pie!

Who doesn't love pie? As my grandmother Eve would say, "what's not to love?" Pie is simple and good and crowd pleasing. It creates that kind of dumb-happiness. Like when you have a crush on someone and you say things like, "Wow, you're ears are so nice." Pie is a happy dog chasing bubbles or eating peanut butter.

Pie is so obviously all-American it is kitsch and iconography. Insert flag, pie, red & white gingham, lawn and picnic table.

And what better time to make pie? None, that's right. Pie is summer, BB Q's, days at the lake, inter-tubing, berries of all shapes and colors, gnarled stone fruit, sleep-away camp and too much time on our hands. It's kin to to "putting-up", canning and making jam. It's cousins are cobblers, crisps, galettes, shortcake, tarts, and the little odd shaped treats made from the trimmings of pie dough baked in the oven with cinnamon sugar.

On the other side of the coin, pie is a little scary. It's so simple and old fashioned that it can be daunting. Pie, people say mmmmmm, look off into the distance, the memories flood in, and then, wait! The horror fills the eyes, they go wide, and the person is violently snapped back into reality when it comes to them like a red fly bite on the motor boat---- THE CRUST! "I can't make pie dough," they say.

Especially with the onset of the trans-fat scare, pie dough has become a real conundrum. Even before the scare became public, I had a weary suspicion of a fat that was not solid in its natural state and have always preferred butter. (Big surprise, I know.)

So without further ado, I introduce you to a pie recipe. The dough comes straight out of The Baker's Dozen Cookbook, both a book of recipes and a textbook. Almost 15 years in the making, The Baker's Dozen cookbook has as many contributors. Living American culinary treasures. Some my colleagues and friends, none whom I take for granted. The recipes set forth are tried and true, literally, as they have been tested over and over, looked hard at and tasted critically. Anecdotes, hints and careful instructions fill the pages and instructional photos share space with clear, beautiful images of many of the delicious possibilities.

Marion Cunningham, David Lebovitz, Lindsey Shere and Flo Braker are just a few of the authors.  The pie information comes from Carolyn Weil.

DOUBLE CRUST BUTTER PIE DOUGH

2 Cups all purpose flour  (I used King Arthur)

4 Tablespoons sugar (I may have altered this from the original recipe.)

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

8 ounces unsalted butter

ice water, to incorporate.

*Cube butter evenly and freeze. Place all dry ingredients in the bowl of a Kitchen-Aid. When butter is frozen, use paddle attachment with mixer on the very lowest setting, and drop butter in a few pieces at a time. Stay close by. Put ice and cold water in a measuring cup. When the chunks of butter are slightly larger than pea size, dribble in the ice water until dough does not appear dry and JUST begins to come together. Turn the dough out onto a dry surface and push together with the heel of your hand. Try not to knead or overwork the dough, you want it to come together so you can roll it out. This dough can be used right away! (***THIS IS THE BEST THING ABOUT IT***) This amount makes enough for a top and a bottom. If you are not going to use it right away, double wrap it in plastic and refrigerate for 3 days or freeze for up to a month.

*If you're looking for the HOWS and WHYS of making this all butter pie dough, click on this link for an explanation of every direction given in pie dough crust making and baking.*

PIE FILLING

Depending on the size of your pie pan you will need at least 3 pints of berries or equivalent. My filling is bound and sweetened with:

3 Tablespoons all purpose flour

1 teaspoon cornstarch

4 Tablespoons sugar

3 Tablespoons raw sugar

1/2 Meyer lemon, sqeezed

1 Tablespoon unsalted butter, softened

But I don't like my pie too set or two sweet. The first pie I made was Blackberry, Blueberry and Tayberry. Yesterday I made Boysenberry, Tayberry, Royal Blenheim Apricot with a dash of nectarine and Meyer lemon zest.

*Hint: pie dough doesn't much like the microwave or even the fridge. I can't imagine that it will last long enough to get to these places, but just in case...

In the end, pie is yum.

Comments

[john]

If you ask a hundred Americans to complete the phrase "As American as..." at least ninety-five will promptly say "apple pie." A few years ago, a Canadian magazine asked its readers to complete the phrase "As Canadian as..." The most popular answer was "...possible under the circumstances."

[Sam]

looking forward to recipes as I was given a most beautiful pie dish for my birthday. Although the giver suggested clafoutis and as it is cherry season, maybe I should try that first.

[Dr. Biggles]

You're a badass wicked pie goddess. You've whipped it down and splayed it out. Now if I could just figure out where I hid the flour ... ?

