Overcoming Fear

I bake. 

Sandwich bread, french bread, biga bread, focaccia, muffins, rolls, bread bowls, pizza crust, granola, cookies, cakes, tortes, cookie crust pies, graham cracker crust, and the list goes on and on.

I don't bake pies.

Well, at least I had never baked a pie crust...until Wednesday that is.  I'm not sure what intimidated me the most, the goal of a flaky crust, the rolling out of the dough, the gentle pressing of the edges?  I can't put my finger on it, but I can say with confidence

I was scared.  

But with a fresh box of ripe peaches and no energy for canning, I decided to conquer my fears.  I searched high and low for the right recipe and ended where I often do, on my dear friend Ree Drummond, the Pioneer Woman's site.  (Please note that if you ask her, she might not know we are such good friends but I do go to her quite often for inspired recipes and a laugh or two...which makes us friends?) She has beautiful pictures, step by step, so if you're scared as well, hop over to her site and she'll hold your hand.

I found this wonderful pie crust recipe and I have to share.  Perfectly easy, perfectly flaky and perfectly yummy. I did of course, make a few alterations which you'll find in italics. I may not be a pie crust expert but I can't ever follow a recipe exactly. Creativity or defiance, I'm not sure which. 

Ingredients

• 1-½ cup vegetable Shortening - Even in a pie I can't bring myself to use a mass of hydrogenated trans fats, so I use Spectrum Organic Palm Oil Shortening.  It makes me feel better about shortening.
• 3 cups All-purpose Flour - I used 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour and 2 1/2  cups unbleached white. I just have to throw in a handful or two of whole wheat in every recipe. It makes me feel better too.
• 1 whole Egg
• 5 Tablespoons Cold Water
• 1 Tablespoon White Vinegar
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 1 beaten egg white - Even with egg in the dough I was nervous it wouldn't brown and I wanted a golden glossy sheen to the crust. So I brushed egg white over the finished but uncooked pie.

Preparation Instructions

In a large bowl, with a pastry cutter, gradually work the Crisco into the flour for about 3 or 4 minutes until it resembles a coarse meal. In a small bowl, beat an egg with a fork and then pour it into the flour/shortening mixture. Add 5 tablespoons of cold water, 1 tablespoon of white vinegar and 1 teaspoon of salt. Stir together gently until all of the ingredients are incorporated.

Separate the dough into thirds. Form 3 evenly sized balls of dough and place each dough into a large Ziploc bag. Using a rolling pin, slightly flatten each ball of dough (about ½ inch thick) to make rolling easier later. Seal the bags and place them in the freezer until you need them. (If you will be using it immediately it’s still a good idea to put in the freezer for about 15 to 20 minutes to chill.)

Please note that she doesn't say this so after a I panicked a few times and combed my cookbooks for other recipes, I discovered that this recipe does indeed make 3 crusts. In my case I used one bag of dough for the bottom crust, one bag to make the lattice top and I have a spare bag of dough in the freezer for a quiche later this week.

When you are ready to use the dough to make a crust, remove from the freezer and allow to thaw for 15 minutes.On a floured surface roll the dough, starting at the center and working your way out. (Sprinkle some flour over top of the dough if it’s a bit too moist.) If the dough is sticking to the countertop use a metal spatula and carefully scrape it up and flip it over and continue rolling until it’s about ½ inch larger in diameter than your pie pan.  Remember that the wise women of old say try to touch your crust as little as possible. I actually rolled it as large as I could in the Ziploc bag.

With a spatula, lift the dough carefully from the surface of the counter into the pie pan. Gently press the dough against the corner of the pan.

At this point I filled the pie with my 5 cups of freshly peeled peaches that were soaking in a cup of sugar, thickening agent (you can use flour but I love Thick Gel for everything from canning to thickening sauces), a tsp or so of cinnamon and a dash of salt.  I know there are recipes for this but like always, I combined a few and made up my own.


I then rolled out the second round of dough and used a pizza cutter to slice it in strips placing them gently in a lattice over the pie.

Go around the pie pan pinching and tucking the dough to make a clean edge. I have no idea how to do this part well, I faked it. The thing I have learned from baking is that dough is completely forgiving and you can almost make it do whatever you want it to.

I glazed it with the beaten egg white.

I tore tin foil in strips and tented it around the egdges of the pie to keep them from burning (I vaguely remember my mother doing this), then baked the pie at 450° for 15 minutes, reduced the heat to 350°, removed the tin foil and baked it for another 25 minutes or so.  I checked a couple times to make the edges weren't browning too much.

And Voila! my first pie.  I may not win an award at the county fair for edge crimping yet...but unless everyone was lying to make me feel better, our small group though it was pretty scrumptious.

So don't be afraid.  There really isn't anything to fear.