Re: Pies, pies and more pies

Yayyy, something that can be posted in both the Pie and the sandwich thread

Re: Pies, pies and more pies

Never heard of one of those - what is in it?

Re: Pies, pies and more pies

You can't beat a nice thick suet crust. A meat and potato pie with a dumpling based pastry lid. Nice crisp top and light and fluffy underneath.

Lush

Re: Pies, pies and more pies

Maddy, there are so very many uses for apples that I hardly know where to begin.

However, if you interested in apple pie, I'll be happy to oblige.

First, there is no such thing as "THE" recipe for apple pie or any other dish for that matter. There are merely variations on a theme.

If I am to help you, it would be useful to know the variety of your apples. Are they 'Granny Smiths', a sour apple or perhaps a sweet/sour apple like the breaburn ? OR, are they 'eating' apples like the types called "delicious' , 'pink lady', or 'Gala' or a dozen others.

FYI, I generally, though not always use "Granny Smiths".
That apple, as you probably already know, has two important things going for it, A.) it stands up well to a long cooking and B.) it has an intense sourness which marries well with sugar and spice. (the sweeter the apple, the less sugar is needed)

For the sake of your request, I'll assume that you have a more sour type apple.... in this case a Granny Smith.

Needed for one pie

MY recipe for pie crust (up-thread)

8-10 granny Smith apples, depending upon size.

2/3 cup of brown sugar

1/3 cup white sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

corn starch (I'll get to that later)

2 tsp pure vanilla

1/8 tsp almond extract

2 TBLSP of butter
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Peel, core, and slice your apples and put them into a pot with 1/2 cup water.

add, sugars, salt, and cinnamon

cover, and simmer gently until the apples have wilted and are just barely tender.

Pour the apples and juices into a colander to separate the apples from the juices.

Measure the amount of juice. For one pie , you will need aprox 1 cup of juice. if you have more than that you make elect to reduce it by a slow simmer OR you may save the extra for another use.

For 1 cup of juice, you will need 2 TBLSP of corn starch.
When the juice is room temp add the corn starch, wisk very well and return to the low heat and cook until thickened, stirring well often.

If you add the corn starch before its cool, the corn starch will lump up. Once that happens you have a mess.

Add cooked apples to the thickened juice. Stir well.

Add the butter, vanilla and almond extract Set aside, off the heat.

Assemble your pie as follows.
In a 9 inch pie pan (22 cm) , gently place your lower crust. trim off excess, LEAVING A 1/2 inch over-hang. Spoon cooked apple mixture into the lower crust, piling high toward the center.

Roll out the top crust and place it on the pie. Leaving 1/2 inch over-hang. Now, fold the two crust edges together so the you have kind of a "sandwich looking " edge (the bottom crust is encased between two layers of the top crust). Lightly, , very lightly pinch the 3 layers together.

At this point you have a number of options. I prefer the 'wavy' version.

Use the thumb and fore-finger of one hand, and the fore-finger of other hand and gently squeeze the crust together into a 'wavy' shape (see photo)

Brush on a egg/milk wash over the whole top crust. BUT not the wavy edge.

Cut steam vents in the top crust to suit your fancy.

Pop into a pre-heated oven 375F (190 C.) and bake for aprox 5 minutes or until the top is nicely browned.

remove from oven and cool on a wire rack for 2+ hours, then chill for 4 more hours before serving. If you cut into it too soon all your liquid will run out. One the corn starch juices have cooled they will stay thickened and you may elect to serve your pie at room temp or slightly warmer.

I think apple pie tastes best at a warmer temp.

PS: have you also considered making an apple cobbler ? Much easier but it is also delicious and is usually served very warm.

I hope this fits your needs. Please feel free to contact me with any questions or comments. Enjoy !

Re: Pies, pies and more pies

thanx bakerman nice of u to put it up ''
and try to ignore a few oddballs on here 'that maybe never cooked a pie/ tart/ most of us love ur ideas ….

Re: Pies, pies and more pies

yeah, I do, my mouth is watering just thinking about Bakermans pies, yum yum

Re: Pies, pies and more pies

Thank you very much for your kind posts.

My life revolves around cooking/baking. I hope I did an adequate job of writing and describing "how to".

Re: Pies, pies and more pies

I have visions of this forum's members all baking pies tomorrow, stuffing their faces and being unable to type on here very soon. Gonna be a really quiet Sunday.

Re: Pies, pies and more pies

What about bridies?
Bridie
A bridie or Forfar bridie is a Scottish meat pastry that originates from Forfar, Scotland

Re: Pies, pies and more pies

Problem: Forfar bridies are indeed a pastry, but they are not pies.

Pies, true pies, are always baked in a pan with sloping slides, and served directly from the pan. They may have a bottom crust only, or two crusts (a top and bottom crust), but they always have a crust.

Thus, while Beef Wellington has a crust, it can in no way be considered a pie, because it is not baked in a pan

A tart, on the other hand, has only a bottom crust, is baked in a very shallow tin with vertical, removable sides, and is served from either a platter OR from the bottom sheet pan.

A pastry has a crust and is baked "free-form" and not in a pan. A typical Danish, is a pastry, as are Bridies

There are 3 so-called pies that I can think of, that are NOT pies: Shepard's "pie", Cottage "pie" and Boston Crème "pie" . The latter is actually a cake. Why the chef who created the Boston Crème "Pie" called it that, has been lost to history, and remains a mystery to this day.

Shepard's "pie" and Cottage "pie" are closer to casseroles than to a pie.