First Pie Making

I am not a baker, I have made chocolate chip cookies, Christmas sugar cookies, and cheesecake. But The precision and patience required to bake a pie is not something I felt I could handle with the stress of working, caring for a family, etc. But, that is all changed now that I am retired. I can spend the time to learn the technique and to slowly and patiently build the pie, so that is what I am trying to do.

I have a subscription to Master Class, which offers a variety of online courses that you can take at your own convenience. I have taken a class on building a Capsule Wardrobe, very fun. I have taken some writing courses, and some cooking courses. This time I am taking a Baking course and so far am having fun learning the chemistry involved in baking. I appreciate the explanation of the chemistry involved in each technique which really explains why it is so important to follow the instructions on things like “room temperature eggs” or “cold butter”, and mixing for 20 minutes, or for only a few turns of the paddle. Before I thought the goal was just to mix things together, so what did it matter if you spin it for 5 minutes versus 20. Well, I now know why and I have to say the few things I have made so far are so much better than my previous efforts.

Today, well, really over the past three days, I made a blueberry lemon pie. I made a Pâte Brisée, which the French description for the type of pie dough. I learned this term for the first time in the cooking demonstration and love that there is a French name for a basic pie dough. I also learned another French baking technique, fraisage, which is when you take the “shaggy” mixed pre-dough and slide your palm down the dough to smear it along the counter surface. This further smashes down the butter to mix it into the dough and really turns the shaggy mix into a soft dough. It is a very tactile experience, floured hands mixing and shaping the dough, very satisfying.

I learned how to properly roll out the dough – no back and forth rolling which creates gluten – just smooth roll from the middle of the dough away from you, and then from the middle and smooth back toward you. Again, there is something very satisfying about transforming the dough from a blob into a smooth, thin layer. I did still have trouble with uneven edges, I am not sure how the pro was able to get her layer so even. But I was actually quite surprised at how large I was able to get the dough layer so when I went to place it on the pie plate, it really did cover the edges. I thought it was way too small at first, but it seemed to fit very nicely. I “docked” the dough which is a fancy word for poking it all over with a fork so that the air can escape while cooking and the dough does not puff up. I also “blind baked” the dough, using newly purchased pie weights and again was shocked at how lovely the crust looked after baking. I was a bit disappointed at how much the dough shrunk, it now did not fully cover the edges, so I wished I had made the dough a bit larger to accommodate that shrinkage – next time.

This activity was a three-day affair. Why? Well, you must chill the Pâte Brisée overnight so that the dough is very cold before you roll it out (note: this prevents the flour that you must use to prevent sticking from being absorbed in the dough when you roll it out – who knew! If the flour is absorbed, it can make the dough chewy, not a good thing.) Then after you place the dough in the pie plate you must chill again for at least an hour before you blind bake it. By that time, I was busy with other things and delayed the making of the pie filling until the next day – day three. Note that this is where the patience and precision I could not accommodate before, fit perfectly nicely into my retired schedule.

Finally, I made the blueberry lemon filling, a simple process of making a fresh blueberry jam and mixing in tons of blueberries with lemon zest. Then I had to again roll out the remaining dough that I had saved for the lattice topping and make thin strips to lay across the top of the pie before baking. I was surprised again that I was able to make fairly straight, uniform strips that fit across the top of the pie plate. The instructions are to remove from baking when the crust is golden brown, which I thought I did. However, after it started cooling I could see that the bottom layer of lattice was not quite golden, so it is possible it will be a bit mushy. I think it will take many more efforts at pie baking before I will know precisely when to remove the pie from the oven. However, I feel so proud of my first effort. We enjoyed the pie after our Sunday family dinner, and it was delicious and the crust was not at all mushy! The family thought the crust could have been thicker, so next time I will need to roll it out less – I never would have thought that would be the issue.

I feel so much more relaxed now that it has been five months since I fully retired. Things, like pie making, that I thought were far too difficult for me to tackle, do not seem out of reach anymore. I have joined a book club at my local library, also something I never had time for before, and I am really enjoying that new activity. When you are deep into your work and career it is hard to understand the pressure and stress you endure daily when working full time and caring for your family. It is not until I stopped working, got used to a day filled not with back-to-back meetings, but with exercise, gardening, meditation, education, family and friends, “reach” activities and fun frivolities like baking blueberry pie, that I really begin to understand what relaxation and inner calm feels like. I truly loved my career and everything that I accomplished, and I can start to feel now that I will have a similar sense of satisfaction in this new phase of life.