Pies, Pastries pg. 166 - 169 Flashcards
Name some uses for pastry dough
> making savory dishes such as quiche, potpies, and appetizers
making sweet desserts such as dumplings, tarts, and turnovers
most traditional use for pie pastry is for use with dessert pies
Name the different type of desserts pies and describe them
> fruit pie - usually two-crust pie that can be filled with any fruit mixture
cream pies - delicious one-crust pies that are filled with a cornstarch-thickened pudding mixture
custard - baked into delightful single crust pie
chiffon pie - mixture containing gelatin and beaten egg whites, makes sweet, light and airy one-crust pie
Describe the pan preparation for making a pie crust
> use glass or dull metal pan (bright, shiny pan will create soggy bottom crust due to reflected heat)
don’t use metal pan for lemon meringue pie unless it is stainless steel (reaction between acid from lemons and metal pan will cause crust to turn gray)
don’t grease pie pan (pie crust contains enough fat to prevent it from sticking)
know whether or not pie pan is deep dish or regular pie pan
use correct size pie pan for recipe (so that crust fits pan and ingredients don’t overflow)
Describe the key ingredients of pie crust
> flour forms framework of dough
salt adds flavor
fat in form of shortening, butter, or oil provides tenderness and flakiness (don’t substitute liquid fat for solid fat because oil will produce tender but not flaky pastry and pie crust made with oil cannot be rolled out, but must be hand pressed into pie plate)
liquid as water or milk to help hold mixture together and make it into dough
Describe a making dough for pie crust
> cut shortening into flour and salt mixture using pastry blender, fork, or two knives until mixture resembles coarse crumbs (don’t over mix)
stir just enough liquid into fat and flour mixture until it forms dough that leaves sides of bowl (always use very cold liquid; amount of liquid given as range rather than exact quantity; add it tablespoon at a time; it too much water added, pie crust will be tough; if too little is added, pie crust will be crumbly)
once dough formed, gently pat it into ball
work lightly with pastry dough (it will become tough if overmixed or overworked)
cover and refrigerate dough allowing it to rest for 30min. (this will improve consistency of dough, allow moisture to distribute evenly, and make it easier to roll out crust)
Describe rolling the dough for pie crust
> dough can be rolled on any flat, floured surface, but rolling on pastry cloth or sheet of waxed paper makes moving dough to pie pan little less challenging
in order to prevent waxed paper from sliding while crust is being rolled out, either tape waxed paper to counter; or lightly dampen counter with moist cloth, not soapy, and press waxed paper to dampened areas
lightly flour work surface and rolling pin
use stockinet, cloth rolling pin cover, if available
form dough into circle and roll it from center out lifting rolling pin at edges
lift dough from pastry cloth once or twice during rolling process to prevent it from sticking
continue to lightly four surface as needed
roll dough to even thickness and into as round a circle as possible
rolled circle of dough must be at least 2” larger than inverted pie plate
Describe moving rolled dough
> placing pastry dough into pie plate must be done with care
lift pastry cloth or waxed paper at opposite, diagonal corners allowing crust to fold in center with cloth or paper against itself
lay cloth or paper against itself
lay crust over pan with fold at center
unfold cloth or paper laying pie crust over entire pie plate
peel pastry cloth or waxed paper off crust
if rolled dough directly on counter or another surface, move pastry by either rolling it onto rolling pin or by folding it in fourths and placing it in pan
because dough will be touching itself in places, it may stick to itself and potentially tear (if work surface and pastry have been floured well, this is not likely)
realize that more four that is used the dryer and tougher the pastry will be)
Describe shaping the crust for pie crust
> lightly fit the crust onto sides of plate without stretching it
(stretching will cause it to shrink during baking)
if crust tears, dip your finger in cold water and gently press dough back together (cold water acts as glue)
for single-crust pie, trim outer edge of crust so that there is 1” of dough extending all way around edge of pie plate and fold 1” edge of dough under
for double-crust pie, trim bottom crust so that 1/2” of dough extends around edge, and fill bottom crust. center top crust over pie. trim top crust leaving 1” of dough extending beyond edge of pie plate. fold edge of top crust over edge of bottom crust. crimp top and bottom crusts together all way around in order to prevent filling from seeping out during baking.
