Everything You Should Know About Pies
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Everything You Should Know About Pies 

MAKING AND BAKING PASTRY FOR PIES

Pastry is a shortened dough that is made of flour, water, salt, and fat and used in the preparation of desserts. Chief among these deserts are pies. These are made by baking foods between two crusts of pastry or with a single crust, which may be an upper or a lower one. 

Some cooks, especially the French ones, regard as pastry such foods as certain small cakes, the paste used for cream puffs and éclairs, and the sweetened breads made with yeast, such as brioche. In reality, such desserts resemble cakes in use more than they do pastry, and for this reason are discussed in connection with them

PROPORTION OF INGREDIENTS

The proportion of ingredients for the making of pastry varies with the kinds of flour used and the kinds of pastry desired. Some pastry varieties can be made with a comparatively small amount of fat, while others require a large amount. The use to which the paste is to be put will determine the proportion of fat to be used. It varies from the minimum amount of one-sixth as much fat as flour, by measure, or one-third, by weight, which is the proportion for economy paste, to one-half, by measure, or an equal amount by weight, which is the proportion used in the making of puff paste. For the ordinary preparation of pies, an amount midway between the two extremes is usually sufficient, while oftentimes less may be used to advantage.
The amount of liquid in proportion to the amount of flour is about one-fourth, by measure, because pie crust is an example of a stiff dough, and such dough requires four times as much flour as liquid. However, liquid should be added to the other ingredients until the correct consistency is obtained, regardless of the quantity used. The consistency is not right until the flour and the fat cling together in such a way that the mixture may be rolled out to form the crust for a pie. The less liquid used to accomplish this condition, the flakier will be the crust when it is baked. More skill is required in the handling of pastry when the smallest amount of water that can possibly be used is added, but the results achieved usually justify the care that is taken.
Browse Related Topics:
REQUIREMENTS FOR PASTRY AND PIE MAKING
METHODS OF MIXING PASTRY
TRADITIONAL PROCEDURE IN MAKING PLAIN PASTRY
RECIPES FOR PASTRY
ONE-CRUST PIES
MERINGUE FOR ONE-CRUST PIES
DOUBLE-CRUST PIES
UTILIZING LEFT-OVER PASTRY
PASTRY TIPS
BAKING PASTRY FOR PIES
SERVING PIES AND PASTRY
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Bake-and-Serve Stoneware Pan - 10-inch
Mixing Pastry
Variety of methods exist in preparing and mixing the ingredients used in pastry making. Each method is producing a different effect in the finished product.
Some of these methods are explained and illustrated here in detail, so that the people interested in this subject will not have any difficulty in producing splendid results. Familiarity with all of them will insure success with it. MORE
NOTE
A perforated pie tin is an advantage in the baking of shells or single-crust pies, for it prevents the air from becoming confined between the pan and the crust and producing air spaces that would cause blisters to form as the pie is baked. 
If desired, the crust may be placed over the back of the pan and baked, thus forming a shell that may be filled with a cooked filling and served. MORE...
Baking Tip
Often, especially in the baking of fresh berry or cherry pie, the juice that forms inside the pie cooks out. This can be prevented by rolling a small piece of paper into a funnel shape, leaving both ends open, and inserting the small end in one of the openings in the top crust. This arrangement provides a vent for the steam, and so the juice is less likely to cook out of the crust while the pie is baking. MORE...
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