Pie: its good for what ails ya.
Well, I'm back to making pies. Friday night after work I made an apple: 
and then Saturday morning a blue/black/raspberry:
The apple pie was good, so I am glad that most people ate that one. Its pretty hard to screw up apple. Or maybe I just think that because I've baked so many of them. The berry wasn't quite up to my standards. While it looked pretty good, the bottom crust did not seem quite done to me. (Although it came out of the pie plate easily, so maybe it was fine.) Maybe the crust wasn't rolled thin enough. I also think next time I do a berry, I might try a shortbread crust. I also am struggling to make a berry pie (with blackberries and raspberries that doesn't turn out so WET. I have yet to find the way to do this. I have seen recipes that call for tapioca. I don't want to cook the berries but maybe it can be mixed in and not cooked, to function like cornstarch? I don't know. Last summer Tim and I made a blueberry/strawberry that turned out gorgeous (wasn't really wet). Those berries don't yield a lot of juice. I have a lot to learn with regard to pies and not following an exact recipe.
Last year I just wanted to make as many different kinds as I could. Now I'm more interested in quality over quantity. While I'd like to make lots of different kinds, just for the experience, I'd like to do a better job on the ones I produce. I think baking is pretty much science. Someone else has figured out the dry stuff to wet stuff ratio and what percentage of what is needed to make something rise etc. (none of that was meant to sound dirty, but in retrospect, well, you know.) So if I'm not going to follow an exact recipe, I have to account for the ratios of things to balance or I'll have a mess on my hands.
I need to work on different types of crusts, as well as making them more decorative. The pastry wheel makes for decent lattice tops. But I have pastry shape-cutters, thanks to my awesome friend, wakked_out . I need to be brave and use them! I've tried a couple times and chickened out. Unacceptable. I've come to terms with why I don't try to do cakes or cupcakes: (aside from having a friend that already does them so gorgeously) I am not good at decoration. I am not that artistic. And pie dough is hard to work with. But its time to try a little harder. Challenge myself. I learned a few things from the pies I made last year. And now its time to work a bit harder and accomplish something new rather than just make the same old easy pies that I know I'm good at. I'm not sure what's up next, but I'm open to suggestions.
and then Saturday morning a blue/black/raspberry:
The apple pie was good, so I am glad that most people ate that one. Its pretty hard to screw up apple. Or maybe I just think that because I've baked so many of them. The berry wasn't quite up to my standards. While it looked pretty good, the bottom crust did not seem quite done to me. (Although it came out of the pie plate easily, so maybe it was fine.) Maybe the crust wasn't rolled thin enough. I also think next time I do a berry, I might try a shortbread crust. I also am struggling to make a berry pie (with blackberries and raspberries that doesn't turn out so WET. I have yet to find the way to do this. I have seen recipes that call for tapioca. I don't want to cook the berries but maybe it can be mixed in and not cooked, to function like cornstarch? I don't know. Last summer Tim and I made a blueberry/strawberry that turned out gorgeous (wasn't really wet). Those berries don't yield a lot of juice. I have a lot to learn with regard to pies and not following an exact recipe.
Last year I just wanted to make as many different kinds as I could. Now I'm more interested in quality over quantity. While I'd like to make lots of different kinds, just for the experience, I'd like to do a better job on the ones I produce. I think baking is pretty much science. Someone else has figured out the dry stuff to wet stuff ratio and what percentage of what is needed to make something rise etc. (none of that was meant to sound dirty, but in retrospect, well, you know.) So if I'm not going to follow an exact recipe, I have to account for the ratios of things to balance or I'll have a mess on my hands.
I need to work on different types of crusts, as well as making them more decorative. The pastry wheel makes for decent lattice tops. But I have pastry shape-cutters, thanks to my awesome friend, wakked_out . I need to be brave and use them! I've tried a couple times and chickened out. Unacceptable. I've come to terms with why I don't try to do cakes or cupcakes: (aside from having a friend that already does them so gorgeously) I am not good at decoration. I am not that artistic. And pie dough is hard to work with. But its time to try a little harder. Challenge myself. I learned a few things from the pies I made last year. And now its time to work a bit harder and accomplish something new rather than just make the same old easy pies that I know I'm good at. I'm not sure what's up next, but I'm open to suggestions.