Pie love

Even though I haven't posted in a while, I've still been busy in my quest to overthrow the long-established winners in my community pie-baking contest on the next Fourth of July.

And while my fingers haven't hit this keyboard in nearly a month, they've been plenty busy rolling dough. I've experimented with different kinds of doughs and baking techniques and I've learned a lot.

chocolate banana pudding pie

I've learned that pie weights really do work... and mine are simply a few cups of dried beans that I use over and over to keep crusts from rising up in the middle when prebaking (also called baking blind).

I've learned how thin to roll the dough (my rolling mat's guidelines help a ton) and also how to transfer a rolled dough onto a 9" pie plate. (That took some doing the first time.)

And, most important, I've learned to enjoy the process of pie making. I like that pies take less time than baking cakes and cookies -- and that people seem more impressed by pies than other baked goods. Pies are delicate and old-fashioned. Pies seem more thoughtful and artisan (if I can even use that word) than, say, a batch of cupcakes.

With each pie I bake, I enjoy the process more and more. (It helps that each pie I bake gets better and better.)

And so, I think I'm ready to shift my focus from crusts to fillings.

I have by no means mastered the art of the perfect pie crust, but I've found a recipe that I really like and will perfect its application as I explore various fillings.

cherry pie attempt #1

Because, and I'll be honest, it seems like a total disservice to dump a sorry-ass can of factory-produced pie filling into a shell that was prepared with so much time, love and attention. (See photo above.)

Where to start? Well, the four categories in the contest are cream, fruit, berry and apple. Because apples will be in season in a month or so, I'll hold off on those. Cream pies seem better suited for the winter months, so I'll focus my efforts of fruit for now. (Berries can wait, I guess.)

My favorite fruit pie of all time is peach, so I plan on developing a peach pie worthy of winning an award. I figure, if I'm going to spend hours and hours researching and (gasp) eating a fruit pie, it may as well be my favorite kind.

Although, maybe it'd make sense to learn which kinds of fruit pies historically win community pie contests...

Back to the library! It's time for more research!

PS - With all this pie baking and taste-testing, I've begun running. I'd prefer not to waddle up to that podium as I collect my awards next summer!