Always use pastry flour (winter wheat) for pie crust. Bread flour
requires more shortening, creeps together when rolled and does not make
a nice, tender crust when you have done your best with it.
Always use pastry (never bread) flour for thickening cream or lemon
pies. If cream pies are not to be used the day they are baked less
flour will be required. Lemon pies should be used the day they are
baked.
Apple and all fruit pies require a little flour in the filling, for
the flavor as well as to absorb the juice. A little salt develops the
flavors of fruits. Mix the flour, sugar and salt together and put
enough of it over the under crust to cover it well in order to prevent
the crust from soaking and to allow the sugar to cook up through the
fruit.
Berry pies may have most of the sugar mixture stirred with them before
putting into the crust. A little browned flour may sometimes be added
to the mixture for apple pies.
Do not peel rhubarb for pies.
To keep the juice from running out, wet strips of pliable cloth 2 or
3 in. wide (bias better) and wrap around the edge of pies where the
crusts join, so that half is on the top crust and half under the edge,
and press close all around. Milk or hot or cold water may be used;
leave the strips quite wet; remove from pies while hot; they may be
used several times.
Another method is to make a small opening in the upper crust and insert
a little roll of paper, like a chimney, to allow the steam to escape.
It is a good plan, also, to put the upper crust on to the pie as loose
as possible; lift it and make wrinkles in it all around, back from the
edge of the pie, before pressing the two crusts together; this will
keep the steam and juice in the pie instead of forcing them out.
One way to make the edges stay together is to wet the edge of the lower
crust and sprinkle flour over it (shaking off what does not adhere)
just before filling and putting on the upper crust.
If with all your care the juice begins to run out, either at the edge
or through the openings in the crust, remove the pie at once from the
oven and let it stand on the hearth or table until it stops boiling.
(If necessary, put a little dry flour in the space). Return to the oven
and by slow cooking it may not run out again; if it does, take it out
again, but do not leave it out until the fruit is perfectly cooked. It
would be too bad to waste all the labor of making a pie by serving it
underdone.
Make pies without under crust when preferred. Put a strip of paste
around the edge of a shallow pudding dish or deep pie pan, fill dish
with prepared fruit, sugar and flour, cover with a lid of paste, press
on to the strip and bake.
Fillings of squash, pumpkin or sweet potato pies may be baked on pie
pans, in custard cups or in pudding dishes, without a crust, and with
or without a meringue.
Serve fruit pies the day they are baked. Those that are unavoidably
left over, put into the oven and just heat through before serving, to
make like fresh pies.
Apple pies may be put together at night, kept in the ice box and baked
the next morning.
For custard or other deep pies, cut the crust with the shears about ½
inch larger than the pan, moisten the under side of the edge slightly
and pinch it up with floured thumb and finger so that it will stand up
above the edge of the pan. The crust may be pinched up before trimming
and cut around the edge of the pan with a knife. It is a good plan to
set the prepared crust in the ice box long enough to become firm before
filling.
Crust may be put on to several pans when making pies one day and baked
when desired.
Several crusts can be baked at a time, then just heated before using.
To bake before filling without blistering, put pastry on to one pan,
set another of the same size into it and bake between the two.
Another way is to cover the pastry with paraffine paper and fill to the
depth of ½ in. with flour. The partially browned flour may be used in
soups and gravies afterwards.
Fill pastry-lined patty pans with raw rice, cover with an upper crust
and bake when baked patty cases are desired. The rice will not be
injured and the crusts will keep their shape.
Sometimes with two-crust pies, sprinkle sugar over the top of the crust
when done and leave in the oven for two minutes.
Lattice work of strips of crust put on in diamonds or squares makes
an attractive finish for such lemon and orange pies as will hold the
strips up, as well as for cranberry and mince pies.
Beat whites of eggs for meringue with woven wire spoon or silver fork
until stiff; add ½-1 tablespn. of sugar to each white and beat till
very stiff, add flavoring, pile in rocky form on to hot pie, bringing
meringue well out over the crust; brown delicately on top grate of
moderate oven. As soon as the tips are tinted the meringue is done.
