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Food All Things Pie

Discussion in 'Tilted Food' started by snowy, Nov 29, 2013.

Page 1 of 4
  1. snowy

    snowy so kawaii Staff Member

    So, this thread is a day late and a dollar short, but I've got pie on my mind, so here it is.

    Pie is something that makes people panic--well, pie crust, specifically. I've never understood why. I am apparently the only one in my husband's extended family who can actually make a successful pie crust. My MIL can't even rely on the America's Test Kitchen Foolproof Pie Crust. It's apparently not foolproof.

    I use a simple ratio--3-2-1. Three parts flour (12 oz, about 2 cups) to two parts butter/fat (8 oz, or two sticks; I use one stick real butter, one stick Earth Balance), to 1 tiny part water--just enough water to make it come together. I cut up the fat ahead of time and put it in the freezer. I measure out the flour into my mixer. I use my stand mixer to cut the fat into the flour until I have a sandy mixture with some visible chunks of fat still there; I let it run while adding the cut-up fat, bit by bit. I tried a new technique yesterday for incorporating the water with a spatula. It worked very well.

    So what works here for me? Well, the Earth Balance makes the crust easier to work with, and since in functions similarly to a shortening, it makes the crust more tender. It has a bit of flavor of its own, but it's more butter-like in flavor than regular shortening. I rarely make a full-butter crust, but it isn't that hard, either. I think what stops people short is their own fear.

    There are some alternative methods I would like to try, simply because I trust the person that came up with them (and I would have his food babies). He is the originator of ATK's original Foolproof Pie Dough, the one where you substitute vodka for some of the water.

    The Food Lab: The Science of Pie Dough | Serious Eats: Sweets

    Cook's Illustrated's Foolproof Pie Crust

    Do you make pies? Why or why not?
     
    snowy, Nov 29, 2013
    #1
  2. fflowley

    fflowley Don't just do something, stand there!

    I don't make pies but I do raise hogs for our own consumption.
    A couple of the ladies at work are serious pie bakers and love having fresh lard to work with.
    Is that something you have ever tried in your crust? They swear by it.
     
    fflowley, Nov 29, 2013
    #2
  3. Charlatan

    Charlatan sous les pavés, la plage

    Location:
    Temasek
    I was given this recipe by Anna Olson, she's a chef on Food Network Canada. We had her out here a few times and when I was chatting with her about pastry being difficult to make in Singapore she gave me this recipe that she say was foolpoof.

    It's now my go to recipe.

    That said, as much as I would like to use my stand mixer to make pastry, I can't. It's so hot and humid here, that the butter melts too quickly. I find it is best to freeze and grate my butter, then freeze again. Then, I just pull it all together with my hands. Using my hands, I can be a bit more gentle with the mix and get an even distribution of the fat and flour.


    Pastry:
    £ 2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
    £ 4 tsp granulated sugar
    £ 1 tsp salt
    £ 1 cup cool unsalted butter
    £ 1 large egg
    £ 2 tbsp cold water

    Method:

    1. In a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine flour, sugar and salt. Cut the cold butter into small pieces (pull butter from the fridge 30 minutes before adding) and add to the flour, mix until dough is a rough, crumbly texture. Add egg and water at once and whisk, mixing until dough forms. Shape the dough into 2 disks, wrap in plastic and chill for at least one hour.
    --- merged: Nov 29, 2013 at 8:00 PM ---
    By the way... I am making pasty for about 6 pies today. Freezing the pastry so I can make pies with ease throughout the week.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 6, 2013
    Charlatan, Nov 29, 2013
    #3
  4. snowy

    snowy so kawaii Staff Member


    Given that my husband is a vegetarian, no, it's not something I've tried, nor is it something I am likely to ever try. I've heard good things about it, but most of the lard that's easy to get around here has a weird taste. I'm not a fan.

    @Charlatan, I've thought about going the grating route to get it a bit smaller before incorporating. Even when my kitchen is cold, I have a rhythm of putting the dough back in the fridge or freezer. For example, when making the apple pie today, I put the cut-up fat in the freezer. Then, as soon as I had my dough mixed and wrapped in plastic, it went in the fridge (I don't like the freezer here, makes it too hard to roll out later if I leave it too long). After I roll it out and put it in the pie pan, I put the entire pie pan in the freezer while I roll out the top. The top gets rolled up in the wax paper it's rolled out in and stuck in the freezer while I fill the bottom. Then it all gets put together.
     
    snowy, Nov 29, 2013
    #4
  5. Charlatan

    Charlatan sous les pavés, la plage

    Location:
    Temasek
    @snowy, I only put it in the freezer if I'm not going to use it for a few days. It takes no time at all to thaw.

    As for lard, it's great in savory pies... especially a good Tourtière.
     
    Charlatan, Nov 30, 2013
    #5
  6. hamsterball

    hamsterball Seeking New Outlets

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    I've had a love/hate relationship with homemade pie dough over the years. I have had success with the vodka pie crust recipe over the past couple of years, however I'm still not thrilled with the consistency of the baked crust every time (it hasn't always come out flaky per se). In my hands the hydrated dough is really wet at first, but you work in some additional flour as you work it up, which helps balance it out.

