how to use the video part of my camera I will post clip of making a lattice top which should make it easier.
One Crust Pies: One crust pies are usually only used for pies like pumpkin and other custard pies. If you use a one crust pie for fruit, particularly harder fruits like apples, the fruit on top will be dried and dough.
Blind Baking:
For some single crust pies, the shells are baked before the fillings are added. This is the case for lemon meringue pies, pies made with pudding, ice cream and other chilled pies. The problem is, when you bake a crust without any filling, it tends to shrink and buckle. To avoid this, line your pie pan with pastry as usual and crimp the edges. Place foil or a sheet of bakers parchment in the pie shell and fill the shell with beans or pie weights.Bake at 350° for about twenty to twenty five minutes or until the pastry is golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. After the crust is completely cooled, remove the paper and weights and add the filling.
A Pie Chain Ceramic Pie Weights Using Beans
Soggy Bottom Crusts:
You can somewhat retard soggy bottom crusts by painting the unbaked bottom crust with egg white before adding the filling.
And now, with patience and a bit of luck, you too should be able to make perfect pies every time.
