Learning how to make a pie can sometimes feel overwhelming. If even one detail is overlooked or poorly executed, it can often result in failure. These tips should make your pie a hit every time.
Pie Crust 101
Often a homemade pie is dubbed a failure because the crust was too dense or because it just wasn't flavorful. Whatever the reason it ends in failure, it usually involves the crust. By following these tips, you can learn how to make a pie with perfect crust:
Make sure all your ingredients are very cold. The colder the ingredients, the flakier your crust will be.If you handle the dough too much, it will cause excessive gluten formation and will make tough dough that is difficult to roll out.Chill the dough before rolling it out. For easy rolling, flatten the crust before placing it in freezer.Use as little flour as possible when rolling out dough.To make your crust extra-crispy brush it with water and sprinkle with sugar before baking.To make your crust shiny brush it with a beaten egg combined with two tablespoons cream.Cut vents in the top of crust to allow steam to escapeBake pies on the lowest rack in your oven so that the bottom crust gets adequate time to cook without overcooking the top crust.
Pie Filling 101
If not properly prepared, pie filling can become runny and cause the crust to be soggy. The following ideas will help you learn how to make a pie with a perfect filling:
To avoid the starchy flavor that cornstarch and flour tend to give fruit fillings, try using arrowroot, potato starch or tapioca starch.If you are using a very juicy fruit, you can soak the fruit in 2-3 tablespoons of sugar and then strain off the excess liquid. In addition, you can cook the pie directly on the bottom of the oven to ensure a crispy crust.If your fruit filling is still runny when the crust is done, allow the pie to cook for another 5-10 minutes, making an aluminum foil tent to keep from burning the crust.Use drained juices from canned or frozen fruits instead of water.
Meringue 101
When making meringue, a number of different problems can cause your fluffy concoction to deflate. To keep your meringue from falling short, remember these tips:
Plastic bowls are not suitable for making meringue, because even though it may appear that they are clean, they tend to hold on to greases and oils which will destroy a meringue. Ceramic, glass, or stainless steel bowls work best.
Room temperature eggs will whip to higher volume than cold eggs. However, cold eggs provide for easier separation. To solve this problem, use cold eggs and allow them to sit for 10-15 minutes before whipping.
Any trace amount of yolk can ruin your meringue, so carefully separate eggs in individual bowls to avoid this problem.
Sausage-Apple Pie
Once you've learned how to make a pie with a good pie crust, then you can experiment with non-fruit pies. After all, it's the same pie crust that you use for a cherry pie that you use for a pot pie or meat pie.
Mix a pound of pre-cooked breakfast sausage, quarter cup of chopped onion, one egg, one chopped apple and pour into a pie pan, on top of the bottom unbaked pie crust. Sprinkle a quarter-cup of shredded cheddar cheese and cover with the top pie crust. Seal the edges, cut steam slits in the top crust and bake at 350?F for an half an hour, or until the crust is golden brown and the center cooked through.
It may seem like a lot of work to learn how to make a pie, but the end result will justify the effort. Once you perfect your technique you will see it's as easy as pie!
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