give edge of one and two-crust pies finished appearance by fluting, pressing with fork, or twisting edge of dough
Describe making unfilled pie shell
> roll dough and place it in pan just as you would for any one-crust pie
finish edge as desired and then using tines of fork, poke holes in bottom and around sides of pie crust
these tiny holes will allow steam to escape as crust bakes
place dry beans or pie weights in crust to prevent it from bubbling up as it bakes
or, instead of weighting the crust, simply check it during baking time and gently push bubbles down with spoon
Describe baking techniques for pie crust
> bake pie at temperature recommended by recipe
decrease oven temperature by 25 degrees if using glass pie plate
if baking a two-crust pie, be sure to slit top crust so that steam can escape (not uncommon for edge of pie crust to become too brown during baking)
to prevent this, create shield by cutting thin strips of aluminum foil
place foil strips around edge of crust before placing pie into oven
fifteen minutes before end of baking time, remove strips so that edge of crust can brown
unfilled pie shells bake for shorter period of time and brown more evenly (not necessary to shield edges of unfilled pie shell as it bakes)
crust of cream and chiffon pies is baked unfilled
filling is added after crust has cooled
custard and some fruit fillings are made into one-crust pies
filling is placed in dough-lined pan and then baked
fruit fillings are usually made into two-crust pies
Describe quality characteristics of pie crust
> pastry should have tender, flaky texture
should not have dried out appearance or “floury” taste (these characteristics indicate that to much flour was incorporated into dough when it was rolled out)
pastry should be even golden brown color
if pastry becomes too dark, it will have bitter, burned flavor
both filling and pastry should hold their shape when pie is cut into slices
Describe serving and storing
> serving, enjoying, and storing leftover pie are last steps
nine-inch pie is most common size
is typically cut into 8 slices; for generous pieces, cut it in six
if very rich recipe, pie could be cut into smaller pieces
cream, chiffon, and custard pies are highly perishable
should be kept under refrigeration
most fruit pies can be safely left at room temperature for short period of time, up to 2 days for some pies
pie crust can become soggy or stale fairly quickly
is best to time preparation of pies so that they will be eaten when they are at their peak of freshness
Describe premade crusts of pie crusts
> pie crust mixes require addition of water
must be rolled and shaped
pie crust place in disposable foil pie pans and frozen for retail sale
refrigerated crusts are rolled out and ready to be placed into pie plate
crumb crust is not pastry, but can be used when making cream or chiffon pies
crumb crust has been place in ready to fill disposable foil pans
all types of premade pie crusts are convenience food and are typically more expensive than homemade pie crust
Describe tips and techniques for making meringue
> meringue is made from beaten egg whites that are sweetened with sugar
popular option for topping one-crust pie
best made when humidity is low
should be placed on top of hot pie filling, or it will shrink away from edges of pie
mound meringue around edges and center of pie sealing it to edge of crust
sealing meringue to edge of crust helps prevent it from shrinking away from crust during baking and helps to prevent it from weeping as it cools
repeatedly lift spoon or spatula across surface of meringue to create peaks
brown meringue in oven according to recipe
Describe equipment and pan preparation for successful candy making
> use correct size of pan for each step of recipe (changing size of pan in which candy is cooked will change cooking time. placing cooked product in wrong-sized pan will impact how it sets up and the yield. using different size pan may also adversely impact moisture content and crystallization of sugar)
if recipe calls for greasing cooking pan or utensils, do it
candy place in ungreased pan may not come out after it has set up
greasing pan in which fudgelike candies set up helps prevent formation of large sugar crystals
large crystals produce undesirable grainy texture
use candy thermometer for accuracy
place thermometer in boiling water. it should register at 212 degrees
if few degrees off, adjust cooking temperature of recipe accordingly by adding or subtracting same number of degrees
heat ingredients to correct temperature as stated in recipe
slowly lower thermometer into hot mixture after sugar has dissolved and mixture has come to boil
clip thermometer to side of pan
position it so that it is fully inserted into candy mixture but not touching bottom of pan
when cleaning candy thermometer, soak it in warm water to dissolve solidified syrup
don’t try to forcibly remove hardened sugar from glass tube
