Food
Great Canadian pastry tips for the pie-curious
Food
Great Canadian pastry tips for the pie-curious
OOOO! EEE!
July 21 update: I'm baking my first pie in The Canadian Living Test Kitchen on August 17th. It will be the gorgeous pie featured below. Well, not quite as gorgeous but an ambitious attempt. [caption id="attachment_2150" align="aligncenter" width="400" caption="Raspberry Nectarine Pie, from our August 2011 issue. See below for recipe link. "]
[/caption] This past Monday on our
Canadian Living Facebook Wall, I revealed my embarrassing secret. I am a pie virgin.
*blush* Having lost my Nana this past winter, I vowed to take up the pie torch and make my very first pie this summer in her honour. So I asked our Canadian Living Facebook community what was the first pie they ever made, and did they have any advice for my first solo pie adventure? The response was overwhelming. Some amazing tips poured in from great Canadian pie bakers across our great, pie-loving country. I thought I'd share some of the best responses here for the pie-curious like me:
First pies ever made, plus pie tips from Great Canadian pie bakers:
via Facebook.com/CanadianLiving
Correne Wilson - Don't handle your pie crust too much! My first pie was an apple pie.
Michelle J. Iseman -
Strawberry rhubarb. Everything from scratch. Hubby really liked the lattice top that I made but I was not happy. It looked like someone had thrown the leftover pie crust on top. It was my first lattice. However, the first pie I ever made was in home ec back in grade 10 I think (ahem old here). It was an apple pie. Not bad but the crust was way too thick and very overworked. I learned.
Ay Sontespli -
Pumpkin pie. Use ice cold water...that is what my grandmother always told me and now I do the same. I used to swear at my pie pastry, but not anymore. You know the old saying, "Practice makes perfect!"
Janet Auty-Carlisle - Yeah, go to a bakery! Seriously, I am not a pie maker, just don't have the patience and I think that's the key element personally. Be patient..
Christine Wright Ziegler - I like a combo of margarine and shortening, lard didn't have enough flavor. I use the pie crust recipe from the
Canadian Living baking book.
Cathy Dobbie Webb - My first pie was a cherry pie I made for a Girl Guide baking badge. I use the recipe for pastry on the tenderflake lard box and it makes great pastry.
Cindy Wozney - Find a senior woman and take lessons from her. Cathy's suggestion rocks: the pastry recipe from the Tenderflake box is excellent! Incidentally, my Mom makes the BEST pastry ever! I always measure my pastry according to hers. She always WINS!!
Stephanie Laramie- I can't remember the first pie i made but i hardly ever taste a pie that i like as well as my own. here's what i use. 6 cups of flour, 1 cup of parkay margarine (i've experimented with this) 2 cups of shortening 1 tsp of salt and 1 cup of very cold water. mix dry ing., cut in the marg and short. i always use my hands and think flakes, handle gently. then gently fold in the water. let rest for an hour. i always preheat my oven 100 degrees higher and when i put my pie in the oven i place it on a foil lined cookie sheet. this makes for nice crispy bottom crust. i also turn down the heat after about 10 minutes. good for sweet or savoury pies. good luck!
Kimberlee Purdy-Darling - I use a lard and butter mix, and pastry flour, and my Nana always mixed an egg with a Tbsp of vinegar along with the ice cold water so I do too. Use a pastry blender to make sure the fat is cut evenly into the flour, and handle the dough as little as possible. Wrap in Saran Wrap and place in fridge to chill before rolling. Place in buttered pie pan and chill again. The keys are COLD ingredients and GENTLE handling.
-- Colleen's note: I told Kimberlee I thought we had the same Nana. This sounds just like what mine did too! --
Liliana Hernandez-Oliva - Apple pie and I used a Rich Flaky Pastry from Five roses baking book
Erin Yardley - Tip for Lemon Meringue Pie - make sure your meringue is touching the edges of your pie crust to prevent meringue shrinkage!
Shirley Sterritt DiMaria - My first was apple pie !!! i always use cold water and a marble rolling pin out off the freezer !!! i'm always told i make the BEST pies !!!
Elana Backman - The least amount of handling of the pie dough the better and use lard...not shortening. I went all out the first time and made a strawberry rhubarb Bavarian cream pie - to die for!
Janet Auty-Carlisle - Apparently we're a nation of pie lovers! Really enjoying reading all these comments. --- I agree with you, Janet. :)
What was the first pie you ever made? Do you have more pie tips for me?
