Chapter 40

2. Chapter 40 Pies and Tarts

3. Objective • Explain how to prepare quality dough for pies and tarts

4. Pies • The way in which ingredients are combined and baked can make the difference between a mediocre pie and a great one

5. Dough • Pie dough is a simple mixture of flour, fat, liquid, and salt • Selecting the right ingredients will help produce a better finished piecrust

6. Flour • Pastry flour produces a delicate piecrust, rather than dense and chewy, because it is lower in gluten and higher in starch

7. Fat • The choice of fat is the most important factor in creating a piecrust with an excellent texture • Fats commonly used for piecrusts include butter, lard, and vegetable-based solid shortenings

8. Fat • Considerations when choosing a fat for piecrust • Butter • good flavor • expensive • lower melting point produces crust that isn’t as flaky

9. Fat • Considerations when choosing a fat for piecrust (continued) • Lard • higher melting point creates flakier texture than butter • flavor objectionable to some • dietary restrictions may prohibit its use

10. Fat • Considerations when choosing a fat for piecrust (continued) • Vegetable-based solid shortenings • reasonably priced • neutral flavor • high melting point creates flaky crust

11. Liquid • The liquid used in pie dough can be water or milk • Water is most common • Milk helps the crust brown more quickly • Liquid should be ice cold

12. Mixing • Mixing is important for developing a particular texture in a finished piecrust • Two distinct textures of finished piecrust include • flaky pie dough: commonly used for fruit-filled pies • mealy pie dough: used for pies with liquid fillings because it resists becoming soggy

13. Mixing • Do not overmix or overwork either type of dough to avoid developing too much gluten

14. Rolling and Forming • Allow the dough to chill before rolling • Don’t try to roll out more dough at one time than is needed • Once the piecrust is formed, the raw pie shell is ready for the filling

15. Rolling and Forming • After the filling is added, there are three options for finishing the pie • Uncovered: pies with liquid fillings generally have no top crust • Solid top crust: cut holes or vents in the top crust to allow steam to escape during baking • Lattice top: strips of dough are woven into a sheet and placed on the pie to create a decorative top crust

16. Rolling and Forming • Egg wash is commonly used to seal the top and bottom crusts together and to give the top crust a brown shiny finish • The edge of the pie dough can be crimped or decorated to seal it and add eye appeal

17. Technique: Forming a Piecrust • Dust work surface with flour to prevent dough from sticking. Place a 9-oz. piece of workable dough on the work surface and dust the top of dough with flour.

18. Technique: Forming a Piecrust • Apply even pressure with the rolling pin and periodically turn the dough 90 degrees to produce an even sheet of dough.

19. Technique: Forming a Piecrust • (continued) Dust the dough and work surface with more flour as needed to prevent sticking.

20. Technique: Forming a Piecrust • Roll dough to ⅛-inch (2 mm) thickness. Either fold the dough in quarters or roll it over the rolling pin to transfer it to the pie pan without tearing.

21. Technique: Forming a Piecrust • (continued) Lay the sheet of pie dough in the pie pan and gently press it into the corners.

22. Technique: Forming a Piecrust • Trim the excess dough from the edges by pressing the side of your hand against the rim of the pie pan.

23. Objective • Classify traditional fillings for pies

24. Pie Fillings • Come in a variety of flavors and textures

25. Pie Fillings • Some are baked with the crust, while others are added after the crust is baked • Must be properly thickened and paired with the appropriate piecrust

26. Fruit Fillings • Raw Fruit Fillings • Mixed with sugar, spices, and a starchy thickener • As pie bakes, moisture from the fruit and starch create a thickened filling • Rarely used in foodservice because thickness of fillings are inconsistent • Underthickened fillings can result in a soggy pie

27. Fruit Fillings • Cooked Fruit Fillings • Either the fruit or fruit juice is sweetened and thickened on the stove top • Bakers can control the thickness of the filling before the pie is baked • For delicate or frozen fruits, cook and thicken the juice and then mix the fruit back into the thickened juice

28. Most contain eggs that coagulate and thicken the filling during baking Pies with liquid fillings are best baked with mealy pie dough Can you name some examples of liquid pie fillings? Liquid Fillings

29. Cream and Chiffon Fillings • Cream pies are made with a pudding or pastry cream filling • Use a prebaked pie shell or a pie shell with a crumb crust • The consistency of the filling should be thick, so slices hold their shape when cut • Chiffon pies are a lighter version of cream pies with gelatin and whipped cream added to make it airy and firm

30. Objective • Summarize how tarts differ from pies

31. Tarts • Similar to pies because of the nature of their pastry crusts

32. Tarts • Much shallower than pies at only ½ to ¾ inches (1.5 to 2 cm) deep • The classical shape for tarts is round with fluted sides, but tarts can also be square, rectangular, or oval

33. Tarts • Tartlets are small individual tarts of any shape

34. Dough • Depending on the type of filling, short dough or sweet dough may be used for making tarts • They are both rolled and formed in the same manner as pie dough

35. Short Dough • Short dough, also called pâte brisée (paht breez AY), is used with savory fillings for items such as quiche, hors d’oeuvres, and canapés

36. Sweet Dough • Sweet dough, also called pâte sucrée (paht soo CRAY), often has flavorings such as ground nuts, extracts, and cocoa powder added to it

37. Blind Baking • Tarts and tartlets are often filled with ingredients that do not need further cooking or baking

38. Blind Baking • Before being filled, the tart shells are blind baked • The dough is lined with parchment paper and then small, loose weights such as dried beans or ball bearings are placed on top of the paper

39. Filling and Decorating • Pastry cream is the most common filling for tarts made with sweet dough • After filling with pastry cream, the tart can be decorated with fresh fruit

40. Filling and Decorating • A thin layer of apricot pastry glaze is brushed on the surface

41. Objective • Recognize the characteristics and uses of puff pastry

42. Puff Pastry • The texture of baked puff pastry is light, delicate, and extremely flaky

43. Puff Pastry • Puff pastry is a roll-in or laminated dough like croissant and Danish dough • Ready-made puff pastry is often used because it is time and labor intensive to make

44. Puff Pastry • A basic dough made with flour, butter, and water is prepared. • A layer of butter shortening is spread onto the dough. • The dough is folded and then rolled out. • The process of folding and rolling the dough is repeated multiple times.

45. Puff Pastry • The process creates many very thin layers of fat in the dough that give it a flaky texture when baked

46. Puff Pastry • Puff pastry is • layered with pastry cream to create a napoleon • used for making pastry cases or containers that can be filled with various savory or sweet fillings • used to wrap various products before they are baked, called en croute (ehn KREWT)

47. Name the four ingredients used to make pie dough Flour Fat Liquid Salt Review

48. How does the fat used to make the dough affect the texture of the finished crust? Fats with higher melting points create a flakier crust Review

49. What liquids are generally used to make pie dough? Water Milk Review

50. Name the two textures of pie dough Flaky pie dough Mealy pie dough Review