3.14159, We love Pie!

Happy Pi day!  What better way to celebrate pi day than with a slice of pie.

The pie is synonymous with Americana as illustrated by the phrase “as American as apple pie.”

A New York Times article written in 1902, simply titled “Pie” goes on to say:

“Pie is the American synonym of prosperity and its varying contents the calendar of the changing seasons.  Pie is the food of the heroic. No pie-eating people can ever be permanently vanquished.”

Even though pie makes so many people happy, less and less people are actually making it at home for fear of screwing something up that means so much to us.  On the contrary, pie is a rather simple dish to make or, pardon the pun, it’s as easy as pie.

So, on this March 14th, go have a slice of your favorite pie, and try your very best to make it a home made slice of pie.

The History

Pie can be traced back to ancient Egypt, around 9500 BC, as pockets made with oats, barley, wheat and rye filled with honey and baked over coals.  The pastry shell tended to be more of a serving device, baking dish, or storage/preservation.

For many years, pies were really more of a show than a delicacy.  Pies often contained live birds, turtles, rabbits, frogs, even little people would be in the pie and would come out as soon as the top was cut.  This where the rhyme “Four and twenty blackbirds baked into a pie….,” comes from.

When the pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock, they also brought with them their family pie recipes.  It is in America they started using fruits and berries, basically using what the land provided them and what the Native Americans introduced to them.

Well into the 1700s, the pioneers served pie with every meal, making it an American icon.  Different regions of the country have come up with their signature pie.

The Science

A great pie crust is defined by both its flakiness and tenderness.  These two concepts counteract each other in the production of the crust.  Flakiness is formed when large pieces of solid fat occupy space in the dough and are separated flour.  On the other hand, when the fat is more evenly distributed, a more tender crust is created.

The type of fat is an important factor in creating the tenderness/flakiness.  The longer the fat stays solid, the flakier the crust will be, so keeping it cold until it goes in the oven produces best results.  Lard, shortening, margarine  or butter are the usual fats of choice in pie dough.  The melting temperature of the fat dictates how long it will stay solid while the dough sets producing a flakier crust.  Butter, being only 80% fat, has a lower melting temperature than shortening, but has a more desirable flavor and mouth feel.  On the other hand, shortening has a higher melting temp, which makes it easier to work with and produces a flakier crust.  Lard has a negative reputation since it is conceived to be a lot less healthy.  Saturated fat and trans fatty acids do raise a persons cholesterol, but it is found that butter and, even more so, margarine are actually higher in these than lard is.  As a matter of fact, lard is found to have larger amounts of mono and poly unsaturated fats.  Many people swear by insert fat type here in their own pie crust recipe

The type of flour used is another important factor in creating a great pie crust.  The formation of gluten in a crust makes it tough and eliminates the tenderness/flakiness of the crust.  Most bakeries use pastry flour in their crust production which has a lot less protein in it than all purpose flour (and maybe a tad more than cake flour).  The more the dough is worked, the more gluten is produced.  Water is also a good gluten producer when mixed with flour.  When making something out of paper Mache, such as a piñata, the glue that holds it together is a simple mixture of flour and water, or gluten.  Fat and sugar act as tenderizers, that is they minimize the formation of gluten.  Acids break down the protein strands which also make them good anti gluten candidates (which is why vinegar is sometimes found in a pie crust recipe).

Liquids help make the dough hold together and more pliable when rolled out.  This liquid can come in many forms.  Ice water is the foremost type of liquid used; it is cheaper and more easily acquired.  Browsing through different recipes, liquid comes in many other forms.  Cream, sour cream, cream cheese and eggs provide liquid as well as fat.  Alcohol is another good form of liquid, it moisturizes the dough without forming gluten and it evaporates away in the baking process.

The color of the crust adds to the eye appeal of it. Sugar and protein make the crust browner, while acid makes the crust appear paler.  The type pie may govern the brownness of the crust, for example the rich darkness of a nice pecan pie might make a good brown crust look burnt, so a paler crust might be more desired.

Keeping all this in mind, some bakeries differentiate their crust by the type of pie being made.  An old fashioned double crust pie might have a different recipe for the bottom of the pie than the top.  A mealy dough has the fat more integrated into the flour and can avoid absorbing moisture from a particularly wet filling preventing it from becoming soggy which makes it a great bottom crust dough.  A flaky dough, with larger pieces of fat is a good technique for making a top crust.

The Technique

A very basic recipe for pie crust is a 3-2-1 dough.  That is three parts flour, two parts fat and one part liquid.  This recipe is usually altered with the addition of sugar and/or salt to add flavor.

To make the dough, start by cutting the fat into the flour.  This can be done by hand, a pastry blender, two knives, food processor or even rolling the two ingredients together on the counter with a rolling pin.  Add liquid, sugar, salt, egg, etc and mix being careful not to handle the dough too much and avoiding over mixing.  Once together, the dough should hold together nicely when squeezed.  Form the dough into balls or patties, wrap in plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.  This allows the fat to reharden and the liquid to evenly distribute itself throughout the dough.  Roll out the dough on a floured surface to a uniform thickness.  When rolling, don’t roll of the edge, that tends to thin it out more than the rest of the dough.

