Pie and Pastry Bible (4 page)

If using baking powder, be sure not to use SAS baking powders, which contain sodium aluminum sulfate, or the crust will have a bitter aftertaste. Use an allphosphate product containing calcium acid phosphate, such as Rumford, available in some supermarkets and most health food stores.

If not weighing the flour, use the dip and sweep method: Lightly stir the flour, then dip the cup into the flour and sweep off the excess with a metal spatula or knife.

Brush off any excess flour on top of the dough after shaping it, as it will taste bitter after baking.

ROLLING AND SHAPING FLAKY PIE CRUST

When determining the size of rolled-out dough you need for any pie or tart, it is necessary to consider what sort of edge or border you want. For a tart pan with fluted sides, you need extra dough to turn down to make a narrow decorative edge that extends a little past the top edge of the pan, to allow for shrinkage during baking. For a single-crust pie, you need an extra inch of dough so there is enough to tuck under at the edge for an impressive raised border. A double-crust pie does not require this extra dough, because there will be two extra layers provided by the top crust, which gets tucked under the bottom crust. If the border of the two crusts pressed together is too thick, it will droop during baking. Drooping may even occur with a thick fluted border on a single-crust pie that is baked on the floor of the oven, close to the heat source. In this instance, it is wise to choose a small border that does not extend over the edge of the pie pan.

The standard pie pan is 9 inches in diameter and 1¼ inches deep. The standard fluted tart pan is 9½ inches, measured across the top from one inside edge to the other, and 1 inch deep. Some pie and tart pans, however, measure as much as ½ inch less in diameter and the depth of the pie or tart pan may also vary by as much. To be certain that you will have a circle of dough that is the correct size, measure the pan before cutting the dough.

MEASURING THE PAN

Measure the inside of the pie or tart pan with a flexible tape measure by starting at one inside edge, going down the side, across the bottom, and up the other side. Write down these numbers for future reference. When cutting the circle of dough to line the pan, increase the measure accordingly:

For a fluted tart pan,
cut the dough circle 1 inch larger.

For a single-crust pie,
cut the dough circle 3 inches larger.

For a two-crust pie,
cut both circles of dough 2 inches larger.

SIZES OF DOUGH CIRCLES TO CUT FOR STANDARD PANS

For 4¼-inch pielets or 7-inch half pies,
see Windfall Fruit Pielets, page 78.

For a single-crust 9-inch pie,
cut the dough 13 inches (12 inches if baking on the floor of the oven).

For a two-crust 9-inch pie,
cut the bottom crust 12 inches, transfer it to the pan, and trim it almost to the edge of the pie plate. Cut the top crust 12 inches or more if the fruit is mounded high; you need enough dough to go over the mounded fruit plus a ½-inch overlap to turn under all around.

For a two-crust 10-inch pie,
cut the dough 15½ inches, transfer it to the pan, and trim it almost to the edge of the pie plate, and at least 13 inches or more if the fruit is mounded high for a top crust.

For a 3- by
-inch tartlet,
cut the dough 3¾ inches.

For a 4- by ¾-inch tartlet,
cut the dough 5¾ inches.

For a 4¾- by ¾-inch tartlet,
cut the dough 6½ inches.

For a 9½- by 1-inch tart,
cut the dough 12 inches.

If the dough has not been given a chance to relax after it has been mixed, it will usually shrink when it is transferred to the pie or tart pan. If the dough has not relaxed adequately, it will be elastic. If you don’t have the time to let it relax fully, cut the dough about a half inch larger than indicated above. When the circle of dough shrinks, it becomes both smaller in diameter and thicker. Since a thin bottom crust is more desirable, it is best to plan ahead and give the dough a chance to relax.

PREPARING THE PAN

The pie crust recipes in this book, though tender, are strong enough so that after a pie made from one of them has cooled completely, you can slide it out of the pan and onto a serving plate. This makes cutting each piece easier and prevents the knife from becoming dull and the pie pan from being scratched.

There is enough fat in these doughs to make greasing the pan unnecessary. If you would like to give added texture to the bottom crust, butter and flour the pan. To do this, use a piece of plastic wrap to spread a thin layer of softened butter onto the bottom and sides of the pan. Scoop about ¼ cup of flour into the pan and, holding it over the flour bin, rotate the pan to disperse the flour all over it. Turn it over the bin and knock out the excess flour.

THE ROLLING SURFACE

Marble covered with a pastry cloth is the ideal surface for rolling pie dough. Its coolness helps to keep the fat firm, which is essential to prevent it from being absorbed into the flour and thereby losing its flakiness or layering. A piece of marble 16 inches by 20 inches by ¾ inch (see page 669; available in gourmet stores or from a marble supply store) is a good size that is small enough to slip into your refrigerator to chill on very hot summer days. (A bag of ice applied to a marble counter or a larger piece also works to chill it.) The pastry cloth is rubbed with
flour to keep the dough from sticking to it and also helps to ensure that too much extra flour is not added to the dough during rolling, because the dough picks up only as much flour as it needs. A knitted cloth sleeve that slips over the rolling pin, also rubbed with flour to prevent sticking, can also be used. Alternatively, the dough can be floured lightly on both sides, preferably with Wondra flour, and rolled between sheets of plastic wrap, overlapped if not large enough. (Waxed paper tends to be rolled into the dough more readily.)

To ensure an even and precise degree of thickness to the dough, there is a simple, clever device called Rolling Pin Rubber Rings, which slip onto each end of a rolling pin, raising it from the counter a specific distance according to the thickness of the rings selected. The thickness of the dough is determined by the space between the pin and the counter. The thinnest ring will lift the pin a mere 1/16 inch from the counter, resulting in a wonderfully thin piece of dough. It cannot be used with the pastry cloth, however, because the hem on the sides of the cloth is thicker than 1/16 inch, so the rolling pin, as it rests on the sides of the cloth, is raised too much. When I want a crust this thin, I roll the dough between sheets of plastic wrap or on one sheet of plastic wrap using a rolling pin with a floured knitted cloth sleeve.

ROLLING FLAKY PIE CRUST

Remove the dough from the refrigerator (if frozen, it is best to allow it to defrost in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours, or overnight) and allow it to sit for about 10 minutes or until it softens enough to be malleable. Thwacking it with the rolling pin also helps to ready it for rolling, but if the dough is too cold, it will crack.

Keep the dough for a lattice or upper crust refrigerated while rolling the bottom crust and remove it about 10 minutes ahead of rolling.

Always work quickly so that the dough doesn’t have a chance to soften. Use a firm steady pressure to roll the dough into a circle about
inch or slightly less thick (1/16 inch for small pies, as the filling requires less baking time). As the center tends to be the thickest part, roll from the center out. Avoid the edges, as they tend to become thinner than the rest of the dough. Lift and move the dough occasionally to make sure it is not sticking and flour lightly under the dough only if it is necessary. If at any point the dough becomes too soft, slip it, still on the cloth or plastic wrap, onto a baking sheet, cover it, and refrigerate or freeze it until firm. If using plastic wrap, you can lift the ends of it to reposition the dough so that you are always rolling away from you, which is the most effective technique. Turn over the dough, in the plastic wrap, and lift and replace the wrap as necessary to be sure that the plastic wrap is not creasing and folding into the dough.