Why? For one, I live in a pretty small community and I'd like to keep this on the down low here. I am, after all, trying to take down bakers who are my neighbors and my kids' friends' parents and grandmas.
But desperately needing feedback -- real, quantitative data I can use to test and perfect recipes and technique -- is essential. And so, with great apprehension, I came out of the closet to my co-workers.
I was nervous at first. Admittedly, this is a hair-brained scheme. And in a workplace where professionalism and credibility are highly valued, I didn't want to come across as, well, you know... cuckoo for cocoa puffs.
But I was delighted when my co-workers rallied around me. They loved the kitschy concept (as do I) of a total unknown entering a small community bake-off and scooping up all the prizes.
I'm also thrilled to have help eating all this pie. I never thought I'd be getting tired of peach pie (my favorite in the world) so quickly.
And so, I had help testing two variations of peach-blueberry pie. Armed with evaluation forms, paper plates and plastic ware, I set up the taste-test station in our break room and patiently (or impatiently) waited for the results.
My co-workers did not disappoint. They were eager participants who gave loads of great feedback:
Peach-blueberry #1
This pie was beautiful. Stunningly, mouthwateringly beautiful. The golden crust was picture perfect and certainly worthy of adorning the cover of Pie Weekly, a quarterly magazine that doesn't yet exist, but I just might start.
The inside of the pie was a total disaster. This pie needed to bake longer, so the fruit was tough and the filling was a runny mess. On the 20-point rating scale, it didn't fare well. Overall rating: 12.5 out of 20
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| Attempt #1: Pretty, but a holy mess on the inside. Score: 12.5 |
My second attempt wasn't as pretty as the first, but the filing was miles ahead in terms of taste and texture. I did manage to botch this one too, by adding too much ground clove, giving the pie a heavily seasoned flavor -- and not in a good way. Overall rating: 15 out of 20.
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| Attempt #2: Meh. Better, but not a winner. Score: 15 |
The peach-blueberry pie verdict
My taste-testers and I agreed that the peach-blueberry combo was pretty and tasted OK, but lacked pizazz. A 20-point pie should sing in one's mouth. The clouds should part, angels should descend and one should hear the hallelujah chorus when savoring a bite. And these pies failed in that department.
The triple-berry peach I'd attempted earlier had more of a wow factor and I think it's because of the raspberries' deliciously sweet bursts of flavor. I think I'll try to develop that recipe a little more.
Lessons learned
I'm cramming years and years of baking experience into a very short amount of time. I'm learning so much from all these little successes and failures -- lessons that top bakers learn over time.
I've learned not to roll pie crust in a hot, humid house and be sure to cut steam vents wide enough so they don't seal up while baking. I've also learned to toss fruit with lemon juice to prevent browning and to add a little acidity.
Each pie is a learning opportunity. And I'm learning lots.
I've also learned that you can put anything (even a fairly shitty pie) in the break room at work and it'll get eaten. And as long as my co-workers are willing to complete my little evaluation forms, I'm feeling pretty confident that their feedback will help propel me to the ranks of the top pie bakers of all time.
They just might have to eat a lot of crappy pie to help me get there.
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