    I'm more likely to make pies during the holidays. I have a fussy crowd here at home, so it limits the kind of pies that I usually make. Personally, I've rarely ever met a pie that I don't like (talking about pie types, not execution!). I'll give your recipes a try, @snowy and @Charlatan. I'm curious to see how they work out.
     
    hamsterball, Nov 30, 2013
    #6
  7. snowy

    snowy so kawaii Staff Member

    I took pictures as I made an apple pie yesterday. I'll have them up sometime soon.
     
    snowy, Nov 30, 2013
    #7
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  8. hamsterball

    hamsterball Seeking New Outlets

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    Can't wait to see them. How do you deal with shrinkage of the apples? Do you pre-cook them or do you just let nature take its course? Just curious
     
    hamsterball, Nov 30, 2013
    #8
  9. snowy

    snowy so kawaii Staff Member


    I just let nature take its course in a traditional apple pie. I've got another pie recipe I like where the apples are pre-cooked: Recipe Sleuth: BlackSalt’s Caramel-Apple Streusel Pie | Recipe Sleuth | Washingtonian In this recipe, I don't use ALL Granny Smith like called for. I usually use Golden Delicious, Jonagold, or Honeycrisp, or some combination thereof, with a Granny thrown in.
     
    snowy, Nov 30, 2013
    #9
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  10. hamsterball

    hamsterball Seeking New Outlets

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    I've usually just let things happen as well. Thanks for the tips!
     
    hamsterball, Dec 1, 2013
    #10
  11. Charlatan

    Charlatan sous les pavés, la plage

    Location:
    Temasek
    @Snowy, I used Kenji's recipe for this batch of pies. I will let you know how they turn out.

    I will be baking them off later this week.
     
    Charlatan, Dec 1, 2013
    #11
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  12. hamsterball

    hamsterball Seeking New Outlets

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    I tried a Cook's Country recipe for pumpkin pie yesterday. The crust slumped a bit, but it was very crisp and flaky, and the filling was outstanding! Highly recommended!
     
    hamsterball, Dec 26, 2013
    #12
  13. genuinemommy

    genuinemommy Moderator Staff Member

    I made banana cream pie for a dinner with friends Sunday,very simple and a big hit. Made a from-scratch vanilla pudding and poured it over sliced bananas in a pie crust. Next time I think I will make it with a graham cracker crust. Chill for an hour, then serve.
     
    genuinemommy, Dec 27, 2013
    #13
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  14. snowy

    snowy so kawaii Staff Member

    The other great crust for banana cream pie is a Nilla wafer crust.

    Here's a basic recipe I've used before and liked:
    4 cups crushed Nilla wafer cookies (a rough texture with unevenly sized pieces is fine)
    10 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
    1/2 cup sugar
    1/4 teaspoon salt

    Preheat oven to 400°F. In a large bowl, combine the cookie crumbs, butter, sugar and salt. Press mixture firmly into 2 9-inch pie pans (if you have any extra mixture left over, you can press this into muffin tins with great results).
    Bake for 10 minutes, and cool on a wire rack.
     
    snowy, Dec 27, 2013
    #14
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  15. hamsterball

    hamsterball Seeking New Outlets

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    I will definitely give that a try, thanks!
     
    hamsterball, Dec 27, 2013
    #15
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  16. snowy

    snowy so kawaii Staff Member

    When I made it, I crushed my pieces in the food processor for a fine texture.
     
    snowy, Dec 27, 2013
    #16
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  17. hamsterball

    hamsterball Seeking New Outlets

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    The food processor works extremely well for grinding up cookies without completely destroying their texture.
    --- merged: Dec 28, 2013 4:09 AM ---
    This weekend, I'm going for a reprise of the pumpkin pie. It had amazing texture and flavor, and it relied on a pre-baked pie crust, which kept it flaky and crisp. I'm also doing a pecan pie recipe that I also pulled from Cook's Country. I've done that one before and it's the pest pecan pie I've ever made.

    My brother-in-law comes up every year from Georgia with his wife, so we'll be doing a 2nd Christmas dinner this weekend.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jan 4, 2014
    hamsterball, Dec 27, 2013
    #17
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  18. snowy

    snowy so kawaii Staff Member

    Nice.
     
    snowy, Dec 27, 2013
    #18
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  19. hamsterball

    hamsterball Seeking New Outlets

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    Hahahaha! Actually, he's pretty awesome. I get along very well with him, though I'm sure that Freud would have had a field day with that typo.:oops:
     
    hamsterball, Dec 27, 2013
    #19
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  20. hamsterball

    hamsterball Seeking New Outlets

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    Just made the Cook's Country pumpkin pie once more, to a nearly orgasmic response from the in laws. This really is the best pumpkin pie ever. I could probably use this recipe to enslave humanity, but I've already sworn to use my powers for good, not evil.

    The recipe calls for an all butter crust, and that has worked very well. I'm feeling a lot more confident about my pie crust technique.

    I'm now minutes away from doing the Cook's Country version of pecan pie. I've done this one a couple of times, and it's amazing. It uses maple syrup, brown sugar and a touch of molasses in place of corn syrup and the flavor is off the charts.

    I gotta have my pie :)
     
    hamsterball, Dec 30, 2013
    #20
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