Pies and Pastry Dough

Objective: Identify and prepare pastries

Three Styles of Pie Crusts Pie shell baked separately and filled later pricked crust Filled with creams/pudding Single crust pie bottom crust and filling baked together Ex: pecan and pumpkin Double crust pie bottom crust, filling, and top crust baked together Ex: fruit pies

Ingredients and Functions FLOUR STRUCTURE FAT TENDERNESS, FLAKYNESS SALT FLAVOR WATER TEXTURE, BINDER + + + =

Making Dough When cutting fat into flour, it is important to mix it thoroughly together like coarse corn meal so that your crust is tender and flaky Water must be icy cold to prevent the fat from melting Use a fork to mix the water into the dough Handling the dough too much toughens the pastry dough

Rolling Dough Always begin rolling from the center to the outer edge, lifting it up at the edge Poking holes in the dough with a fork or pricking it, will prevent the dough from puffing during baking

Double Crust Pie Sealing Cut excess edge of dough off bottom crust Fill pie dish Lay top dough over ingredients then cut excess edge of dough off the top crust Rub water on the bottom crust before adding top crust Crimp them together using various fluting techniques

Pastry Dough Ingredients Differences in fats: Taste and flavor Lard or Shortening = more tender Oil = harder to handle i.e. crumbly Differences in flours: All-purpose – harder wheat, more gluten Cake flour – softer wheat, less gluten

Understanding Pie Dough Pie dough should be mixed with the hands A pie crust recipe should always list a specific amount of water Too much flour, water, or fat will make the pie crust tough Dough that is stretched to fit the pie pan will shrink from the sides while baking

Understanding Pie Dough Fat makes pie tough because it causes gluten development in flour Fat adds flakiness because it separates the layers of gluten Water provides moisture to help gluten form and produces steam for flakiness Salt adds much more to pie crust than other flavorings

Secrets to Successful Pastries If your pastry is crumbly and hard to roll: Add more water, 1 teaspoon at a time Toss the flour mixture and water together a little more or just till evenly moistened If your pastry is tough: Use a pastry blender to cut in the shortening or lard till well mixed and all of the mixture resembles small peas. Use less water to moisten the flour mixture. Toss the flour mixture and water together only till all of the flour mixture is moistened. Use less flour when rolling out the pastry.

Storage of pies Cream or custard pies Savory pies Refrigerator Savory pies Fruit Pies Counter Top