PIES AND TARTS

Learning Goals

• Describe the ingredients used to make pies, as well as how they impact the final product.

• Properly execute a recipe for berry pies, including the pie crust and filling.

• Explain how preparation techniques used to make a pie impact the final product.

• Create an attractive presentation by applying a decorative edge to pies.

• Accurately evaluate a pie based on overall appearance, texture, and taste.

• Apply learned concepts while reflecting on the properties of your final product.

Warm-Up

Think about the best pie you have ever had and describe it in detail. What kind was it? What

did it taste like? Why was it so good?

If you have never eaten pie before, what do you know about it? When is it served? What are its

characteristics?

Important Vocabulary

• Gluten: A protein found in wheat, barley, and rye flour that adds strength and structure to baked goods.

• Gluten strands get longer and stronger the more you “work” the dough (mix, knead, handle, etc).

• Certain ingredients help gluten get longer and stronger, other ingredients make gluten shorter and weaker.

Important Vocabulary

• Unbaked Pies/Tarts: Crust is baked alone, and the cooked filling is added later.

• Baked Pies/Tarts: Filling is placed into a raw pie shell and the entire pie is baked at once.

Single Crust

Double Crust

Lattice-

Topped

Crumb-Topped

Pie Crusts

Ingredients

Ingredients

Flour

Fat

Ice Water

Salt

Sugar

Vinegar

Flour

• Flour adds structure to the crust.

• Wheat flour contains protein called gluten that gives baked goods their structure.

• These gluten strands get longer and stronger depending on how long we knead or mix the dough.

• We can shorten gluten strands by adding other ingredients.

Fat

• Fats are used to shorten the gluten strands in the crust and create a flakey texture.

• When pie crusts bake, steam is created, which helps form flakey layers.

• Shortening• Butter• Lard

Salt

• Salt mainly contributes flavor, but it also helps to tenderize the dough by breaking up the gluten strands.

Sugar

• A tablespoon or two of sugar adds a slight sweetness to the pie crust.

• Sugar also makes the crust slightly more crisp.

Ice Water

• Water is necessary to develop some gluten in the flour and to give structure and flakiness to the dough.

• Too much – crust is tough• Too little- crust falls apart

• We use ice water to keep the dough as cold as possible, which makes the final product very flakey.

Vinegar

• Vinegar is the secret to an extra flakey pie crust.

• Much like salt and fat, vinegar helps to shorten the gluten strands, making the crust tender and flakey.

• Just a tablespoon of vinegar is needed for one double-crust pie recipe.

Flakey Pie Crust

All pie ingredients should be nearly ice cold before they are blended.

This ensures a nice, flakey pie crust.

Flakey Pie Crust

• For flaky dough, the fat is cut into the flour, sugar, and salt until the butter or shortening is the size of peas or small chocolate chips.

• Just enough water is added to moisten the flour and form a shaggy dough.

• The dough should rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before rolling to allow the gluten to relax and the starch to absorb moisture.

Pie Crust Troubleshooting

• Overmixed, not enough fat, too much water, too much handling, flour too strong (too much protein in the flour)Tough

• Not enough water, too much fat, improper mixing, flour too weak (not enough protein in the flour)Crumbly

• Oven temperature too low, filling hot when put in shell, not baked long enough Soggy

• Dough overworked, not enough fat, flour too strong, too much water, dough stretched when put in pans, dough not rested

Shrinking

• Not enough fat, overmixed, fat blended too much, dough was too warm and the fat melted before baking

Not Flakey

Pie Crust Activity

Create a mini poster with your group members that highlights one

troubleshooting issue. Your poster MUST include what caused the issue, how it can

be prevented, and an illustration describing the issue.

Tarts and Tartlets

Warm-Up

How does gluten impact baked goods, especially pie crusts?

What happens if we have too much gluten? Too little?

What ingredients and techniques can we use to shorten gluten strands? Lengthen gluten

strands?

Learning Goals

Students will be able to…

• identify the types of ingredients used to make four types of tart crust, and how they impact the final product.