Pie photo at top by Edward Pond: Raspberry Nectarine Pie.
Click here for the recipe!
[/caption] This past Monday on our
Canadian Living Facebook Wall, I revealed my embarrassing secret. I am a pie virgin.
*blush* Having lost my Nana this past winter, I vowed to take up the pie torch and make my very first pie this summer in her honour. So I asked our Canadian Living Facebook community what was the first pie they ever made, and did they have any advice for my first solo pie adventure? The response was overwhelming. Some amazing tips poured in from great Canadian pie bakers across our great, pie-loving country. I thought I'd share some of the best responses here for the pie-curious like me:
First pies ever made, plus pie tips from Great Canadian pie bakers:
via Facebook.com/CanadianLiving
Correne Wilson - Don't handle your pie crust too much! My first pie was an apple pie.
Michelle J. Iseman -
Strawberry rhubarb. Everything from scratch. Hubby really liked the lattice top that I made but I was not happy. It looked like someone had thrown the leftover pie crust on top. It was my first lattice. However, the first pie I ever made was in home ec back in grade 10 I think (ahem old here). It was an apple pie. Not bad but the crust was way too thick and very overworked. I learned.
Ay Sontespli -
Pumpkin pie. Use ice cold water...that is what my grandmother always told me and now I do the same. I used to swear at my pie pastry, but not anymore. You know the old saying, "Practice makes perfect!"
Janet Auty-Carlisle - Yeah, go to a bakery! Seriously, I am not a pie maker, just don't have the patience and I think that's the key element personally. Be patient..
Christine Wright Ziegler - I like a combo of margarine and shortening, lard didn't have enough flavor. I use the pie crust recipe from the
Canadian Living baking book.
Cathy Dobbie Webb - My first pie was a cherry pie I made for a Girl Guide baking badge. I use the recipe for pastry on the tenderflake lard box and it makes great pastry.
Cindy Wozney - Find a senior woman and take lessons from her. Cathy's suggestion rocks: the pastry recipe from the Tenderflake box is excellent! Incidentally, my Mom makes the BEST pastry ever! I always measure my pastry according to hers. She always WINS!!
Stephanie Laramie- I can't remember the first pie i made but i hardly ever taste a pie that i like as well as my own. here's what i use. 6 cups of flour, 1 cup of parkay margarine (i've experimented with this) 2 cups of shortening 1 tsp of salt and 1 cup of very cold water. mix dry ing., cut in the marg and short. i always use my hands and think flakes, handle gently. then gently fold in the water. let rest for an hour. i always preheat my oven 100 degrees higher and when i put my pie in the oven i place it on a foil lined cookie sheet. this makes for nice crispy bottom crust. i also turn down the heat after about 10 minutes. good for sweet or savoury pies. good luck!
Kimberlee Purdy-Darling - I use a lard and butter mix, and pastry flour, and my Nana always mixed an egg with a Tbsp of vinegar along with the ice cold water so I do too. Use a pastry blender to make sure the fat is cut evenly into the flour, and handle the dough as little as possible. Wrap in Saran Wrap and place in fridge to chill before rolling. Place in buttered pie pan and chill again. The keys are COLD ingredients and GENTLE handling.
-- Colleen's note: I told Kimberlee I thought we had the same Nana. This sounds just like what mine did too! --
Liliana Hernandez-Oliva - Apple pie and I used a Rich Flaky Pastry from Five roses baking book
Erin Yardley - Tip for Lemon Meringue Pie - make sure your meringue is touching the edges of your pie crust to prevent meringue shrinkage!
Shirley Sterritt DiMaria - My first was apple pie !!! i always use cold water and a marble rolling pin out off the freezer !!! i'm always told i make the BEST pies !!!
Elana Backman - The least amount of handling of the pie dough the better and use lard...not shortening. I went all out the first time and made a strawberry rhubarb Bavarian cream pie - to die for!
Janet Auty-Carlisle - Apparently we're a nation of pie lovers! Really enjoying reading all these comments. --- I agree with you, Janet. :)
What was the first pie you ever made? Do you have more pie tips for me?
Pie photo at top by Edward Pond: Raspberry Nectarine Pie.
Click here for the recipe!
Related articles
- Year of the pocket pie? (thestar.com)
- My Grandmother's Recipe for Apple Pie (bigbasslakemi.wordpress.com)
- Video: How to make a lattice-top pie crust (canadianliving.com)
- Video: How to make a perfectly fluted single crust pie shell (canadianliving.com)
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