 Blind baking the crust, that is prebaking it without a filling, makes it crispier.  To do this, preheat the oven to 400° F, while waiting, poke holes at the bottom of the crust so trapped air won’t puff up and blister the bottom (this is called docking the crust).  Place a piece of foil or parchment paper inside the pie and fill it with uncooked beans, rice or pie weights.  This also aids in making sure the crust doesn’t blister.  Bake the crust for 10 minutes. Remove the crust from the oven and remove the pie weights.  Place back in the oven for another 10 minutes.  You now have a nice golden brown and delicious pie crust.

Berry pies are often covered and don’t usually need the blind baking method.  After the pie is filled, make sure the top crust is perfectly sealed onto the bottom crust.  This is where artistic impression can be made around the edge or even on top of the pie.  Some people put decorative cut outs from the scraps on top.  It is also important to cut stem vents on the top crust.

Another object that is decreasing in popularity is the pie bird, or pie funnel.  This functional adornment has been used since Victorian times to function as a steam vent thus preventing the filling from boiling over and spilling all over the oven.  Pie birds also help support the middle of the top crust to prevent it from sagging while baking.  They’re usually made of ceramic and come in many shapes.  The most popular, which is its namesake, is in the shape of a blackbird, paying homage to centuries past when birds were really part of a pie.

The Dishes

Basic Pie Dough Recipe

	Weight	Volume
Flour	5 oz	1 2/3 Cups
Butter	3.5 oz	½ Cup
Water, cold	1.5 oz	2 ½ Tbsp
Salt	Pinch	Pinch
Sugar	¼ oz	½ Tbsp

Sift the flour into mixing bowl.  Cut in butter.  Dissolve salt and sugar into water.  Add the water solution a little at a time until dough hold together.  Do not over work.  Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least half an hour.

Pies:  How can I pick only one pie recipe?

Hybrid Pecan Pumpkin Pie

This first one is a recipe I thought of at around Thanksgiving.  I love pumpkin pie, I love pecan pie, why not combine the two.

Pumpkin Pie Filling

Pumpkin puree	13.25 oz
Pastry flour	0.5 oz
Cinnamon	0.12 oz
Nutmeg	¼ tsp
Ginger	¼ tsp
Cloves	1/8 tsp
Salt	0.06 oz
Brown Sugar	5 oz
Eggs	5 oz
Corn Syrup	0.5 oz
Molasses	0.5 oz
Heavy Cream	½ pint

1. Place the pumpkin in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the whip attachment.
2. Sift together the flour, spices, and salt.
3. Add the flour mixture and sugar to the pumpkin. Mix at second speed until smooth and well blended.
4. Add the eggs and mix in. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
5. Turn the machine to low speed.  Gradually pour in the syrup, molasses, then the cream.  Mix until evenly blended.
6. Let the filling stand for 30-60 minutes.

Pecan Pie Filling

Granulated Sugar	3.5 oz
Butter	1 oz
Salt	1/8 tsp
Eggs	3.5 oz
Dark corn syrup	6 oz
Vanilla Extract	0.125 oz
Pecans	2.5 oz

1. Using the paddle attachment at low speed, blend the sugar, buter, and slat until evenly blended.
2. With the machine running, add the eggs a little at a time until they are all absorbed.
3. Add the syrup and vanilla. Mix until well blended.

Assembly

1. Fill the pie shell half to ¾ full of pumpkin pie filling.
2. Bake at 450ºF for 10 minutes.
3. Place pecans on top of pumpkin custard and pour in Pecan Pie Filling.
4. Bake at 450ºF for an additional 5 minutes.
5. Reduce heat to 350 ºF and bake until set, about 30-40 minutes more.

Lemon Meringue Pie

Lemon Curd (makes 5 cups)

Whole Eggs	8
Sugar	1 ½ lb.
Lemon juice	1 ½ Cups
Lemon zest	From 8 lemons (in large pieces)
Unsalted butter	12 oz
Corn starch	1 ¼ oz
Cold water	3 Tbsp

1. In a stainless steel saucepan, whisk together the eggs and sugar until well combined.
2. Add the lemon juice and zest, combine.
3. Cut the butter into pieces and add to the mix
4. Place over medium heat stirring constantly until the mixture comes to a boil, remove from heat.
5. Combine the corn starch with cold water to dissolve.
6. Return the pan to medium heat, add the corn starch and stir constantly until the mixture comes to a boil.
7. Strain the mixture to remove the zest and refrigerate.

Swiss Meringue
Egg Whites     4 oz
Sugar              ½ lb

Place the egg whites nad sugar in a stainless steel bowl or in the top of a double boiler.  Beat with a wire whip over hot water until the mixture is warm (about 120∞ F or when the sugar dissolves).
Transfer the mixture to the bowl of a mixing machine.  Whip it at high speed until stiff peaks form and the meringue is completely cool.
Fill the pie shell with lemon curd and cover with meringue.  Place pie under broiler until meringue browns.

Further Reading/Bibliography

1. Corriher, Shirley O., Cookwise: The Hows and Whys of Successful Cooking, New York, NY, HarperCollins, 1997
2. Gisslen, Wayne, Professional Baking, Hoboken, New Jersey, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2009
3. “Pie” New York Times 3 May 1902: 8
4. http://whatscookingamerica.net/History/PieHistory.htm