Overbaking makes it tough and causes it to draw away from the edges.
Having the pie hot when the meringue is put on helps to cook it more
evenly and keeps it from becoming watery next to the pie.
When but one white is to be used for a meringue, do not beat it quite
so stiff and use a little more sugar so that it will spread over the
top of the pie well.
Tiny dots of beaten jelly may be placed with a pastry tube in the
depressions of the meringue of lemon pies, after baking.
In cutting pies with a meringue, cut just through the meringue first
with a thin bladed knife dipped in cold water; afterwards cut to the
bottom.
Pies should always be left so that a current of air will pass under
them while cooling to keep the crust from soaking.
=★ Pastry for one Large Pie=
2½ cups flour, salt
large ⅓ cup of cooking oil
1-1½ teaspn. lemon juice
ice water
Have all ingredients as nearly ice cold as possible. Dip the flour
lightly into the cup with a spoon, do not shake it down. Mix salt with
flour; pour oil over and chop it in with a spoon; do not mix much. Put
the lemon juice in a cup, add water to make ¼ of a cup, and pour over
the flour and oil mixture, adding enough more water to make a rather
soft dough; chop all together with a spoon, press into a mass without
kneading, roll out without mixing on a well floured board, with a well
floured rolling pin. A little more oil will be required when lemon
juice is not used.
Nut or olive oil may be substituted for cooking oil, with a slightly
smaller proportion of olive oil. Olive oil does not, of course,
harmonize as well in flavor with all fillings as the others.
⅓ farina may be used in crust, with less shortening.
In mixing crust for several pies at once, not quite so large a quantity
will be required for each.
Keep crust that is left each time well covered in a cool place and when
making pies again, chop or grind it and mix it with the flour before
adding the oil. It will make the new crust more flaky.
“=Pie Flakes=”
Mix flour, salt and oil for a quantity of pies. Put into a large,
close covered jar (or tin pail lined with waxed paper) and set in cold
place. To make a pie, take out about 2⅓ cupfuls, add water and mix and
roll as usual.
=Hot Water Crust=
Mix together equal quantities of oil and boiling water and pour over
flour which has been mixed with salt.
This crust rolls out more easily than ice water crust but is not as
tender and flaky. A slightly larger proportion of oil may be used, but
if too rich, the crust cannot be handled at all.
=★ Cream Pastry=
Mix flour and salt and pour enough thick sweet or sour cream over to
roll out well. The thicker the cream, the better the crust will be.
Sour cream makes more crisp and tender crust than sweet and has not the
least sour taste when baked.
=Butter Crust=
Rub together ½ cup (¼ lb.) butter and 2 cups (½ lb.) flour; wet with
ice water to make of a rollable consistency, press into a mass and set
in the ice box. When thoroughly chilled, roll ⅓-½ inch thick; spread
with butter, sprinkle lightly with flour, roll up, cut across the roll
and roll pieces out thin for the pie. Butter pastry is not tender even
when much pains is taken with it and the flavor is not agreeable.
=Bread Pie Crust=
4 slices small loaf of bread
boiling milk, salt
6 tablespns. oil
2-2½ cups flour
Dip slices of bread in boiling milk, cool, add oil, salt, and flour to
roll. This makes two under crusts.
=Nut Meal Crust=
2 cups flour
1 cup home made peanut meal
salt
cream
Mix flour, meal and salt, pour enough moderately rich cream over to
make a paste to roll out. A little oil may be added to the meal and
flour, and water used in place of cream.
=★ Granella Crust=
For one good sized pie take about ½ cup of granella (less if fine, more
if coarse, but it is better not to be too coarse nor too very fine).
Mix a little salt with it and pour over it quickly, enough rich milk or
thin cream to moisten it slightly, about ¼ cup, perhaps. (If too moist,
the crust will be soggy.) Turn immediately on to the pan and spread
and press it evenly with a spoon over the bottom and sides, dipping
the spoon often into cold water. A teaspoon is best for the sides, and
holding the forefinger of the left hand above the edge of the pan as
you are pressing with the spoon makes the edge of the crust firmer and
smoother. Do not let the crust come over the edge of the pan, because
only that part which adheres to the filling will come out with the
pieces of pie when served; the remainder will drop off and be wasted.
