Conference turris::cooks

I made an apple pie this weekend.  It was 
delicious, had a flaky crust, and didn't boil 
over.  So what's your problem, you ask.  Here 
'tis:  when I cut it, the pie was like apple pie 
SOUP!!  I used Macintosh apples; is there a 
variety which is better (less juicy) for baking?  

I'll give the bread crumbs a try the next time I 
bake a pie.  Are the bread crumbs put on the
bottom crust, before you add the apples?  Or are
the crumbs sprinkled on top of the apples before
you put the top crust on?  Or doesn't it matter? 



Thanks for your help!  

-mrs o 

How much crumbs do you add to 
a 8" pie?  To a 9" pie? 

-mrs o 

    I can't help you with the bread crumbs, but I use apple/cinnamon
    granola.  I'd say a quarter to a half cup.  I had never done a lattice
    top before, so last time, I put the apples in the bottom crust,
    covered the top with granola, then put the lattice on top.  This
    was in a ceramic pie dish, too, and looked real pretty - you didn't
    have to look at mushy apples through the lattice!  I always use
    green Granny Smith apples - they stay crisp.
    
    tw

    I mix macs and cortlands 1/2 and 1/2.  I never have had a problem.
    I have been baking apple pies for more years than I care to mention,
    and I have never heard of putting crumbs in the pie.  

    Mrs. O
    
    As you found out,you shouldn't use macitosh apples alone for baking
    a pie.  They turn into soup.  The best apples to use are ones that
    you wouldn't want to eat plain,(generally called baking apples,like
     Granny Smiths or Cortlands).
     If you like your pie a little juicy or sweet,try mixing in a few
    macitosh apples along with your "baking apples".     
    
    Manina

    re 347.5
    It comes as a great surprise that Granny Smiths are apples you
    "wouldn't want to eat plain" -- I better tell my husband to stop
    eating them, and that he has been eating the wrong apples for some
    15 years!  8^)    Granny Smiths are fine for eating, if you like
    tart crisp apples as we do -- personally I can't stand Delicious!!
    Just had to respond in defense of our choice.
    
    Jan
    

    I always use Cortlands for pie, and put some amount of flour (a
    couple of tablespoons) in with the cinnamon, etc., to cause the
    apple filling to have a bit more body.  I never heard of using
    breadcrumbs, though I suppose you could if you wanted to (in place
    of flour).

I read a recipe yesterday (made 4 cortland apple pies...) that called for a 
bit (~2T) of quick-cooking tapioca. Now, _I_ wouldn't put tapioca in a pie, but
I thought I'd pass on the tip. 

We mixed the apple/cinnamon/etc (looks like a Unix filespec, don't it :-) stuff 
en masse, and while I was making the pie crust (Charlotte, where ARE you when I 
am trying to make a decent pie crust?), found that it exuded quite a bit of 
juice. That ended up in the bottom of the mixing bowl, rather than contributing
to the pie's liquid.

This combination (cortlands + liquid in the mixing bowl) produced just-moist 
pies. Now, about the crusts...

-Scott

    Right here sitting in front of old HECTOR, in my usual spot, Scott
    old friend and neighbor!  What's wrong with your pie crusts?  Pie
    crust isn't very hard to make, really, although even my mother used
    to use those disgusting pie-crust-sticks in a pinch.
    