Smooches

[Kudzu]

Dang, now you've done it! I'm just having my coffee and now I want p-i-e for breakfast, yummy buttery berry-ly pie. When I lived in the Midwest I was astonished to see people ordering a slice first thing in the morning -- having been brought up in a place where it was always served at the end of other meals. Soon I understood....Now let me see: I have a half a Meyer in the fridge, last one for several weeks off my little tree. Won't take long to run to the market for some berries -------------- Thanks
for starting my day in such a summery way.

[Fatemeh]

I just need to stop coming here during work - i've had to come up with two new excuses to replace my keyboard due to the excessive drooling over your posts!

[shuna]

you guys are so silly! I love it! It's proof that pie is fun and makes people all sappy and cute. Even the pie-in-the-face is a gesture infused with politics and humour.

John-- I absolutely love the Canadian quote, I hope I can remember that one.
Sam--- remember that if you want to take a nod to the traditions of clafouti, do not pit the cherries. resting the appareil about an hour is nice too.
Kudzu-- you know what the difference between a child and an adult is?
Dessert First.
Fatemeh-- what about keyboard guards? or you could invite me for dinner and I'll bring a sweet thing....

[elise]

Hi Shuna - Your berry pie is gorgeous! We grow boysenberries and there are blackberries wild all over California, but I've never heard of Tayberries. I'm wondering a couple of things - first, how well do nectarines hold up in a pie? We grow white nectarines and they are so delicate I can't imagine them cooking well. We also grow white peaches and tried making a white peach cobbler last year that was a waste of the peaches - to dull. Second question, I notice in most pie recipes instructions to add some butter to the top of the filling. How important is this? I figure we're getting enough butter in the crust (my recipe calls for 12 Tbsp of butter in addition to 8 of shortening) and haven't seen the need for it.

[shuna]

Elise,

These are good questions. The butter dots on top of the filling are there to enhance the flavour, but really you don't need anymore. (Although I would say yes is the crust had a lot of shortening in it.) Me personally I thing white stone fruit is best as fresh as possible. Sorbets, pannacottas, gelees, raw--- like in a fool,parfait or shortcake, etc. They are dull because the flavour is usually all sugar and little to no acid.
Because I don't mind a pie that is a little runny I think that nectarines & peaches would make great pies. I loved the apricots with the berries, each came through well.
Tayberries are related to raspberries, but more perfume and quite a bit larger. I used them because raspberries don't come to full sugar until a bit from now and the Tayberries are less pricey.
Thank you for visiting eggbeater!

[elise]

Hi Shuna,
Thanks for the clarification on butter and white stone fruit. With the nectarines and peaches we usually macerate them in some sugar and freeze them to enjoy all year round. Those that we don't eat fresh from the tree that is. They really are best eaten immediately after picking. We have to eat them over a sink because they are so juicy. A sorbet might be interesting to try this summer. They'll be ripe in 5 or 6 more weeks. May try apricots with some berries in a pie too. Great idea. Thanks and I LOVE your site!

An option for thickening pie filling, if the fruit is super-juicy, is tapioca starch. (Not pearl tapioca which just sits there, as I found when somebody gave me incomplete information.) A tablespoon, or two at the most, for a big stone fruit or berry pie works very well.

[Sam]

i changed my mind about the calfoutis since i am working and can't get to the market. Instead I am going to make a mystery english tart ready for Sugar High Friday next week.
I already have all the ingredients at home. But I am going to follow your instructions for the pastry, but maybe without sugar. Would it work without?

[Dr. Biggles]

Hey Shuna Baby,

Looks as though we're going to have a nice picnic soon, are you interested? I'm willing to host at Meathenge Labs. Please, won't you and your guest or two attend? Everyone is welcome.

Biggles

[shuna]

Summer is so tantalizing, n'est pas? Picnic? who me? I'm ALWAYS interested in outdoor ways of eating and enjoying others! Must have watermelon! (although am not a big camper...)

Sam-- The dough will work fine without sugar, just add a bit of some nice fleur de sel for added salty texture. Also you may want to par bake. { = Freeze, line with parchment and pie weights, bake until you see some color. Or else it remains a bit soggy.}

[john]

I like it when people ask me "What are pie weights?" because then I can say "They woam the seas in search of pwunder..."

[Sam]

I am so crap at baking blind
i need some proper equipment
beans never work well enough
I will see what I can do
I am not looking forward to the pastry making bit
Just to the pie innards
i think the salt will work well instead
thanks

[Melissa]

My next pie, I'm going to try your dough recipe. The fact that you can use it right away, without a rest, is really intriguing!
Beautiful photos, Shuna!
Melissa

[Julie]

The pie looks and sounds delish. Apricots and berries, Yum!
I have a question for you: I made a strawberry rhubarb pie a couple of weeks ago, and the recipe called for arrowroot powder as a thicker. It was a warm day, and the pie only cooled for 2+ hours instead of the recommended 4, but when I sliced it, the lovely fruity pie guts were still like soup. I know you said you don't mind a runny pie, and I don't either, but this was a little more than that. I read the comment about tapioca, but I was told that tapioca turns rhubarb gummy. Thoughts? Recommendations? Thanks!

