It's All In The Crust
Fruit May Fill, But The Golden Flakey Shell Makes The Pie
Posted: October 31, 2012
Not meant to be smashed in faces or eaten in races, a perfect pie is crafted with passion and care.
In preparation for the Friendly City Food Co-op’s Third Annual Pie Showdown on Nov. 6, local bakers share their secrets for a prize-winning pie.
What Makes A Winner
Last year’s winner, a Concord grape-apple creation, combined unexpected flavors to take the blue ribbon. “It was both creatively topped and was uniquely delicious,” says Ariana Witt, marketing and branding coordinator at the Co-op. “It just had a memorable, tasty flavor that a lot of people said they never would’ve thought of, but loved.”
Winning pies will be judged on a combination of factors: crust, filling, flavor, texture, appearance, creativity and use of local ingredients.
Greg Bray, co-owner of Cinnamon Bear Bakery, believes that cutting a slice means slowing down. For him, cake may be a taste-and-done dessert, but pie is to be savored. “A pie is something to be enjoyed after dinner … to sit down with coffee.”
He’s particularly partial to his mother’s cheesecake, a simple recipe of cream cheese, lemon juice, vanilla and condensed milk. Potential toppings are as varied as taste buds: from fresh blueberries or sweet cherries to a tropical pineapple.
Crust Crucial
“The crust makes the pie,” says Rosalind Byler, of Donuts and More, a Singer-Glen based Harrisonburg Farmers Market vendor.
Hers are from scratch, without high fructose corn syrup, and made with as many locally sourced ingredients as possible.
“A lot of people find pies intimidating, but once you learn how to do it, it’s fairly simple,” she says.
Carol Weaver agrees. “It’s kind of an art, learning to make them well,” she says. “The ingredients are very basic — flour, water, some sort of shortening, salt — but a lot of it is just how you assemble it.”
Weaver, who owns Country Canner with her husband in the Shenandoah Heritage Market, refuses to put her precious filling in a store-bought crust. “If my crust isn’t good, forget it,” she insists.
To achieve the perfectly flakey crust, start with a specific pie flour, and keep handling at a minimum. “You want a crust that’s flaky, and the more you mix it, the less flaky it’ll be,” she suggests.
For a final touch, Byler sprinkles sugar on top of the crust, for a glittery sheen.
Flawless Filling
At Country Canner, Weaver and her staff whip up fillings to pour into sold-separately pie crusts. Thirty flavors line their shelves, including several variations on the classic apple pie, adding raisins, cranberries, and cherries. Grape, huckleberries, black raspberries, peaches and more combinations of the fruits offer departures from old standbys.
Strawberry-rhubarb is an especially popular flavor, Weaver says, as it brings back memories of grandmothers’ pies for her customers.
Bray says using whole, fresh fruit makes the filling fantastic. He bakes fruits into creamier pies, or turns them into a purée to swirl throughout the base.
If home cooks are looking to tackle a pumpkin pie from a whole pumpkin, rather than the canned purée, Byler recommends using small pumpkins, as the large, although impressive, are often too watery. She’s also had success with any orange-colored squash, carrots or sweet potatoes in pies.
When prepared well, Weaver says the humble pie has much to brag about. “It’s kind of an art, learning to make them well.”
In preparation for the Friendly City Food Co-op’s Third Annual Pie Showdown on Nov. 6, local bakers share their secrets for a prize-winning pie.
What Makes A Winner
Last year’s winner, a Concord grape-apple creation, combined unexpected flavors to take the blue ribbon. “It was both creatively topped and was uniquely delicious,” says Ariana Witt, marketing and branding coordinator at the Co-op. “It just had a memorable, tasty flavor that a lot of people said they never would’ve thought of, but loved.”
Winning pies will be judged on a combination of factors: crust, filling, flavor, texture, appearance, creativity and use of local ingredients.
Greg Bray, co-owner of Cinnamon Bear Bakery, believes that cutting a slice means slowing down. For him, cake may be a taste-and-done dessert, but pie is to be savored. “A pie is something to be enjoyed after dinner … to sit down with coffee.”
He’s particularly partial to his mother’s cheesecake, a simple recipe of cream cheese, lemon juice, vanilla and condensed milk. Potential toppings are as varied as taste buds: from fresh blueberries or sweet cherries to a tropical pineapple.
Crust Crucial
“The crust makes the pie,” says Rosalind Byler, of Donuts and More, a Singer-Glen based Harrisonburg Farmers Market vendor.
Hers are from scratch, without high fructose corn syrup, and made with as many locally sourced ingredients as possible.
“A lot of people find pies intimidating, but once you learn how to do it, it’s fairly simple,” she says.
Carol Weaver agrees. “It’s kind of an art, learning to make them well,” she says. “The ingredients are very basic — flour, water, some sort of shortening, salt — but a lot of it is just how you assemble it.”
Weaver, who owns Country Canner with her husband in the Shenandoah Heritage Market, refuses to put her precious filling in a store-bought crust. “If my crust isn’t good, forget it,” she insists.
To achieve the perfectly flakey crust, start with a specific pie flour, and keep handling at a minimum. “You want a crust that’s flaky, and the more you mix it, the less flaky it’ll be,” she suggests.
For a final touch, Byler sprinkles sugar on top of the crust, for a glittery sheen.
Flawless Filling
At Country Canner, Weaver and her staff whip up fillings to pour into sold-separately pie crusts. Thirty flavors line their shelves, including several variations on the classic apple pie, adding raisins, cranberries, and cherries. Grape, huckleberries, black raspberries, peaches and more combinations of the fruits offer departures from old standbys.
Strawberry-rhubarb is an especially popular flavor, Weaver says, as it brings back memories of grandmothers’ pies for her customers.
Bray says using whole, fresh fruit makes the filling fantastic. He bakes fruits into creamier pies, or turns them into a purée to swirl throughout the base.
If home cooks are looking to tackle a pumpkin pie from a whole pumpkin, rather than the canned purée, Byler recommends using small pumpkins, as the large, although impressive, are often too watery. She’s also had success with any orange-colored squash, carrots or sweet potatoes in pies.
When prepared well, Weaver says the humble pie has much to brag about. “It’s kind of an art, learning to make them well.”
Contact Samantha Cole at 574-6274 or scole@dnronline.com