When I last conquered my culinary fears, I promised you a second installment of this adventure - In Which Beth Blows the Cobwebs Off Her Rolling Pin and Overcomes Her Fear of Pie Crust.
Let’s talk about pie for a moment. I. Love. Pie. It’s probably my favorite dessert. Fruit pies are my preference, but I certainly won’t shy away from a cream pie, custard pie or chocolate pie if it’s presented to me. The filling is actually less important than the crust, which has to be flaky, buttery, and that perfect combination of crisp yet tender. I come from a long line of fantastic pie makers; my mom, my aunts, my grandparents, and my great-grandparents all turn(ed) out perfect crusts with perfect fillings. It should be in my genetic makeup, but piemaking is a skill that seems to have skipped my generation. Previous attempts at homemade pie crust have been fairly craptastic, and the perfectionist in me hates attempting anything that I know will turn out ugly or messy.
I know I could buy pie crust and pass it off as my own. But piemaking is a culinary status symbol I’m bound and determined to achieve. As my friend Leslie aptly described it, pie is the unicorn of baking, an elusive skill that may take years to find and perfect. My most recent trial resulted in quite a few errors, but hey, it tasted good, so I guess that’s half the battle.
So what went wrong with this cherry pie attempt? First of all, you’ll notice that the crust is not evenly browned. That’s due to the haphazard egg wash I brushed over the top…apparently I missed a few spots. Therefore, it has a lovely Michael Jackson-esque skin condition that sort of detracts from the homey deliciousness. You’ll also notice it sprung a leak along the edge of the crust. That’s because I had major problems rolling it out to the proper size. My dough was fairly dry and crumbly, and while I know you can add more water to it if this occurs, I’m scared to death of adding too much. That’s my problem with pie: I know how it should look when it’s baked, but I’m clueless about how it should look and feel in its raw state.
The final bump in the pie road: filling spreadage after the pie was cut.
My mother (= piemaking idol) says this happens quite frequently with canned cherry pie filling unless you do something to thicken it (tapioca? cornstarch?). But even she doesn’t do that, so I didn’t feel like quite as big of a failure when I cut my pie and it sort of exploded on the plate.
This was an important first step in conquering my fear of pie crust. I knew it wouldn’t be perfect, but I threw it in the oven anyway and made some notes for next time. It didn’t look pretty, but it tasted good. It isn’t photogenic, but I took a picture anyway and posted it here. I’m making it my personal mission to churn out palatable, passable, pretty pie crust in the next few months. I’d like to say I’ll make a perfect pie by Christmas, but I’m seeing my mom in January and may need an in-person tutorial before that happens. I used my Kitchenaid mixer (and accompanying recipe) for this attempt, but on the next one, perhaps I should try doing everything by hand? If you’re reading this and you, too are a piemaking expert, leave a comment with your best tips and tricks to help me achieve my mission and find the damn unicorn!
Pie Crust Attempt #1
adapted from the Kitchenaid cookbook; makes two crusts
2 1/4 c all purpose flour
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 c Crisco, well chilled
2 tbsp butter, well chilled
5 to 6 tbsp cold water
Place flour and salt in Kitchenaid bowl. Attach bowl and flat beater and mix on Stir speed for 15 seconds. Cut butter and shortening into pieces and add to the flour. Mix on Stir speed until the shortening and butter are the size of small peas, 30 to 45 seconds.
While the mixer remains on Stir speed, add the water, 1 tbsp at a time, and mix until ingredients are moistened and dough holds together. Divide in half and pat each half into a smooth ball, flattening slightly. Wrap each half in plastic wrap and chill for 15 minutes.
When chilled, place one half between two sheets of wax paper and roll out to 1/8″ thickness. Fold pastry into quarters and ease into 8″ or 9″ pie plate. Unfold and press firmly into bottom and sides of plate. If making a one-crust pie, fold edge under, crimp as desired, fill and bake as directed by your recipe. If making a two-crust pie, trim bottom crust to fit pie plate and roll out the second ball of dough. Add filling to pie pan. Top with second crust, seal and crimp edges and cut slits in top for steam to escape. Bake per recipe instructions.
Okay, I think your pie looks really good. When you said you were scared of pie I never expected anything that pretty!
I would recommend using a handheld pastry blender. I think it gives you more control over your ingredients coming together. Also, do you have a mat where you could mark off where you need to roll to? That really helps me.
Also, I’m terrified of Crisco, so I always use an all butter recipe that I got from the Baked cookbook. It’s here on my blog http://www.990square.com/2009/10/pumpkin-pie-bites/.
Thanks for the high praise, but TRUST me, there have been many imperfect pies in my past. (good grief, do you not remember the CURSING?) Anyway, one of your great-grandmother-experts used to say over and over if it looks imperfect, it’s going to taste wonderful. Of course she could turn out a perfect-looking-perfect tasting pie.
And I LIKE the filling spreadage…that way you know the filling will taste like FRUIT instead of flour, cornstarch or some other binding agent.
The pie looks great!
You already know my secrets…Crisco, handheld pastry blender (or two table knives) as Beth@990 Square says, determination (and maybe some cursing for good measure.) You can make pie for me ANY TIME!
I think you did a great job – I’m so impressed!
Hi there!
I’m sure the pie tasted great. I think it looks pretty.
I’m also thankful for your honest critique and pointing out “so-called flaws” as these are actually handy tips to be aware of.
it tasted fantastic! you’re too hard on yourself =)
Looks good. If you want an easy pie crust recipe (super easy) check out my blog on empanadas. Looks like a pro made it.
Beth, if you want to try a different pie recipe I got one out of Cooks Illustrated, I have had almost always perfect results because they test things out so many times. I’m going to use their crust recipe for a test run next week and will let you know how it turns out!
i’m working on perfecting my pies as well. same fears about crust as you. slowly working on it, one pie at a time.
i’ve heard that using vodka instead of water helps with the problem of putting in too much water, because gluten does not form in alcohol.
i do not like crisco and use only butter. martha stewart’s pâte brisée recipe has done me well. i like to freeze my butter, grate it on a box grater (the big holes) and whisk that into the flour mixture. roll the butter/flour mixtures between my fingers for a bit and then gradually add in the water and stir.
As long as it eventually gets up to my mouth, t’aint nothin’ wrong with filling spreadage! And if it doesn’t get up to the mouth, the plate cometh to the mouth! =)
Stacy, I am currently obsessed with Cook’s Illustrated. Do let me know how it turns out.
Impressed with the pie! Pie crust is certainly the bitch of the baking world. I tried a Paula Deen one when I was pregnant and it was beautiful, but I cannot recall where it is as I probably ate it!Love that you are doing a food blog!
I meant that I don’t know where the recipe is, not the actual pie, because, yes, I devoured it. Quickly. Without an ounce of guilt.
That pie is a beauty! I too like the fruit spreadage… otherwise you get a gluey mess that is suspends the delicious fruit in goo. Looks fantastic! I can hardly wait to try your cherry pie!
And you mother does curse a lot making pie crust. Maybe that’s blessing the crust??
I vote Crisco and butter or just Crisco. Crisco a scary product in these days of mono unsaturated fats, but makes a crisp crust. Cold ingredients help a lot. You want the fat in hard clumps so it spreads out and makes the crust crisp. Alton Brown explains this really well in one of his books.
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