Chapter 13 - Pies

wash

Egg-washed tops have a shiny appearance when baked. Tops brushed with fat, milk, or cream are not shiny but have a home-baked look.

Butter

Excellent flavor in pies, but expensive and melts easily

Rubbed dough method

Fat rubbed in less thoroughly. Rub fat into sifted dry and carefully mix the combined liquid ing. Into dry ing. Similar to biscuit method.

Ing: Flour

Pastry flour best choice. Gluten good for structure and flakiness and low enough to yield tender product.

Meringue Pie Topping

1 pound of sugar per pound of egg whites. Whip until just stiff.

Swiss meringue

1 pound sugar per pound egg whites

3 2 1 dough

3 parts flour, 2 parts shortening, 1 part ice water. Both mealy and flaky

SCALING INSTRUCTIONS FOR BAKED PIES

8 in. 26-30 oz 9 in. 32-40 oz 10 in. 40-50 oz

Chiffon gelatin

Although some chiffons contain starch as their only stabilizer, most contain gelatin. Gelatin must be handled properly to ensure it is completely dissolved and mixed evenly throughout the filling.

Chiffon pie fillings

Chiffon fillings have a light, fluffy texture created by the addition of beaten egg whites and, some- times, whicream. The egg whites and cream are folded into a cream or fruit base, which is stabilized with gelatin. The folding-in of the egg whites and the filling of the baked pie shells must be done before the gelatin sets. After the pie is chilled to set the gelatin, the filling should be firm enough to hold a clean slice. When chiffon filling contains both egg whites and whipped cream, most chefs and bakers prefer to fold in the egg whites first, even though they may lose some volume. The reason is that if the cream is added first, there is more danger it will be overbeaten and turn to butter during the folding and mixing procedure.

Fruit pies

Contain fruit fillings and have top crust

Cornstarch

Cream pies, fruit pies, firm gel holds shape. Cornstarch tends to settle out before gelatinizing. This creates a dense, starchy layer on the bottom and improperly thick- ened filling on top. Instant starches differ in thickening power, so follow the manufacturer's recommendations.

French silk pie filling

Creaming but contains no flour

Soft pies

Custard type fillings, liquid fillings that become firm when their egg content coagulates. Single crust pies.

Fruit an cream fillings

Depend on starch for thickness

Preparing Unbaked Pies

Dock the crust well with a fork to prevent blistering Place another pan inside the first one so the dough is between two pans. Place the pans upside down in a preheated oven at 450°F (230°C). Baking upside down helps keep the dough from shrinking down into the pan. Fill with cream filling or chiffon filling. Fill as close as possible to service time to prevent soaking the crust. 8. Chill the pie until it is set enough to slice.

Crust possible faults

Dough too stiff - Not enough shortening Not enough liquid Flour too strong Tough - Overmixing Not enough shortening Flour too strong Too much rolling or too much scrap dough used Too much water Crumbly - not enough water Too much shortening Improper mixing Flour too weak Not flaky - Not enough shortening Shortening blended in too much Overmixing or too much rolling Dough or ingredients too warm Soggy or raw bottom crust - Oven temperature too low; not enough bottom heat Filling hot when put in shell Not baked long enough Use of wrong dough (use mealy dough for bottom crusts) Not enough starch in fruit fillings Shrinkage - Dough overworked Not enough shortening Flour too strong Too much water Dough stretched when put in pans Dough not rested

Errors in production pies

ERRORS IN PIE PRODUCTION may include improper mixing of doughs, improper assembly of pies, faulty production of fillings, and problems in baking. Th

Emulsified shortening

Not used, blends to quickly with flour and makes it difficult to achieve flaky pastry

Filling possible faults

Filling boils out - No steam vents in top crust Top crust not sealed to bottom crust at edges Oven temperature too low Fruit too acidic Filling hot when put in shell Not enough starch in filling Too much sugar in filling Too much filling Curdling of custard or soft filling - over baked

Lard

Firm and plastic, good flakiness. Not widely used.

Pie dough types

Flaky and mealy. Difference is how fat blended with flour

Salt

Flavor. Dissolved in liquid before added to mix for even distribution.

Flour, tapioca, potato, rice

Flour has less thickening power than other starches and makes fruit fillings cloudy.