[shuna]

Sam,

maybe the next class at your house will be on pie dough and summer desserts...But because I know you have little free time I will try and post my favorite crumb recipe, as it is easier! Another way to hold the pie beans in there is with double folded cheesecloth. Use way more beans than you think you need, the crust should be cold and the oven very hot.

Melissa-- yes any pie dough that can be used right away is a friend of mine!
Julie,

thickeners are a hard one. I feel the same way as you do about tapioca anything. Flour is the oldest method and I add a little cornstarch in there for speed. Indeed a pie should be "cooled" to set the setting agent, but me myself I'd rather eat it sooner than way later. Pies are runny and messy and if we want them any other way they taste like the thickener relied on to make that happen.

Sometimes we have to make personal choices with what we bake. In this way i consider many recipes to be guides and suggestions, not facts. There is no way that I can mandate a sugar or a butter or a flour. Fruit, like all other ingredients, change and shift not only from region to region, but week to week!

Sometimes the hot soupy part of the pie melts the ice cream faster and in the end it is just Delicious!

[Fatemeh]

I just have to say, John's comment about "pie weights" made me laugh aloud!

[Elizabeth Traverso]

I made a pie using the double pie dough recipe you gave us in class at Sur La Table in Santa Rosa and it turned out super. You are a star. It was so easy and it looked beautiful. I used a combination of blackberries from my family's ranch in Healdsburg and blueberries from the Healdsburg farmer's market. Thanks for the tip to use lemon zest in with the fruit. I also added lemon juice, a little cinnamon, and just cornstarch. Everyone raved about the crust as well as the overall look and taste. I will be making pies all summer from all the wonderful produce at our farmer's market. THANKS!!!!!!!!

[Rachel]

Okay, I'll admit it--I'm terrified of my own pie dough. I touch it as little as humanly possible and it always looks ugly and about to fall apart. How do you get yours so smooth? I've read that it's okay for pastry dough to be lumpy and rough, but yours looks satiny and even-textured. And the final pies came out gorgeous. Am I being *too* light-handed?

Also, have you ever tried mango pie? The juicy tartness of the fruit makes it a really wonderful filling.

[shuna]

Rachel,

yes the trick is not to touch it too much. Freezing the butter is a little bit of a safeguard though. One way to handle putting the dough together at the very end is to pour the mixture onto a table covered with plastic wrap, make a little package, and THROUGH the plastic, with the heel of your hand, press it all together. **Remember-- it is easier to add moisture to the dough than dryness!**

I can type and type, but in the end a class is really necessary. I can't tell you how many of my students, who are already proficient bakers, say, "Oh, THAT"S how you do it! It all makes sense now that I can touch it and see it!" Look under my 'classes' category, I have one coming up concentrating on difficult high fat doughs and desserts to make with them.

Funny you should comment today, I am right now making a berry & pluot pie!

[Rachel]

Dear Shuna, I would *love* to come to your class, but I'm afraid my husband just wouldn't understand if I told him I was flying from Japan to the US for the day to learn about pastry.

Oh, that's a great suggestion about squeezing the dough together through plastic wrap. I'll try that!

[Melinda wells]

I'm not a professional cook but I have always enjoyed cooking for large and small parties as well as my own family. Last night our church had a fund raiser dinner and they asked me to make the dessert. I decided to use your pastry dough recipe and I made 126 individual lemon meringue tarts. I made up the dough the day before and separated it into the pieces flattened and in baggies. All I had to do the next morning was roll out the circles. I have always rolled my dough in between plastic wrap. It took me about 3 hours to roll out all the pieces. Well they received rave reviews. Thank you for the addition to my bag of tricks. I found the recipe easy to use and since you mentioned using your Kitchen Aid I knew I was in good hands since my trusty one is always sitting at the ready on my counter. I very much enjoy reading your blog.

[shuna]

Melinda,

Thank you for posting this anecdote. What lovely images it conjured for me. Churches and other community gatherings are some of the best, most appreciative, and supportive people to bake for. (I recently volunteered my skill to my step-brother's B'Armitvah services: 7 solid hours of baking many a cookie!)

I made a pie on friday and I substituted a Tablespoon of raw sugar in the crust as well as 1/3 cup Anson Mills cornmeal. It gave it some body, but moreover it was proof that this recipe is so excellent that it can be played with a bit.

Thank you for visiting eggbeater, I hope that you remain a "regular"!