For that reason the crust should be just as thin as it is possible
to pat it out on the pan. Be careful to make the crust in the angle
between the bottom and sides of the pan no thicker than in any other
part. The novice usually fills that in rounding. A positive pressure
of the teaspoon in pressing the paste up on the edge of the pan will
remove the extra portion there.
In baking these crusts before filling, watch them that they do not get
too brown, and handle them carefully.
I have been thus explicit because this is of all pie pastes the most
important hygienically and in point of time. It is very quickly and
easily made, in fact, it must be made quickly. If the crust stands long
after the liquid is added, it does not spread well.
In making a large number of pies, mix each crust separately; you will
save time. Zwieback crumbs may be used instead of granella and almond
or cocoanut cream in place of dairy. The cream must be thin or the
crust will not spread well.
=Granella Crust No. 2=
Allow scant ⅔ cup of granella to each pie. Measure up the quantity
required. Mix the salt with it and pour oil over in the proportion of
½ tablespn. of oil to each pie. (¾ tablespn. melted butter may be used
and no salt.) Rub all well together with the hands, take out enough for
each pie at a time, wet with cold water and proceed as in the preceding
recipe. This mixture will need to be quite wet to spread.
Zwieback crumbs may be used for this also.
=Fillings for Granella Pies=
The pulp of stewed prunes, peaches, apricots or dried apples, or other
not too juicy materials, with or without a meringue or whipped cream,
or a sprinkling of dry granella on the top.
Cooked fillings of cream or lemon pies are delightful in the baked
crusts.
If you have not a pie knife, use two broad flat knives in serving a pie
with granella crust.
=★ Apple Pie=
5 or 6 medium sized, tart, juicy apples
¼ teaspn. salt
⅓-¾ cup sugar
1 tablespn. flour
crust
Prepare apples according to directions for apple sauce, p. 47, cut the
quarters in two if large, then in halves crosswise. This will give
irregular shaped pieces which when placed in the crust will allow
spaces for the steam to come in contact with the fruit and cook it more
quickly and thoroughly than when packed in slices.
Mix the sugar, flour and salt for each pie in a bowl by itself. When
the bottom crust is on the pan, spread about half the sugar mixture
over it, put in a generous quantity of apples so that when baked the
pie will be level, not depressed, and sprinkle the remainder of the
mixture over, taking pains to have a little more at the edges because
of not having any underneath there. It is very disappointing to find
the last mouthfuls of pie near the crust less sweet than the first from
the center.
Be sure that the edge of the under crust is moistened, lay on the
upper crust as directed, press the edges down well, trim off the extra
crust (unless you fold it under the bottom crust), and with the thumb
and forefinger press the edges well together.
Make incisions in the crust with a sharp pointed knife for the steam
to escape, bind the edges with strips of cloth and bake in a moderate
oven, turning occasionally, for ¾-1 hour. To be sure that the apples
are tender try them with a broom splint through the spaces in the crust.
Brown sugar or molasses may be used to sweeten apple pies once in a
while as some people are very fond of those sweets. The nice dried
greening apples that we get sometimes may be soaked over night and used
the same as fresh apples.
=Other Fruit Pies=
=Apple and Elder-berry=--1½ pt. apple prepared as for apple pie, 1 pt.
elder-berries, ¾ cup sugar, 1 tablespn. flour, 2 teaspns. lemon juice,
salt. Lemon juice may be omitted. A smaller proportion of elder-berries
maybe used and the pie still be delicious.
=Dutch Apple=--Fill a buttered pie plate with apples without sugar, dot
with bits of butter, cover with a rather thick crust and bake. Invert
on dessert plate, sprinkle with sugar (mixed with coriander if liked)
and serve hot.
=Phoebe’s, Delicious=--Nearly fill the crust with dry, nicely seasoned,
fresh apple sauce; cover with a ⅓ inch layer of raspberry jam which has
been beaten so as to spread well; bake. The jam may be put on after the
pie is baked, or both apple and jam may be put into a baked crust. The
pie may have a meringue, but Phoebe’s didn’t.--It may also be baked
with two crusts.