Pie pastry

Flour, shortening, water, salt

Crumb crusts

For unbaked pies, like cream pies and chiffon pies. Cheesecake. Baking before filling makes it firmer and less crumbly

Fruits for pie filling

Fresh, frozen, canned

Fruit fillings

Fruit fillings consist of solid fruit pieces bound together by a gel. The gel consists of fruit juice, water, sugar, spices, and a starch thickener. As explained, a modified starch such as waxy maize is the preferred thickener for fruit fillings because it makes a clear, not cloudy, gel. The functions of the gel are to bind the solid fruit pieces together, to help carry the flavors of the spices and the sweetness of the sugar, and to improve appearance by giving a shine or gloss to the fruit. Of course, the solid fruit is the most important part of the filling. To have a good- quality pie filling, you should have 2 to 3 pounds of drained fruit for each pound of liquid (juice plus water).

Waxy maize or modified starch

Fruit pies, clear when set, soft paste rather then firm gel. Good for frozen pies as starch does not break down.

Mixing

Hand mixing best especially flaky. Machine use paddle or pastry knife at low speed.

Success and failure

How shortening and flour mixed and gluten developed

Ing: fat

Hydrogenated shortening most popular fat for pie crusts. Mold able and firm flaky crust.

Cooked fruit method

In the cooked fruit method, the fruit, water, and juices (if any) are all cooked together and then thickened with a starch.

Cooked juice method

In the cooked juice method, the gel is made separately by cooking fruit juice, water, and sugar with a starch. The gel is then mixed with the fruit. In the cooked fruit method, the fruit, water, and juices (if any) are all cooked together and then thickened with a starch.

Chiffon pies

Made with fillings that are lightened by addition of beaten egg whites and or whipped cream. Gelatin or starch gives good consistency

Cream pies

Made with pudding or boiled custard type fillings

Custard or soft filling

Many soft fillings contain starch in addition to eggs. Flour, cornstarch, and instant starch are frequently used. Although starch is unnecessary if enough eggs are used, many bakers prefer to add a little starch because it allows them to reduce the egg content. Also, the use of starch helps bind the liquids and reduce the chance of separating, or "weeping," in the baked pie. If starch is used, be sure the mix is well stirred before filling the pies in order to reduce the danger of the starch settling out. The greatest difficulty in preparing soft pies is cooking the crust completely without over- cooking the filling. Start the pie at the bottom of a hot oven (425° to 450°F/220° to 230°C) for the first 10 to 15 minutes to set the crust. Then reduce the heat to 325° to 350°F (165° to 175°C) to cook the filling slowly. An alternative approach is to partially bake the empty shells before filling. See page 288 for baking empty shells (called baking blind), but bake until about half cooked. Cool, fill, and bake the pie. Use one of these methods to test for doneness: • Shake the pie very gently. If it is no longer liquid, it is done. The center will still be slightly soft, but its own heat will continue to cook the pie after it is removed from the oven. • Insert a thin knife blade an inch from the center. If it comes out clean, the pie is done.

Guidelines for using gelatin

Measure gelatin accurately. Too much gelatin makes a stiff, rubbery product. Too little makes a soft product that does not hold its shape. 2. Donotmixrawpineappleorpapayawithgelatin.Thesefruitscontainenzymesthatdissolve gelatin. You may use these fruits only if they are cooked or canned. 3. To dissolve unflavored gelatin, stir it into cold liquid to avoid lumping. Let it stand for 5 min- utes to absorb water. Then heat it until it is dissolved, or combine it with a hot liquid and stir until dissolved. 4. After the gelatin is dissolved in the base, cool or chill it until it is slightly thickened but not set. If the base starts to set, it will be difficult or impossible to fold in the egg whites uniformly. 5. Stir the base occasionally while it is cooling so it cools evenly. Otherwise, the outside edges may start to set before the inside is sufficiently cooled, which creates lumps. 6. Ifthegelatinsetsbeforeyoucanaddtheeggwhites,warmthebaseslightlybystirringitover hot water just until the gelatin is melted and there are no lumps. Cool again. 7. When folding in egg whites and whipped cream, work rapidly and without pause, or the gela- tin might set before you are finished. Fill the pie shells immediately, before the filling sets. 8. Keepthepiesrefrigerated,especiallyinhotweather. In addition to the following chiffons, you may also use Bavarian creams (p. 525) as pie fill- ings. Although Bavarian creams contain gelatin and whipped cream, they are not, strictly speak- ing, chiffons, because they do not contain whipped egg whites. Nevertheless, thei

If butter used to replace shortening

Percentage of fat in formula should be increased by about one fourth. Liquid can be reduced since butter contains Water

Temperature

Pie dough should be cool 60 degrees during mixing and makeup, shortening best when cool. Gluten develops more slowly at cool temps than at warm

Unbaked pies

Prebaked pie shells filled with a prepared filling, chilled and served when filling firm enough to slice.

