Pie In the Sky: part two- Fruit Pie

Now you have pie crust--either from scratch or you have some pre-made. Pull either from the fridge while you get everything together-this allows the fats (don't think about it) to warm up enough for you to roll out the dough without it tearing.

Spray your pie pan. Dust your flat surface with some flour (not too much, just enough to keep the dough from sticking) and dust the top of your scratch dough with a little more flour. (Obviously, I'm not talking to you pre-made people right now, feel free to scroll down).




You don't have to be barbaric about this-just roll the dough and turn it every couple of time 90 degrees to make rolling the dough even and so it won't stick to the table or counter. If the dough seems too stiff, just walk away for a minute or two.

(Wanna hear a funny story? before I worked as a professional baker, I lived in the little itty bitty apartment, where the kitchen was literally the space under the second floor's stairs and I had 3 inches of counter top. One hot July day, I thought I'd make a pie for my beloved and followed the instructions in the cookbook like a good little girl. When I tried to roll the dough, it was still cold but I didn't realize that I could just let it warm up a bit--it didn't say that in the book!-about 15 minutes later, I had used too much flour trying to roll the dough out and it was falling apart and all over my floor and I was getting pissed. This isn't what I remember from watching my mom! 20 minutes later, I had had it and threw the remaining ball of "dough" (if it could indeed be called that at this point) at the kitchen wall and walked out of the kitchen. FUCK YOU PIE DOUGH. My man was wise enough to not ask. Later, my mom said "Oh, just let the dough warm up. It will come together fine....and don't use too much flour, that just dries it out." Oh. well. shit.

When the "circle" of dough is rolled out wider than the circumference of the pie dish (I say "circle" because mine's not ever truly round), roll it up loosely on your rolling pin and then down over your pie plate. Saves you the headache of trying to move it without tearing or stretching it out.




Cut the extra that's hanging off the edges, leaving enough to be able to seal it to the top (* if you are making a single crust pie, cut so you can fold the crust over once and pinch for a finished looking crust).



Save the extra dough--I'll be posting about that next.

Put the crust in the fridge while you get the filling together.

Hopefully, you decided what kind of fruit pie you wanted to make before you started making a crust. If not, I'll review the guidelines of baking with you in a second-go sit in the corner, please.

In a bowl, mix your berries with enough flour to coat the fruit lightly--if you are using frozen berries, you might need a bit more flour but mix gently. Add in about a 1/2 cup of sugar--if you are baking with blackberries or another tart fruit, you might want more sugar. Something sweeter? less sugar (yeah yeah, this is HARD). Don't be afraid to spice up your pie, either. Add a little cinnamon or ginger or nutmeg if you like it.




Pull out your chilled crust and add the fruit you've mixed to it. Now, roll out the top crust just like you did the bottom and drape it over the crust. It is important to cut some steam vents in your top crust to allow-um, well-steam out. I cut mine when it's on the pie. My mom cuts her's on the table first (yeah, and she makes cutesie little designs in hers too).




Now, let's seal the crusts together. You can do all sorts of super-cute things but for a standard seal, I use the my two fingers on my left hand pinched together, while pushing the dough with my right thumb....oh, hell--like this:





Hope you preheated your oven to 350. Pop the pie in the oven. You may also want to but a cookie sheet on the rack under your pie to catch any possible drippings from the juices. Baking might be a science but how much juice is in your fruit isn't. Take it up with God.

Check the pie at the first half-hour to see if the crust is getting too dark. If it is, just cover it with a sheet of aluminum foil for the next half hour to prevent it from burning. Your pie will take anywhere from an hour to an hour and a half to bake. Here's what to look for--is the crust evenly golden and are the juices bubbling up in the vents? If so, your pie is done and ready to cool.



Pull 'er out, Polly and let it cool before trying to cut it. That might seem obvious but there's always someone who goes ahead and tries....