johnnnnn ([info]phaedrusdeinus) wrote,
@ 2008-11-20 11:35:00
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Current mood:soupbakey

Teach me, friends. Teach me of pie.
Within a matter of days, a pie must be made. And i must make that pie.

Yet, when i make pie, the middle, it is not pie, but soup. Flour have i added, and cornstarch, and sugar. This yields naught but floury soup.

So, to the beginning i must go. When one would make a non-soup pie, whence begins one?


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[info]cute_fuzzy_evil
2008-11-20 07:49 pm UTC (link)
It is important what kind of pie. If it is apple pie, I can help you with an apple pie recipe that will not fail you, and will not become soup, so long as you make it with Granny Smith apples that are cut to the proper size (other sorts of apples produce soup). If it is pumpkin pie you must seek elsewhere.

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[info]phaedrusdeinus
2008-11-20 08:15 pm UTC (link)
Pie is universal, yet making pie is not? For shame.

Very well, though, i shall seek Smith's mother's mother and make pie from her.

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unhelpful but philosophical
[info]cassielsander
2008-11-21 06:52 pm UTC (link)
There is no shame; it is through the making that the pie achieves the universality it strives for.

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[info]pantshead
2008-11-20 09:03 pm UTC (link)
I, too, would be pleased to possess your pie recipe.

Because if *you* say it's good, I *know* it's good!

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[info]cute_fuzzy_evil
2008-11-26 10:58 pm UTC (link)
Pie!

Crust:
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
10 tablespoons cold butter
1/2 cup shortening
1/4 cup ice water

Mix flour & salt. Cut the butter & shortening into the mixture with a pastry cutter until the butter pieces are the size of small gravel. Mix in water a little bit at a time until it more or less sticks together, form it into two balls, and refrigerate while you make the filling.

Filling:

3 1/2 lb. Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and cut into chunks that are about 3/4 inch to 1 inch in size. Chunks, not slices!
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon flour

Preheat oven to 400.

Roll out bottom crust & put in pie pan. Mix all filling ingredients but the flour, let stand 15 minutes, pour out accumulated juice from bottom of bowl, then mix in flour. Put filling in pie, roll out top crust, put it over the pie, and seal. I brush it with about a tablespoon of milk and sprinkle coarse sugar over the top at this point. Turn the oven down to 375, and bake the pie about 50 minutes, until the top is browned.

Pie!

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[info]pantshead
2008-12-02 01:29 pm UTC (link)
Thank you! Looking forward to trying it out, though possibly not until Christmas. 'Tis similar to the recipe I've been using, except for the vanilla, and the hint about chunks-not-slices. I think that will really help.

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[info]phaedrusdeinus
2008-12-03 05:06 am UTC (link)
This worked well, thank you. For the record, if it needs to be prepared for a gluten-free audience, you can substitute 2tsp of corn starch for the flour in the filling. The crust is a different story.

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[info]magdalene1
2008-11-21 12:58 am UTC (link)
A key thing is to not mix the apples with the sugar/spices until the bottom crust is in the pan and you are ready to pour them in. If they sit in the spices/sugar they will give off liquid.
Also it's possible you need more apples and less sugar than you are using?

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[info]bobsquatch
2008-11-20 07:55 pm UTC (link)
Of pumpkin pie: I has a recipe. I will find it tonight.

Of fruit pie: cute_fuzzy_evil speaks truth. You must find the tartest, firmest fruit and not over-bake it. Bake until the bubbly stuff coming out seems ever-so-slightly viscous, then stop.

Adding a slight amount of lemon juice to your sliced fruit is good. Sugar in slight amount is also good to wick some water out of the fruit (but I see you've done that; good show).

Pre-bake the crust!

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[info]phaedrusdeinus
2008-11-20 08:19 pm UTC (link)
Ah, the crust. This is a difficulty i will not tackle. My crusts, they succeed or fail with the variance of wind. And this pie must be free of glutens, so a special crust has been procured. But i shall seek to bake before baking.

The lemon juice -- is it for flavor? Or to prevent rusting?

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[info]bobsquatch
2008-11-21 08:11 am UTC (link)
The lemon juice is for rust prevention. Somewhere between a teaspoon and a tablespoon is enough; just spread it around your bowl of cut fruit. The call to mix and match your fruit varieties is a good one, but they all need to be on the firm and stout side.

Pumpkin pie:

1 large can of pumpkin puree (Libby's is 29oz)
3/4 c. brown sugar
2 T. maple syrup
1 T. molasses
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. ground ginger
1/2 t. ground cinnamon
1/2 t. ground clove
1/2 t. ground cardamom
1/4 t. ground nutmeg
1 T. flour (I suppose you'll have to substitute here)
2 eggs
1 c. evaporated milk (or whatever the larger can size is)
1 t. vanilla extract

Mix 'em together. If you wanna be fancy, mix 'em in order. Pre-bake the crust at 400°F for about 10 minutes. Put the filling in your pie crust (a 9 1/2" or 10" pan makes 1 pie, a 9" pan makes two). Bake it at 400°F for 15min, then reduce the heat to 350°F for about 35-45 minutes. Let it cool before serving. If the filling cracks slightly while it's cooking, or soon after, it's a good sign that it's done.

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[info]off_coloratura
2008-11-20 08:00 pm UTC (link)
A handful of uncooked tapioca mixed in with the fruit.

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[info]phaedrusdeinus
2008-11-20 08:21 pm UTC (link)
Tapioca. I had not thought of that. Pectin had sprung to mind, yet i wished not to make jam. Pudding, though? This i can see.

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[info]off_coloratura
2008-11-20 08:44 pm UTC (link)
Got the tip from How To Cook Everything, which you really should own.

Holy cow, they have a 10th Anniversary edition out.

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[info]lustronheloise
2008-11-20 09:39 pm UTC (link)
grandma also adds tapioca. If I don't have any, I'll just toss a spoonful or two of flour in with the apples/fruit of choice.

With apple pie, mixing up the apples also helps prevent sog. I few crisp pink ladies or granny smiths mixed in with softer baking apples makes for nice texture.

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[info]magdalene1
2008-11-21 12:58 am UTC (link)
A bit of flour - helpful!

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[info]sylvantechie
2008-11-20 09:07 pm UTC (link)
As you have not time for the years of seclusion and contemplation in the Culinistic monastery of St. Escoffier, and as it's probably too late to make plans for an expedition to find one of the Patisserien hermits in the Apennines, I'd recommend checking out Cook's Illustrated. Their recipes are generally detailed, reliable, and tasty. Their pie-crust procedure is especially good for producing crisp, flaky crust.

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[info]osirusbrisbane
2008-11-20 09:16 pm UTC (link)
For those of a less self-actualized nature, pumpkin and sweet potato are two pies which do not require a high amount of pie skill, since neither will produce soup-filled pie even in the hands of a tyro. Were you in a situation where a bare minimum of "some pie" must be made to pass inspection, this would be my recommendation. It will not likely raise you to the higher echelons of piemakers, but it will suffice, which sometimes must needs be enough.

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[info]rollick
2008-11-21 06:40 am UTC (link)
In similar fashion, I make pecan pie, and chocolate pecan pie. These will not soup. As I do not much LIKE other kinds of pie, my limited pie-baking skills fail to trouble me.

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[info]cassielsander
2008-11-21 06:51 pm UTC (link)
Although you do like cheesecake pie.

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[info]rollick
2008-11-29 02:38 am UTC (link)
True, except for not acknowledging that any such thing actually exists.

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