Amish Baking at Home Cookbook

CHAPTER 1

Pies

In my years of teaching pie classes at our bakery, invariably when I ask attendees to name the influential person in their lives who baked pie, they say it was their grandmother or aunt. The older women in our lives and especially our family carry many of the traditions from past generations that are so valuable to be passed along. Pie baking is one of those traditions that, if you're lucky, you learned in your grandmother's kitchen.

My own journey with pie began as a youngster of probably three or four when I stood at the elbow of my mother as her tiny and competent hands worked out pie dough on the white enamel table she used for baking. She handed me small scraps to make my own pie in child-size tins, and I eagerly rolled and pressed the dough. Early on she taught me how to crimp the edges of her pies, and that became my job as she passed each crust along to me.

I lost interest in pie when I became a teenager, and my attention turned to cakes. Besides, my mother already made a perfect pie, so why should I be bothered to learn? I much preferred to bake the sheet cakes my father loved. It wasn't until later in life that I realized Mother wouldn't always be nearby to make pie whenever my craving arose. But then the Pillsbury® frozen crusts came to my rescue.

Several years after Mother passed away, I began thinking about opening a bakery with my oldest daughter. Being able to make a luscious pie became important to me. Thankfully, my mother-in-law is also a great pie baker, and she graciously welcomed me into her kitchen for a time of hands-on training. Under her tutelage, and with the memory of my mother's hands as she worked the dough, I perfected my rusty skills in the art of pie.

Thousands of pies later, I've learned some practical tools that will help to make a pie you can be proud of. Whether you've never made a pie or if you just want to hone your skills, I hope these tips will help you as they have helped me. Now let's bake some pie!

RECIPES

How to Make a Pie Crust

Fresh Blueberry Pie

Oatmeal Pie Crust (gluten-free)

Blackberry Cream Pie (gluten-free)

Strawberry Pie

Vanilla Crumb Pie

Blackberry Pie

Apple Pie

Coconut Oatmeal Custard Pie

Fresh Peach Pie

Chocolate Pie

Shoofly Pie

Strawberry Hand Pies

Glazed Peach Pie

Cherry Pie

Blueberry Hand Pies

Mom's Custard Pie

Mom's Pie Crust

Blueberry Pie

Pumpkin Pie

Pumpkin Custard Pie

Apple Butter Pie

Apple Cream Pie

Buttermilk Pie

Lemon Sponge Pie

Custard Pie

Pecan Pie

Peanut Butter Cream Pie

Apple Pie Squares

Chocolate Pecan Pie

Frozen Pumpkin Pie

Sour Cherry Hand Pies

Concord Grape Pie

A Culture of Hospitality: Rhubarb Crumb Pie

How to Make a Pie Crust

Ingredients

3 cups (360g) all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon (5.69g) sea salt

1¼ cups (282.5g) unsalted butter or shortening

1 large egg, beaten

5 tablespoons (73.93g) cold water

1 tablespoon (14.4g) apple cider vinegar

Step #1: Making the Dough

1. In a mixing bowl, whisk your dry ingredients together. Then, cut your butter into small cubes, about ½ inch in size. Toss your butter cubes into the bowl of dry ingredients.

2. Mixing with your hands or a pastry cutter, begin working the butter into the flour with your fingers. Scoop down to get a handful of butter and flour and smoosh it between your fingers.

3. Repeat this process until your dough begins to turn from a white mixture to more of an ivorycolored mixture and becomes more damp to the touch. When the butter pieces have become smaller but still chunky and the dough sticks together when you press it in your fists, stop mixing.

4. Make a well in the center of your crumb mixture. Pour your liquid into the well. If you're not sure about the recipe and whether you will need all the liquid or not, it's better to not pour it in all at once. This is when you need to be careful not to overwork the dough. With a wooden spoon or a spatula, gently start folding over the dough, working from the outside of the bowl towards the center. Rotate your bowl as you go, turning the dough with your spatula as you incorporate the liquid into the crumbs. Add more of your liquid if it still seems to have pockets of dry flour. Stir until incorporated and dough starts sticking together.

