< Previous42 / PIE SCHOOL To transfer the dough to the pie plate, slide a bench scraper underneath it to unstick it from the rolling surface. Then slide the bench scraper as far as you can beneath an edge of the dough and quickly, confidently (fake it until you make it) fold the dough in half. Fold it again. Now your dough is in quarters, with the middle of the dough conveniently folded into a point. Place that point in the middle of your pie dish and unfold the dough. Quickly, confidently, tuck it gently into the corners of the pan. Don’t stretch the dough! It has a memory; it will bounce back. Trim the dough’s edges so they hang only 1 inch off the edge of the plate. Too much overhang will create too big of a folded edge, which may not bake all the way through. Don’t tuck this overhang into the plate just yet; wait for the top crust. Place the bottom crust in the refrigerator while you prepare the filling and top crust. Roll out the top crust the same way you rolled out the bottom crust. While the top crust is folded in quarters, try cutting designs into it as you would a paper snowflake, making cuts or half-shapes at the folded edges of the dough so that when you unfold it over the pie, full shapes and V’s appear, providing decoration and ventilation. Place the point of the quarter-folded top crust in the center of the pie filling and unfold the crust over the top of the pie. Trim the crust so it hangs only 1 inch over the edge of the pie plate. Create a folded edge by tucking both layers of pastry into the pie plate. Crimp with your fingers or use the tines of a fork to make a decorative edge. Cut large vents, if you haven’t already cut them, into the top crust, brush the top crust with egg white wash (but not the edges, which will brown before the rest of the pie), sprinkle with sugar, and bake according to the recipe’s instructions.The Art and Science of Pie / 43 7. Center your top crust by placing the point of the folded dough in the center of the filled pie. 10. Create a folded edge by tucking both layers of pastry into the pie plate. 9. Trim the crust so it hangs only 1 inch over the edge of the pie plate. 12. Crimp with your fingers to make a decorative edge. 8. Unfold the crust over the pie. 11. Fold the edge, don’t pinch, into place.The Perfect Peach / 133 Peach Potpie The only difference between a peach potpie and a peach pie is a bottom crust: peach pie has one, peach potpie doesn’t. Need to bake a pie two or three days before anyone can enjoy it? Make a peach potpie. Peaches are notoriously, deliriously juicy. Given a few days to sulk on the counter, they’ll sog up a bottom crust like no one’s business. If you can eat the pie right away, I’d recommend a traditional double-crust pie. There’s just no beating that. 1. Make the dough and refrigerate it for at least an hour, or overnight. 2. If the peaches are very fuzzy, skin them before slicing. The easiest way is to dip them in boiling water for 10 seconds and then shock them in an ice bath. The peels will shred from the fruit with just a little rubbing. If the peaches have toothsome skins, leave them on. Slice them ¼ inch thick and put them in a medium bowl. Add the honey, salt, nutmeg, and lemon juice. Taste and adjust the flavors as needed. Gently stir in the instant tapioca, flour, and butter and set the filling aside. 3. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. 4. Using a slotted spoon, put the peaches in a medium cast-iron pan. Pour in the juice, stopping about a ½ inch below the rim. 5. Roll out the top crust and drape it over the filling. Trim it and crimp or flute the edges. MAKES 1 PIE ½ recipe any double-crust pie dough (for a single crust) 5 to 6 large ripe peaches or nectarines (about 2 pounds) ½ cup floral-tasting honey ¹/8 teaspoon salt ¹/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg Juice of ½ medium lemon (about 1½ tablespoons) 2 tablespoons instant tapioca 2 tablespoons flour 2 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces Egg white wash (1 egg white beaten with 1 teaspoon water) Demerara sugar, for sprinkling146 / PIE SCHOOLA Tyranny of Plums / 147 Plum Thyme Pie This open-face pie (it works wonderfully as a galette too) was inspired by a small batch of plum-thyme jam, the sleeper hit of a canning marathon that also included plum ginger, plum bourbon, and plum vanilla. Thyme pushes Italian plums toward their savory side. 1. Make the dough. Roll out the bottom crust and place it in a 9- to 9½-inch plate. Tuck the crust into the plate, trim the edges, and fold them into a ridge. Refrigerate the crust while you prepare the next steps of the recipe. 2. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. 3. In a large bowl combine the plums with the honey, lemon juice, thyme, butter, and salt. Taste and adjust the flavors as needed. Gently stir in the flour and set the filling aside. 4. Retrieve the bottom crust from the refrigerator. Arrange the plums inside the dough in snug concentric circles, starting at the edge and working your way in. Pour the remaining liquid, if there is any, over the top. 5. Bake the pie in the middle of the oven for 10 to 15 minutes, until the crust is blistered and blond. Reduce the heat to 350 degrees F and bake for 40 to 50 minutes more, until the crust is brown and the juices bubble slow and thick at the pie’s edge. 6. Cool on a wire rack for at least an hour. Serve warm or at room temperature, cut into wedges and accompanied by slightly sweetened whipped crème fraîche. Store leftovers on the kitchen counter loosely wrapped in a towel for up to 3 days. MAKES 1 PIE ½ recipe any double-crust pie dough (for a single crust) 5 cups (about 25 to 30 small) Italian prune plums, halved lengthwise and pitted ½ cup honey Juice of ½ medium lemon (about 1½ tablespoons) 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme leaves 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted Pinch of salt 5 tablespoons flour This pie’s success showed me that what works in jam will very likely work in pie. Which means your experi- ments in ginger, bourbon, or vanilla are likely to yield hits as well.Blackberry, Blackberry, Blackberry / 157 Blackberry, Blackberry, Blackberry Blackberry Pie 160 Marionberry Pie with Hazelnut Crumble 162 Mumbleberry (Mixed Berry) Pie 164 Free-Form Gravenstein and Blackberry Galette 167 Gluten-Free Blackberry and Honeyed Mascarpone Pie with Almond Flour Crust 169Difficult Fruits Sarvisberry Pie 202 Gooseberry and Elderflower Pie 204 Black Currant Custard Pie 207 Elderberry Pie 209 Black Chokeberry Pie 211 Huckleberry Pie 217Next >