Contents
A pie is a structural problem before it is a recipe. The crust has to stay crisp under a wet filling, hold its shape without a tin's support in places, and be tender enough to cut with a fork — three requirements that pull against each other, which is why crust technique gets more attention than filling technique.
Part of Baking.
Crust
- Shortcrust — solid fat cut into flour cold, water kept to a minimum. The fat coats the flour and shortens the gluten strands; see baking fats and pastry.
- Flaky versus mealy — larger fat pieces give flakes, finer ones give a sandier, more waterproof crust. Which you want depends on the filling.
- Sweet crusts — pâte sucrée and pâte sablée, closer to a cookies dough than a bread one. The sablé log on that page is the same dough handled as a cookie rather than as a shell.
- Alternative flours — nut pies with rye crust is the site's rye example; see also flour.
- Blind baking, weights, and the soggy-bottom problem
- Crimping, lattices, and venting
Fillings
- Fruit, and the thickeners that handle its water: cornstarch, tapioca, flour
- Custard and cream, which set rather than thicken
- Nut and syrup fillings
- Savoury pies, quiche, and hand pies
Neighbours
- Galette — a free-form tart folded over its filling, no tin needed
- Cobbler, crumble, and crisp — a fruit base under a topping rather than in a crust; see apple crisp
- Tarte tatin and the upside-down family
Using the harvest
Pie is where a fruit glut goes. Dried Fruit · Fruit Jellies Jam Jellies Butters · Most Shelf Stable Vegetables · winter cellars · Central Ohio Monthly Planting
Related
pastry · laminated dough · cakes · cookies · baking equipment · Baked goods