Pies Chapter 11

Pies - Chapter 11

• Pies are made with sweet or savory fillings baked in a crust.
• Pies are typically made in round, slope-sided pans.
• Pie crusts can be made without a recipe using a 3:2:1 ratio—3 parts flour, 2 parts fat, and 1 part water.
• Pie dough preparation involves combining dry ingredients, cutting in the fat, adding liquid, and mixing gently until the dough comes together.
• The dough should then be refrigerated before rolling out and placed in the pie pan.
• The edges should be trimmed.
• Fat should be cold to facilitate working with the dough and create a flaky crust.
• When fat melts in the oven, it creates steam, leading to flaky layers.
• Cold fat yields a tough, chewy crust.

Pie Crust Types

• Flaky: Fat is cut into large, irregular pieces.
• Mealy: Fat is cut into small, uniform pieces.
• Crumb: Made from crushed cookies or crumbs combined with butter and sugar. Commonly used in cheesecakes and custard pies.
• Types of Fat for Pie Dough:
  • Butter: Adds flavor but is difficult to work with.
  • Lard: Makes the flakiest crust, often used in savory pies.
  • Shortening: Provides a flaky crust.
  • Oil: Makes a fragile crust without flakiness.

Pie Types

• Fruit: Single or double crust with pre-cooked fruit filling. (Examples: apple, cherry, blueberry)
• Cream: Filling made from milk, eggs, thickener, and flavors. Filling is cooked separately and then poured into the crust, which may be blind baked or a crumb crust.
• Custard: An uncooked custard baked with the pie crust. (Examples: pumpkin, pecan)
• Savory: Not a dessert; contains meat, seafood, or vegetables in a sauce. (Examples: pot pie, quiche)

Pie Preparation Techniques

• Cutting in: Mixing solid fat into dry ingredients. Using a pastry blender is common, but forks, knives, or hands (known as rubbing in) can also be used.
• Blind baking: Baking an empty pie shell, often with weights or beans inside, to prevent the crust from puffing up irregularly.
• Docking: Making small holes in the unbaked crust to allow steam to escape during baking, preventing rising.
• Fluting: Decorating the pie crust by making uniform folds around the edge.
• Lattice: Strips of dough woven into a criss-cross pattern for decorative topping.

Crust Types

• Single-crust: One crust, open, exposing the filling
• Double-crust: Two crusts—one on top and one bottom, typically decorated, covering the filling.