Baked pies

Raw pie shells filled and then baked.

Milk

Richer dough Browns quickly, less crisp and cost higher. Al liquid added cold for proper dough temp.

Canned fruit

Solid pack means no water added. Heavy pack means only a small quantity of water or juice is added. Water pack fruits are canned with the water that was used to process them. Sour cherries are usually packed this way. Syrup pack fruits are packed in a sugar syrup, which may be light, medium, heavy, or extra-heavy. Heavy syrup means there is more sugar in the syrup. In general, fruits packed in heavy syrup are firmer and less broken than fruits in light syrup. With water-pack and syrup-pack fruits, it is important to know the drained weight (the weight of the solid fruit without the juice). This information may be indicated on the label or available from the processor. The net weight is the weight of the total contents, including juice or syrup. If the drained weight of a fruit is very low, you may need to add extra drained fruit to a batch of filling in order to get a good ratio of fruit to gel. Dried fruits must be rehydrated by soaking and, usually, simmering before they are made into pie fillings. Fruits must have sufficient acid (tartness) to make flavorful fillings. If they lack natural acid, you may need to add some lemon, orange, or pineapple juice to supply the acid.

2 most important thickeners

Starches and eggs. Starch acts as stabilizer

Well made pie should have

Tender crust, but one that holds together and is not crumbly. • Flaky top crust. • Tender bottom crust that is fully baked and not soggy. • Crust that hasn't shrunk or pulled away from the pan. • Top crust well sealed to bottom crust. • Filling of good flavor for its type and properly seasoned. • Filling that is properly cooked and hasn't boiled out of the crust. • Custard-type fillings properly set and not curdled or weeping.

Bases for chiffon

Thickened with starch. The procedure is the same as for fruit pie fillings made by the cooked juice method or cooked fruit method, except the fruit is finely chopped or puréed. Most fruit chiffons are made this way. Thickened with egg. The procedure is the same as for Crème Anglaise (p. 261). Chocolate chiffons and pumpkin chiffons are sometimes made this way. Thickened with egg and starch. The procedure is the same as for pastry cream or cream pie fillings. Lemon chiffon is usually made this way.

Old fashioned method

This method is commonly used for homemade apple pies and peach pies. However, it is not often used in food service operations because of its disadvantages. First, the thickening of the juices is difficult to control. Second, because raw fruit shrinks as it cooks, it is neces- sary to pile the fruit high in the shell. The fruit then shrinks, often leaving a large airspace between the crust and fruit, so the top crust becomes misshapen. Also, the juices given off are more likely to boil over than when the filling is cooked and the juice thickened before filling the pie. For these reasons, the cooked fruit method usually gives better resu

Cooking Starches

To avoid lumping, starches must be mixed with a cold liquid or sugar before being added to a hot liquid. Sugar and strong acids, such as lemon juice, reduce the thickening power of starch. When possible, all or part of the sugar and strong acids should be added after the starch has thickened.

Water

Too much used, crust will become tough because of too much gluten development. If not enough, crust will fall apart because of inadequate gluten structure

Trimmings

Tougher. Use for mealy and bottom crusts

Soggy Bottom

Use mealy dough for bottom crusts. Mealy dough absorbs less liquid than flaky dough. 2. Use high bottom heat, at least at the beginning of baking, to set the crust quickly. Bake the pies at the bottom of the oven. 3. Do not add hot fillings to unbaked crusts. 4. For fruit pies, line the bottom of the pie shell with a thin layer of cake crumbs before pouring in the filling. This helps absorb some juice that might otherwise soak into the crust. 5. Use dark metal pie tins, which absorb heat. (Because so many bakers use disposable aluminum pans, other methods must be relied on. Disposable pans with black bottoms are sometimes available.) 6. If finished pies still have underbaked bottoms, they can be set on a flattop range for a few minutes. However, exercise extreme care to avoid scorching

Mealy

Used for bottom crusts. custard and pumkin. . Baked fruit pies and soft and custard type pies resist sogginess. Fat blended into flour more thoroughly til coarse cornmeal. Crust short and tender cause less gluten can develop Less water needed cause flour won't absorb as much as in flaky dough Baked dough less likely to absorb moisture from filling and become soggy.