=Rhubarb and Apple=--1¼ qt. rhubarb, ⅓-½ cup thick, slightly sweetened,
strained apple sauce, 1½ cup sugar, 2½ tablespns. flour, ¼ teaspn.
salt. Mix apple sauce with rhubarb and proceed as in apple pie.
=Blueberry=--Scant 1 qt. berries, 1 tablespn. flour, ¼ teaspn. salt. A
little water if berries are dry.
=Mock Cherry=--1½ cup cranberries, ¾ cup seeded raisins, ¾ cup sugar,
1½ tablespn. flour, a pinch of salt, 1¼ cup boiling water. Mix sugar,
flour and salt; pour boiling water over and boil up. Cut cranberries in
halves and raisins in small pieces with the shears and add to syrup. 2
crusts.
=Cranberry and Raisin=--1 cup ground cranberries (2 cups before
grinding), 1 cup ground raisins (1½ cup before grinding), 1 cup sugar,
1 tablespn. flour, 1¼ cup water, salt. Mix sugar, flour and salt; pour
boiling water over, stirring, boil up, add cranberries and raisins. 2
crusts, or strips of pastry across top.
=Cranberry=--1 lb. (4⅔ cups) whole berries, 1½ cup sugar, 1 tablespn.
flour, ¼-½ cup water, 2 crusts.
=Stewed Cranberry=--Fill crust with thick, strained, stewed
cranberries, sweetened. Put strips of crust across the top in squares
or diamonds.
=Currant=--1 qt. ripe red currants, 1¼ cup sugar, 3 or 4 tablespns.
flour, ¼ teaspn. salt, 2 crusts. Bake well.
=Black Currant=--Black currants with sugar, flour, salt and water make
a delicious pie. They should not be laid too thick in the plate. A
layer of thin slices of apple with the currants is good.
=Currant and Raspberry=--About ⅓ raspberries to ⅔ currants, sugar,
flour, salt.
=Currant and Raisin=--2½ cups red currants, 1 cup chopped raisins, ¾
cup sugar, 2 tablespns. flour, ¼ teaspn. salt.
=Elder-berry=--To each pint of elder-berries use 1 tablespn. lemon
juice, ½-1 cup sugar, ½-1 tablespn. flour, ¼ teaspn. salt.
=Fig--Mrs. Webster=--1 lb. figs, 1 cup sugar, 3 cups water, 1½-2
tablespns. lemon juice, salt. Wash and grind or chop the figs, pour the
water over them warm and let stand over night; add grated rind of ½ the
lemon with other ingredients. 2 crusts.
=Green Gooseberry=--1 qt. berries, 1¼ cup sugar, 1 tablespn. flour, ½
teaspn. salt.
=★ Mince Filling=
3 pts. chopped tart apples
3 cups (1 lb.) seeded raisins, chopped
½ cup lemon juice
1 cup strong cereal coffee
1½ cup nice-flavored dark molasses
1-2 teaspns. salt
2 teaspns. ground coriander seed
Grind raisins through medium cutter, then the apples which have been
pared, quartered and cored; mix all the ingredients and heat to
boiling; put into jars and seal, or keep in cool place in stone jar.
Add a little water if necessary when making pies and do not fill crusts
too nearly full. Make a lattice-work top of strips of pastry sometimes,
instead of a top crust. Serve warm as a rule. Follow this recipe
exactly.
We may use a little browned flour and water instead of the cereal
coffee.
=Green Tomato Mince-meat=
1 pk. green tomatoes
2 lbs. (6 cups) raisins
1⅓ tablespn. ground coriander seed
5 teaspns. salt
5-6 cups brown sugar
4 cups strong cereal coffee
(or 4 tablespns. sugar, caramelized, and water added)
1 cup lemon juice
Chop or grind the tomatoes, drain, measure the juice and add an equal
quantity of water in its place. Grind the raisins rather coarse,
combine all ingredients except lemon juice, cook 30 m., or until done,
add lemon juice, boil up, put into jars and seal if intending to keep
for some time.