    I use unbleached flour (sometimes wholewheat flour, especially for
    quiches).  I do not use salt.  For the fat, I use Crisco.  A really
    traditional crust would be made of lard, but it isn't especially
    good for you, isn't on some people's diets, and has a distinctive
    flavor that you may not like with apples.  Butter works, too.  I
    have never made a decent piecrust in the-wonderful-machine (my
    Cuisinart); it is too easy to demolish the fat into too-small particles
    or to overwork the dough and make a tough crust.  I dump the flour
    and any additions (cheese, herbs, spices, salt if you use it) into
    a wide mixing bowl.  Then I measure the fat by displacing water
    with it in a transparent measuring cup; this is about the least
    messy way to measure something like Crisco (watch out for other
    brands of shortening; some of them are too soft and don't seem to
    make a decent crust).  Then I dump out the water and dump the fat
    in with the flour, and chop them together with a pastry blender
    (you can do this with a pair of forks in a pinch, but the blender
    is easier).  Stop chopping when the pieces of fat/flour look like
    coarse cornmeal (OK, OK, except for the color).  Then start adding
    COLD (doesn't have to be ICE water, unless it is really HOT out)
    water, a tablespoonful at a time, mxing with a wooden spoon, until
    the stuff starts to stick together.  Don't add too much water, or
    your crust will be too sticky to roll out, and don't mix more than
    is required to get the stuff to stick together; it is the individual
    particles of fat that make the "flakes" in your flaky crust, and
    if you mix too much, the crust will not be flaky and will get tough
    because you will have developed too much gluten.
    
    When you go to roll out the crust, you can do so on a cloth, on
    a floured counter top (what I usually do), or between pieces of
    wax paper.  When you go to put it into the pie plate, it helps prevent
    tearing if you either fold the crust into quarters or roll it loosely
    on to your rolling pin.
    
    Don't try to do anything much with leftover crust.  If you are feeling
    artistic, you can cut cute designs out of the scraps and put them
    on top of your finished pie creation (sticking them down with a
    little water if necessary).  Don't try to re-roll the stuff, though,
    because it will definitely be much tougher the second time around.
    
    It is possible to make a flaky crust with oil instead of solid fat,
    but I seldem make that kind unless a recipe calls for it (like some
    Chinese pastries that are made with peanut oil); you'd have to check
    a standard-type cookbook for a recipe.  Oil crusts just about have
    to be rolled out between wax paper, as do crusts with more than
    the usual proportion of oil/fat to flour (like Rugollach dough).
    
    Does that help??

    
    	I have heard of adding a little baking powder to the flour
    for a pie crust. This is suppose to make the crust flakier. I
    have tried it and it came out good.
    
    Linda
    
    

I have always used "brand-X" shortening. Maybe that's it... the housemate 
brought home some Crisco; might have to bake some more pies to "test" it.

-Scott

    - for the fat in crusts, I use half Crisco and half Butter.  Lately
    I've been using all Butter-flavored Crisco.  Same taste.
    
    - I learned this trick in high-school cooking class:  Cut in HALF
    of the fat with your pastry blender until it's the size of peas.
    Then cut in the other half until the LARGEST pieces are the size
    of peas.  This means that half of the pieces are like cornmeal,
    and half are larger.  Then mix in your water, TBSP at a time, until
    the mixture is JUST able to hold together so you can roll it out.
    
    - I use tapioca in my apple filling mix that I can each year.  Then,
    when I'm making a pie, I use a quart of canned filling and add a
    couple of sliced-up fresh apples on top.  Since the canned filling
    already has been cooked, the pie doesn't have that problem of having
    the filling shrink and having this big air-space under the top crust.
    The fresh apples give the pie a nice bit of crunch.  I don't cook
    my pies as long as the recipes say, either, since the filling is
    mainly cooked already.  Just until the crust browns nicely.  That
    keeps the fresh apples a little bit crunchier.
    
    - I never have had leftover pie, unless I make several ... which
    I might do now that you've gotten me inspired.
    
    --Louise

    For the best pie crust ever, whether the pie be fruited, custard, or
    whatever, use lard instead of shortening. You'll never have a flakier
    or sweeter pie crust. Note that proportions are different than
    shortening. Your average cookbook will indicate both measures.
    
    Re. tapioca as a thickener... it's the best for fruit pies. You'll
    never notice that it's tapioca.
    
    A pie-maker (NO CANNED FILLING!) for 35 years.

    No canned filling?  Even if you've canned it yourself in
    quart sized mason jars?  Don't knock that until you've tried
    it - sure makes it easier to make pies, so you can make them
    more often.  Agreed, Comstock et al don't know how to make
    good filling, but home canned (jarred?) fillings, made with
    the sweetest fruits in the peak of their season, are quite
    good.
    
    --Louise