Flaky

Used for top crusts and prebaked shells. Fat cut in till hazelnut, flour not completely blended with fat and fat left in pieces. When dough rolled, lumps of fat and moistened flour are flattened and become flakes of dough separated by layers of fat.

Cooking starches

avoid lumping, starches must be mixed with a cold liquid or sugar before being added to a hot liquid. Sugar and strong acids, such as lemon juice, reduce the thickening power of starch. When possible, all or part of the sugar and strong acids should be added after the starch has thickened.

Waxy maize or modified starches

best for fruit pies because they are clear when set and make a soft paste rather than a firm gel. Waxy maize should be used for pies that are to be frozen, as this starch is not broken down by freezing.

Fruit Fillings

consist of solid fruit pieces bound together by a gel. The gel consists of fruit juice, water, sugar, spices, and a starch thickener. As explained, a modified starch such as waxy maize is the preferred thickener for fruit fillings because it makes a clear, not cloudy, gel

Starches for Fillings

fruit fillings and cream fillings, depend on starch for their thickness. Some egg-thickened fillings, such as pumpkin, also sometimes contain starch. The starch acts as a stabilizer and may also reduce the cost by allowing for a lower egg content.

Dried fruits and acid

fruits must be rehydrated by soaking and, usually, simmering before they are made into pie fillings. Fruits must have sufficient acid (tartness) to make flavorful fillings. If they lack natural acid, you may need to add some lemon, orange, or pineapple juice to supply the acid.

Apples for pies

important: taste and texture. First, the apples should have good flavor and a noticeable level of acidity. Apples that Granny Smith, Jonathan, Jonagold, Newton Pippin, Rome, Macoun, Pink Lady, Stayman-Winesap, Haralson, and Golden Delicious.important: taste and texture. First, the apples should have good flavor and a noticeable level of acidity. Apples that are very mild make pies with little flavor. The sugar content, or sweetness, of the apple, is less important, as the sugar in the recipe can be adjusted. Second, the apples should hold their shape when cooked. Apples that turn to mush, such as McIntosh, are better for applesauce than for pies. Popular apple varieties that have good taste and texture for use in pie fillings include Granny Smith, Jonathan, Jonagold, Newton Pippin, Rome, Macoun, Pink Lady, Stayman-Winesap, Haralson, and Golden Delicious.are very mild make pies with little flavor. The sugar content, or sweetness, of the apple, is less important, as the sugar in the recipe can be adjusted. Second, the apples should hold their shape when cooked. Apples that turn to mush, such as McIntosh, are better for applesauce than for pies. Popular apple varieties that have good taste and texture for use in pie fillings include Granny Smith, Jonathan, Jonagold, Newton Pippin, Rome, Macoun, Pink Lady, Stayman-Winesap, Haralson, and Golden Delicious.

Instant or pregelatinized starch

needs no cooking because it has already been cooked. When used with certain fruit fillings, it eliminates the need to cook the filling before making up the pie. It loses this advantage, however, when the filling is made of raw fruit that must be cooked anyway. In the case of soft fillings such as pumpkin, instant starch can be used to eliminate a problem that often occurs with cornstarch: Cornstarch tends to settle out before gelatinizing. This creates a dense, starchy layer on the bottom and improperly thickened filling on top. Instant starches differ in thickening power

Instant or pregelatinized

needs no cooking because it has already been cooked. When used with certain fruit fillings, it eliminates the need to cook the filling before making up the pie. It loses this advantage, however, when the filling is made of raw fruit that must be cooked anyway. In the case of soft fillings such as pumpkin, instant starch can be used to eliminate a problem that often occurs with cornstarch

Frozen

sure the fruit is completely thawed before prepar- ing the filling. If it is partially frozen, you will not be able to drain the juice properly to make the gel, and the frozen, undrained juice will water down the filling later. Some frozen fruits, especially berries, are packed without sugar. Natura

Cornstarch

used for cream pies because it sets up into a firm gel that holds its shape when sliced. It may also be used for fruit pies.

Flour, tapioca, potato starch, rice starch,

used less frequently for fillings. Flour has less thickening power than other starches and makes fruit fillings cloudy

Cream pie fillings

vanilla, chocolate, or coconut. Lemon filling is made by the same method, using water and lemon juice instead of milk. There is one difference between pastry cream and pie filling you should note: Cream pie fill- ings are made with cornstarch, so slices hold their shape when cut. Pastry cream may be made with flour, cornstarch, or other starches.