Liz HughesThe Pie Crust
February 4th 2011 03:19
My sister-in-law, Sheila died suddenly this past October so our family traveled to Vancouver Island to be with her family. When we arrived it was grey, cold and wet. It was the damp cold that really got under your skin and was always hard to shake. Most of our family and close friends were already gathered inside Sheila’s home. In contrast to the outside, the house was warm and filled with people sharing tears and memories.
During that evening and into the next day, many of the women started to gather in the kitchen. I was there with my sister in law Lori, my nieces Kim and Alicia (Sheila’s daughters), and Shannon and Holly, two of Sheila’s closest friends. We were all busying ourselves with cleaning up, organizing donated food and preparing for future meals. Other people tried to scurry us out to “rest”, but somehow we always found ourselves drawn back to the kitchen. Essentially, that’s where Sheila always had been and that’s where we wanted to be.
Our conversations began to revolve around Sheila’s wonderful baking. It was the Thanksgiving long weekend in Canada, so thoughts and talk drifted towards Sheila’s homemade pies. Her homemade crust was always flaky, golden brown and perfectly crimped around the edges. Not only did it look good, it tasted good. The insides were always a fresh fruit, whether apples from her backyard or assorted summer berries. Of course, there was the classic pumpkin pie, which would have probably been baking at that moment under different circumstances. Suddenly, Holly volunteered to make pumpkin pies for Thanksgiving dinner from scratch - in Sheila’s honor. As devoted frozen piecrust users, we all pledged to perfect the art of homemade piecrusts.
My first test came a few weeks later for American Thanksgiving. As I promised, I was planning on making the quintessential piecrust filled with creamy pumpkin and homemade whipped cream. I found an appealing piecrust recipe in the November issue of Bon Appetit. The recipe used half butter, half shortening. Making the dough was a synch. Why hadn’t I made piecrusts more often?
Well, the next step proved why. After chilling the dough the required time, I started the rolling out process – dusting the countertop with the appropriate amount of flour. I was supposed to produce a 13” round. Ok, so it wasn’t perfectly round – but round enough or so I thought. Then I attempted to scoop it off the floured surface with a spatula. I cursed under my breath as the dough stuck, stretched and tore. Okay, now I remembered why I submitted to buying frozen crusts. Still determined, on the next roll out I got the piecrust up but somehow my circle wasn’t large enough and the dough didn’t reach the top of the pie pan. After a few more tries, a bit more cursing and some patching here and there, I created a piecrust. It wasn’t pretty, but it would hold pumpkin and ended up tasting as light and fluffy as Sheila’s. My family agreed it was much better than frozen.
As it turns out my comrades, the assorted women gathered in Sheila’s kitchen on that sad October day, had also failed at their first attempt at homemade piecrusts. We shared stories, giggled and marveled at how challenging a piecrust could be. However, our common goal had not changed. We would make Sheila proud by perfecting crusts that tasted and looked as good as hers once had.
Here is the Bon Appetit recipe from November 2010:
makes 2 crusts
2 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 chilled butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1/2 cup frozen vegetable shortening, cut into pieces
5 Tbsp. ice water
Blend flour, sugar and salt in processor. Add butter and shortening; using on/off turns, process until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Transfer mixture to large bowl. Add 5 tablespoons of ice water; mix with fork until moist crumbs form. Gather dough and divide into 2 equal pieces. Form each piece into a ball; flatten to disks and wrap with plastic. Chill at least 30 minutes before rolling out.
During that evening and into the next day, many of the women started to gather in the kitchen. I was there with my sister in law Lori, my nieces Kim and Alicia (Sheila’s daughters), and Shannon and Holly, two of Sheila’s closest friends. We were all busying ourselves with cleaning up, organizing donated food and preparing for future meals. Other people tried to scurry us out to “rest”, but somehow we always found ourselves drawn back to the kitchen. Essentially, that’s where Sheila always had been and that’s where we wanted to be.
Our conversations began to revolve around Sheila’s wonderful baking. It was the Thanksgiving long weekend in Canada, so thoughts and talk drifted towards Sheila’s homemade pies. Her homemade crust was always flaky, golden brown and perfectly crimped around the edges. Not only did it look good, it tasted good. The insides were always a fresh fruit, whether apples from her backyard or assorted summer berries. Of course, there was the classic pumpkin pie, which would have probably been baking at that moment under different circumstances. Suddenly, Holly volunteered to make pumpkin pies for Thanksgiving dinner from scratch - in Sheila’s honor. As devoted frozen piecrust users, we all pledged to perfect the art of homemade piecrusts.
Well, the next step proved why. After chilling the dough the required time, I started the rolling out process – dusting the countertop with the appropriate amount of flour. I was supposed to produce a 13” round. Ok, so it wasn’t perfectly round – but round enough or so I thought. Then I attempted to scoop it off the floured surface with a spatula. I cursed under my breath as the dough stuck, stretched and tore. Okay, now I remembered why I submitted to buying frozen crusts. Still determined, on the next roll out I got the piecrust up but somehow my circle wasn’t large enough and the dough didn’t reach the top of the pie pan. After a few more tries, a bit more cursing and some patching here and there, I created a piecrust. It wasn’t pretty, but it would hold pumpkin and ended up tasting as light and fluffy as Sheila’s. My family agreed it was much better than frozen.
As it turns out my comrades, the assorted women gathered in Sheila’s kitchen on that sad October day, had also failed at their first attempt at homemade piecrusts. We shared stories, giggled and marveled at how challenging a piecrust could be. However, our common goal had not changed. We would make Sheila proud by perfecting crusts that tasted and looked as good as hers once had.
Here is the Bon Appetit recipe from November 2010:
makes 2 crusts
2 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 chilled butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1/2 cup frozen vegetable shortening, cut into pieces
5 Tbsp. ice water
Blend flour, sugar and salt in processor. Add butter and shortening; using on/off turns, process until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Transfer mixture to large bowl. Add 5 tablespoons of ice water; mix with fork until moist crumbs form. Gather dough and divide into 2 equal pieces. Form each piece into a ball; flatten to disks and wrap with plastic. Chill at least 30 minutes before rolling out.
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