=Crumb Mince-meat=
1 cup cracker or dry bread crumbs
1 cup molasses
1 cup sugar
½ cup lemon juice
1½ cup water
½ teaspn. ground coriander seed
1 tablespn. butter
Mix, boil, put into crusts. Grape juice may be used for part of the
water with or without the coriander seed.
=Sour Cream Mince--Annie Carter=--1 cup sour cream, 1 tablespn. flour,
1 egg, ¾ cup sugar, 1 cup seedless raisins, steamed; two crusts. Bake
just long enough to set the egg and bake the crust. The crust need not
be quite as rich as for fruit pies. One tablespn. of lemon juice may be
used. May use chopped seeded raisins or English currants in place of
seedless raisins. The sugar may be flavored with oil of lemon.
=Fresh Peach=--Put sliced ripe peaches in baked crust; sprinkle with
sugar and cover with whipped cream or an uncooked meringue. Serve at
once. Cut pie before covering with cream or meringue. _Mellow bananas_
may be substituted for peaches and a very delicate sprinkling of sugar
used.
=Prune=--Pitted stewed prunes in quarters, flour, salt and a little
sugar. Do not make filling too thick as it is solid. Two crusts.
Delicious.
=Prune=--Thick prune pulp, slightly sweetened or not, one crust, strips
of pastry over top if convenient. May have meringue with or without
grated lemon rind, or may be covered with whipped cream after cutting.
=Raisin=--1 cup chopped raisins, 1 cup water, ½ cup brown sugar, 1
tablespn. flour. Mix sugar and flour, pour boiling water over, boil
up well, add raisins, cool, bake between two crusts. Vanilla or lemon
flavoring may be used.
=Raisin Meringue=--Add yolks of 2 eggs to filling of raisin pie with or
without 1 tablespn. of butter a moment before removing from the fire;
when heated, add vanilla, turn into baked crust and meringue with the
2 whites of eggs. Milk may be used instead of water and white sugar
instead of brown.
=Raisin Lemon=
1⅓ cup water
¾-⅞ cup sugar
1 level tablespn. butter
¾ cup seeded raisins
4 tablespns. flour
3 tablespns. lemon juice and pulp
grated rind of 1 lemon
1 egg,
salt
Mix sugar and flour, pour boiling water over, add butter and raisins,
cook; when raisins look plump, remove from fire, add remaining
ingredients and bake between 2 crusts. The raisins may be chopped.
=Rhubarb=--1-1¼ qt. rhubarb, in ¾ in. pieces, 1½ cup sugar, 2½
tablespns. flour, ¼ teaspn. salt.
=Rhubarb and Pineapple=
1 large pt. rhubarb
1⅔ cup shredded pineapple
1¼ cup sugar
2½ tablespns. flour
¼ teaspn. salt
=Elizabeth’s Rhubarb=--1 cup chopped rhubarb, ½ cup molasses, ½ cup
chopped or ground raisins. 2 crusts.
=Rhubarb and Strawberry=
1 pt. fresh rhubarb
1 rounded pt. strawberries
1¼ cup sugar
2 tablespns. corn starch (or
3 tablespns. of flour)
¼ teaspn. salt
=Canned Rhubarb=
Scant quart canned rhubarb
1¼ cup sugar
2 tablespns. flour
¼ teaspn. salt
=Strawberry Meringue=--Put thin layer of universal crust in shallow
pudding dish or deep pie pan; when light bake; fill with berries,
sprinkle with sugar, and meringue with the whites of 2 or 3 eggs, and
1½ tablespn. sugar.
=Green Tomato--Harriet=
1 qt. sliced tomatoes
1 cup sugar
3 tablespns. flour
½ teaspn. salt
Select tomatoes that are just going to turn, or that may be a little
white, or that may have a trifle of red on one side, not those that
are at all ripe, yet not very green ones. Make pie in pudding dish or
shallow granite basin and do not have the crust come quite to the top.
Bake very slowly, after the first 10 m., for 2 hours. The pie is not
good unless baked slowly for a long time.