Pies and Pastries

1. Pies and Pastries

2. Chapter Objectives 1. Prepare flaky pie dough and mealy pie dough. 2. Prepare crumb crusts and short, or cookie, crusts. 3. Assemble and bake pies. 4. Prepare the following pie fillings: fruit fillings using the cooked juice method, the cooked fruit method, and the old-fashioned method; custard or soft fillings; cream pie fillings; and chiffon fillings. 5. Prepare puff pastry dough and puff dough products. 6. Prepare éclair paste and éclair paste products. 7. Prepare standard meringues and meringue desserts. 8. Prepare fruit desserts.

3. Pies hold a special place in North America, because the early settlers used to make pies daily, sometimes 21 per week, one for each meal

4. Pie Doughs • Ingredients • Flour • Fat • Liquid • Salt

5. Temperature • Pie doughs should be kept at 60o F (15o C) during mixing and makeup because: • Shortening has the best consistency when cool • Gluten develops more slowly at cool temperatures - a good thing

6. Pie Dough Types • Flaky pie dough • Mealy pie dough Trimmings - reworked scraps or trimmings are tougher than freshly made dough

7. Other Pie Crusts • Crumb crusts • Graham cracker • Vanilla or chocolate wafer • Gingersnap crumbs • Usually used for unbaked pies, such as cream pies and chiffons

8. Other Pie Crusts (cont’d) • Short-Dough crusts • A kind of cookie dough • Richer than regular pie pastry, contains butter, sugar, and eggs • Used primarily for small fruit tarts

9. Assembly and Baking • Two groups • Baked pies - Raw pie shells are filled and baked • Unbaked pies – Baked pie shells are filled, allow to set, and served

10. The Soggy Bottom • These can be avoided in several ways • Use a mealy dough for bottom crusts • Use high heat at the beginning of baking • Do not fill with hot filling • Do not use dark metal pie pans, which absorb heat

11. Starches for Fillings • Types: • Corn starch • Waxy maize • Instant starch • Cooking starches • Sugar and strong acids reduce the thickening powder, so add sugar and strong acids ater starch has thickened

12. Fillings • Fruit Fillings • Cooked Juice Method • Cooked Fruit Method • Old-Fashioned Method • Custard or Soft Fillings • Cream Pie Fillings • Chiffon Pies

13. Fruit Filling • Fruits for pie filling • Fresh fruit • Frozen fruit • Canned fruit • Dried fruit • Fruits must have sufficient acid (tartness) for flavor reasons

14. Custard or Soft Filling • Custards, pumpkin, pecan, and similar pies are made with a liquid filling containing eggs • The greatest difficulty in cooking soft pies is cooking the crust completely • Start pie on bottom rack at 425-450o F for 10 minutes then reduce heat to 325o-350o F to cook filling slowly.

15. Cream Pie Filling • Cream pie fillings are the same as puddings • The one difference between puddings and cream pie fillings is that fillings are made with cornstarch

16. Chiffon Pies • Chiffon fillings are made by adding gelatin to a cream filling or to a thickened fruit and juice mixture and then folding in egg whites and/or whipped cream • These preparations are the same as chiffon desserts, bavarians, and some mousses and cold soufflés

17. Pastries, Meringues, and Fruit Desserts • Puff pastry used for napoleon and turnovers • Choux paste - used for éclairs and cream puffs

18. Puff Pastry • Puff pastry can rise 8x its thickness when baked • Puff pastry is a rolled-in dough • It is difficult to prepare • Has up to 1000 layers • Butter is the preferred fat

19. Blitz Puff Pastry • Blitz puff dough is much easier and quicker to make • It does not rise as high as puff pastry • Not suitable for patty shells • Bakes up crispy and flaky

20. Éclair paste • Éclairs and cream puffs are made from éclair paste or choux paste (from pâte à choux, which means “cabbage paste”) • It is easy to make • Should be used immediately • In principle, éclair paste is similar to popover batter • Both are leavened by steam • Éclair paste must be firm enough to hold shape when piped • Bake at 425-475o F for 10 minutes, then reduce to 375-425o F

21. Meringues • Beaten egg whites with sugar • Used in North America for pie toppings and cake icing

22. Basic Meringues • Common meringue - egg whites at room temperature beaten with sugar • Swiss meringue - egg whites and sugar warmed over a double boiler while beating • Italian meringues - made by beating hot sugar syrup into egg whites – when flavored with vanilla, also known as boiled or icing

23. Fruit Desserts • Similar to pie or pie filling • Special favorites include cobblers • Fresh fruits, served plain, lightly sweetened, or with cream