How to Bake the Perfect Pie

Some of you know that I love pies. I am really good at making them as well. Last night I taught a class on how to make pies at my church. There I gave away some of my greatest pie secrets. I stayed up late last night contemplating whether I should post these tips on this blog. The final decision was YES! Now you can bake the perfect Thanksgiving pie and astound your own family. First I will post my favorite pie crust recipe and the ultimate apple pie recipe, and then I will put a whole list of tips. If you have have further questions about pie baking email me at janinasbakesale@gmail.com.

Perfect & Flaky Pie Crust Recipe - 9 inch pies

Single Crust:

• 1 ½ all-purpose or pastry flour
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup COLD All-Vegetable Shortening
• 4 to 8 tablespoon ice cold water

Double Crust:

• 2 cups all-purpose or pastry flour
• ½ teaspoon salt (plus an extra pinch)
• ⅔ cup COLD All-Vegetable Shortening
• 5 to 10 tablespoon ice cold water

1. Combine flour and salt in large bowl. Cut in shortening with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse crumbles about the size of peas or lentils.

2. Sprinkle one tablespoon of ice cold water over part of the mixture. Toss gently with a fork; push to side of bowl. Repeat until mixture is moistened and can be formed into a ball. (The dough should hold together when picked up and pressed, and should not crack).

3. Flatten ball of dough into disks (one for crust, two for double crust). Wrap tightly with plastic wrap; refrigerate 30 minutes or overnight

4. Remove one disk of dough from refrigerator. Turn onto very lightly floured surface. If the dough is too hard, allow it to sit for 5 minutes to soften. Roll dough gently. Do not roll over the edge or it will be thin. If dough sticks to surface, dust lightly with flour.

5. Transfer dough to 9-inch pie plate being careful to avoid stretching pastry. Trim edges of pastry ¾ inch beyond edge of pie plate.

The Perfect Apple Pie

(Adapted from the Better Homes & Garden Cookbook)

• 1 recipe double pie crust
• 6 cups thinly sliced, peeled cooking apples (about 2 ½ pounds)
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• ¾ cup sugar
• 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ⅓ cup dried cranberries (optional)

1. Prepare and roll out pastry for double crust pie. Line a 9-inch pie plate with half of the pastry. Trim edges of the pastry ¾ inch beyond edge of pie plate.

2. Sprinkle the apples with lemon juice. In a large bowl stir together the ¾ cup sugar, the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and ½ teaspoon salt. Add the apple slices, and if desired cranberries. Toss until coated.

3. Transfer apple mixture to the pastry lined pie plate. Cut slits in remaining pastry; place on filling and seal. Crimp edges as desired.

4. Brush top pastry with milk and sprinkle with additional sugar. To prevent overbrowning, cover edge with foil. Bake at 425° for 15 minutes. Lower temperature to 375°. Bake for 25 more minutes. Remove foil. Bake 20 minutes or more until fruit is tender and filling is bubbly. Cool on a wire rack. Enjoy with ice cream.

Tips to Make the Perfect Pie

• For best results, refrigerate all ingredients prior to making the dough - even the flour (if not, just use cold shortening or butter with ice water).
• Use pastry flour or all-purpose. Bread flour has too much gluten to make a tender crust, and cake flour is too soft to give the proper body.
• Lard and shortening produce the most tender crusts. You may use half lard or shortening and half butter if you want the buttery flavor.
• The pockets of fat make the flakiness in the crust. Use a pastry blender or 2 knives to cut in fat. Dough should still have some pea-size pieces. Handle as little as possible with your hands.
• All liquids should be ice-cold.
• Blend liquid in just until the dough begins to hold together. Overworking toughens the dough.
• Chill the dough for 30 minutes for easier rolling and to slow down gluten development
• To prevent a soggy crust, refrigerate for 15 minutes before filling or seal by brushing with slightly beaten egg white, then refrigerate for 15 minutes.
• Brush top-crust with milk or egg wash (egg-yolk mixed with 1 tablespoon water or milk) and sprinkle with sugar to make an even, brown and glossy finished crust
• Bake pie for 15 minutes at a 425° to start bottom crust cooking before all of the juices flow out of fruit. Then lower temperature to recipe recommended temperature and cook the remaining amount of time
• Pie dough can be refrigerated up to two days.
• Cool baked pies on a wire rack set on the counter. The rack allows air to circulate under the pie, preventing it from becoming soggy from the steam remaining it in.

High Altitude tips: Pie crusts are often too dry and need slightly more liquid to become pliable (be careful: too much liquid can develop gluten and toughen crusts). Baking pie fillings all the way through takes longer than it would at sea level. Cover pies loosely with foil during part of the baking time to prevent the top crust from burning before the fruit beneath is completely cooked. For more information check out: http://www.highaltitudebaking.com/adj_recipes.htm