5. Put down your spatula and with your hands, pull the dough towards you, and press it against the side of the bowl. Then, turn it out onto a tabletop or work surface.

6. Gather the dough together in a heap and push down gently. Fold over in half. Push down gently and fold it in half again, then form it into a ball. At this point, if the recipe calls for you to divide your dough in half, cut the dough into 2 equal parts.

7. Wrap your disc of dough snugly in plastic wrap. Then, press down on the dough with the palm of your hand and form it into a disc. Now it is ready to go into the refrigerator where it needs to rest for at least an hour before you roll it out.

Step #2: Rolling Out the Dough

1. Remove your pie dough from the refrigerator and let it rest on the counter for about 10-15 minutes before you begin rolling it out. When the dough feels pliable (you can make an indent with your finger) it is ready to roll out. I like to roll out my dough between 2 pieces of plastic wrap. This helps me to eliminate a lot of extra flour which can make the dough stiff. Starting in the center of the disc, push down and roll out, rotating the dough with each turn. Tiny pushes, tiny turns. Turning the dough will keep it in a round pie shape.

When you have reached the halfway point in size, release your dough from both pieces of plastic wrap and lay it back down again. Cover it again with the other piece of plastic and keep rolling and turning until it reaches the desired size, about 2 inches wider than your pie plate, especially if you are using a deep-dish pan.

2. Remove the plastic wrap and transfer your dough into the pie pan. You can wrap the dough loosely around the rolling pin to help you transfer it, or you can fold it in half and drop it into the pan and then unfold it in the pan. With your left hand, lift the dough while your right hand pushes it snugly against the sides of the pan. Do this all the way around. Making sure your dough is tucked in snugly against the sides will help to eliminate the shrinking problem of the crust after it's baked.

If you are making a single-crust pie, you are ready to do the crimping. If you are making a double-crust pie, roll out the top crust just like you did the bottom crust and let it rest in the refrigerator until you are ready for it.

Step #3: Crimping

1. Fold under the edge of the pie crust and tuck it in so that it is even with the edge of your pan. Keep scissors handy to trim off excess dough. If you are crimping a double-crust pie, take the top crust and the bottom crust together and fold them both under so they fit to the edge of your pie pan.

2. Everyone develops their own style of crimping, but here is a good way to start. Place your two index fingers on the rim of the crust in the shape of an "A" and push in the middle with your thumb. Repeat this process all the way around. Now your crust is ready for filling and baking. If you won't use the dough right away, wrap it in plastic wrap and a plastic bag and store it in your refrigerator for up to 3 days, or in your freezer for up to 2 months.

Step #4: Par-Baking and Blind-Baking

1. Par-baking a crust means to partially bake a crust before adding the filling and continuing to bake the pie. This ensures the bottom crust will be done baking by the time the filling is done. It is especially helpful with custard or pumpkin pies since the filling only takes a short amount of time to bake. Par-baking is generally not used for fruit pies. To par-bake a crust, dock the crust all around by piercing it with the tines of a fork.

2. Line the crust with parchment paper and fill it with baking beans or ceramic pie weights to keep the crust from pu?ng up during the baking process. A trick I learned is to crumple the parchment paper first before putting it into your pie crust. This makes it more pliable.

3. Bake the pie crust in the oven at 425°F for about 20 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and gently lift out the parchment paper with the weights. Reduce the oven to 375°F and bake the crust for an additional 5-10 minutes until the bottom no longer appears wet. Remove from the oven. When your filling is prepared, simply pour it into the par-baked crust and bake it in the oven per recipe instructions. The par-baked crust may also be stored in a plastic bag on your counter for up to 2 days before using.

4. Blind-baking a crust means to fully bake the bottom crust without a filling. This method is...