She Blinded Me With [Pie] Science

I saw this article and discovered a couple interesting tidbits.

• Washes:  I've done a cream wash and an egg wash but haven't tried a combo egg/cream wash for the ultimate browned crust.
• Butter:  It's good to get a scientific opinion on the fat debate...at least when it comes to flakiness. However, I do think lard provides a little extra when it comes to flavor.  Maybe...like the wash, I should try a combo lard/butter crust.
• Fat Chunks:  Speaking of crust, I guess combo is a running theme here with the suggestion of having a mixture of chunk sizes...from almond to pea size for optimal flakiness and texture.

Lastly, here's the hardest suggestion...waiting.  Letting the pie cool before serving gives the filling time to thicken and be less running.

Finishing The Edges

At the start of this project, when it came to finishing pie edges on a double crust, I did what I think most of you do -- I pressed the top and bottom together and then folded under the dough.

However, looking at various pie recipes online, I noticed that it appeared that some people have done something opposite.  Call it an optical illusion but I decided to try folding the crust over rather than under.

I think this visually makes the pie more interesting and keeps the excess dough on top of the pie where it can crisp nicely.

Any who...just a little something I thought I'd share with you.  I still fold under single crust pies and, when I get bored of this, I may return to folding under my double crust pies.  But let me know what you think.

#16: Custard Pie

So this week I wanted to tackle something simple, which lead me to my Betty Crocker Cookbook where I found this Custard Pie recipe.

What I thought was most wonderful about this recipe was the part that said "place pastry-lined pie plate on oven rack; pour in filling."  It seemed like an odd request but as soon as I did it became so obvious.  While it wasn't specifically called out, this small action was a grief saver.  The filling went to the very edge of the crust and didn't leave a lot of wiggle room to transport the pie from counter to oven.  However, by filling the pie on the oven rack, the pie only had to be moved inches rather than feet.  BRILLIANT!

The pie itself was also a great pie...super easy and good.  But the biggest treat was that small piece of advice.

Metal vs. Glass

One question has been nagging me for a while -- which is better, metal pie pans or glass ones?

Glass is definitely prettier. Plus, I don't have to worry about scratching the pan when cutting into it.

But my brain says otherwise. (Step inside my head, would you?) Metal is a conductor of heat so cooking would start immediately. Glass, on the other hand, is an insulator, which would delay cooking.

Since my Dutch Apple Pie only required half of my dough recipe, I decided to make two pies and settle the issue once and for all.

That's right -- Pie Thunderdome! Two pies enter. One pie leaves.

Okay, actually I just took both pies to work and asked the guys to weigh in.

The final decision?  Metal.

What was the deciding factor?  As you may guess, the glass pan had a soggy bottom <gasp!> (I know!) -- probably due to the delayed cooking. (I case you're keeping score at home, that would be Brain - 1, Pretty - zero.)

Sloppy Is As Sloppy Does

 So how hard can it be to make a graham cracker crust?  I mean, it's the "easy one"...right?

Wrong.

As you can see from the picture, I figured I'd save a few steps by measuring my cookie crumbs in the same container I'd use for mixing.  (Mistake #1)

Then I dumped entire contents into a pie dish (Mistake #2) and tried to form it.

And this is what I ended up with.  The mixture was dry and wouldn't hold it's form.  Plus I had a crust that was about a centimeter thick.

I was planning on making a pie that day but this ''crust'' was absolutely sole crushing.  If I continued forward, I knew it would just get worse -- I mean, there was barely room for filling.  I could see this bubbling over into my oven and, if it made it past that, it would break up at the time of service.

To paraphrase ''Forrest Gump'', Sloppy Is As Sloppy Does.



So I decided to redo the crust, taking advantage of the fact that I can re-purpose the old crust.

When I originally created the crust I used two packages of graham crackers, which left on unused package in the box.  So I decided to grind up the remaining package in the food processor then add the recycled crust on top of that.  Since two packages appeared to be very generous for a single crust I figured by grinding up all three I should have enough for two crusts.

Once ground, I scooped the crumbs into a measuring cup and scrapped the excess from the top.

Then I followed the rest of the recipe but used my pastry knife to combine the ingredients, which was a lot easier than using a fork.

One noticeable thing this time around, the consistency was much better, less crumbly.  This made me feel better.  So much so that I accepted ''help'' from an eager assistant, who I let butter the pie dish and even form the crust.

Once the dish was buttered, I then added only half the crumb mixture to the pan and focused on forming the bottom.  When that came together, I then spooned in the remaining mixture, little-by-little, and formed the side walls.

To finish the crust, I took my measuring cup and used it to flatten all surfaces.

The end result -- perfection.

No Respect

So this week's pie requires dark corn syrup.

Here's my advice about corn syrup.

Don't even think of going to a store like Whole Foods for this ingredient.  You will just become extremely aggravated as you look through shelves (yes, shelves) of Agave Syrup but zip for corn syrup.

Even though it's not high fructose corn syrup, I feel soft drinks are responsible for the bad rap that poor ol' Karo syrup is getting.

The Proof's in the Crust

Before I go any further, I should mention a few references related to pie crust that I found extremely helpful.

First of all, there's Smitten Kitchen, specifically their Pie Crust 102 post.  Deb does a great job breaking down the process and provides great pictures.

Reading this entry made everything click in my brain -- especially the part about not overworking the dough.  The visual I have now throughout the entire process is that my dough is made up of bits of butter covered in flour.  Even as I initially drop in the cubes of butter, I make each and every cube is dusted.  Then, each time I cut the butter with my pastry knife, I stir things around to make sure each newly exposed surface is also coated.

When the pie cooks, the butter will melt away leaving the flour layer (i.e., flake). So, I want to keep my distinct butter bits. That means the butter can't melt and you definitely can't use a food processor -- both of which can destroy your butter/flour layers.

TANGENT:  This reminds me of this cinnamon roll place when I was in college.  You would see them roll out the dough and place pats of butter on top.  Then they would fold it over and roll it out, followed by another application of butter pats.  Fold. Roll. Repeat.  Each fold would later translated into a flaky layer of goodness.  Man, I wonder if that place is still around.

Secondly, there was this show on one of the cooking networks (sorry, I tried to find a copy of the show but I'm at a loss as to what show I was actually watching) where the guy was exploring southern food in New York and he visited a restaurant called Pies 'n' Thighs.  (Okay, if I get to the east coast, I have to visit this place.  YUM!)  One thing the pie maker said caught my ear.  She mentioned that their dough was very dry and that she worked to bring the dough together.  That said, rather than adding extra water when bringing everything together, I add a bit more elbow grease to fold and force the dough to form without creating a sticky dough.

Well, that's it for now.  As I stumble across more tips, I'll share them with you.

RE the next pie...I'm still trying to figure out what it will be but I've had a bunch of great suggestions so tomorrow will be a busy day.