• distinguish between the different preparation techniques used to make each tart crust.

• define the term blind baking and list the steps needed to complete this process.

• taste four different types of tart crust and describe their similarities and differences.

Important Vocabulary

Pate Brisee

“broken”

Butter: Pea-SizedSugar: May or May Not

Pate Sucre

“sugar”

Butter: Cornmeal-sizedSugar: Always

Pate Sablee

“sandy”

Butter: CreamedSugar: Always

Tart Facts

• Tarts are very similar to pies, but they are shallow, have a fluted edge, and no top crust.

• Instead of a top crust, they usually have a garnish, such as whipped cream, meringue, sliced fruit, chopped nuts, or shaved chocolate.

• The crust is usually a pȃte sablee, pȃte sucre, pȃte brisée, or crumb crust.

• Tarts can be either baked or unbaked.

Types of Tart Dough

Types of Tart

Dough

Pate Brisee

Pate Sucre

Pate Sablee

Crumb Crusts

Pȃte Brisee

• Pate Brisee (pa-tay bri-zay) is the same dough used to make pie crust.

• Butter is cut into flour and salt until it is in pea-sized pieces. Ice water is then added.

• May or may not contain sugar.

Pȃte Sucre

• Pȃte sucre (pa-tay soo-cray) contains eggs or egg yolks and a small amount of sugar.

• The butter is mixed until it resembles coarse cornmeal instead of peas.

• This dough is tender like

pie crust, but slightly more rich and sweet.

Pate Sablee

• Short dough, or pȃte sablee (pa-tay say-blee), is a type of crust that is made much like shortbread bars or cookies.

• It does not rise and flake like pie crust, hence the name short dough.

• Fat and sugar are creamed together and followed by eggs, flour, and salt.

• This crust is sweet, tender, and buttery.

Crumb Crusts

• Crushed graham crackers or cookies can also be used as a crust for tarts or pies.

• These items are crushed, mixed with melted butter, pressed into pie pans or tart shells, and baked for a short period of time.

• Crumb crusts are very

similar to a cheesecake crust.

Blind Baking

• Blind baking is when a pie or tart crust is baked before the filling is added.

• Tart crusts are blind baked for two reasons…• The filling cooks faster

than the crust.

• The tart is unbaked and cooked filling is added later.

Blind Baking

• Before blind baking, the pie crust must be lined with a protective barrier, like tinfoil or parchment paper.

• Next, beans or pie weights are placed on top of this lining to keep the pie crust from rising and puffing up.

• The crust is baked until the edges are golden brown. Then, the weights and lining are removed so the middle of the crust can darken.

Crust Troubleshooting

• Baked too long, butter and sugar not mixed enough, used granulated sugar instead of powdered sugar

Too Crunchy/Hard

• Not baked long enough, too much flourToo Crumbly

• Pie weights or beans not used when blind baking, too much fat, too much sugarShrinking

• Not baked long enough, pie weights and tinfoil not removed

Pale Appearance (too light in

color)

Ticket Out the Door

List two facts you learned about each tart crust and any questions you have about

tart crusts.

Pie and Tart Fillings

Tart Fillings

Fillings

Fruit

CustardPastry Cream

Curds

Frangipane Chiffon

Ganache

Filling Activity

In groups of two, create a poster to describe the tart filling given to you.

Your poster must include a description of the filling, list and/or illustration of ingredients used, and an illustration that represents the filling.

Fruit

• Fruit fillings can be fresh or cooked

• Fresh fruit can be placed on top of a tart or pie and brushed with a glaze for shininess.

• Fruit can also be cooked and held together by a gel consisting of fruit juice, water, sugar, spices, and a starch thickener.

• This cooking can be done during or before baking.

Custards

• Custard pies are made with a liquid consisting of eggs, sugar, flavorings, spices, and either milk, cream, or syrups.

• These liquids are placed in the pie shell uncooked and baked to coagulate the eggs, creating a soft, smooth filling.

• This includes pies such as pecan, custard, and pumpkin.

Curds

• Citrus curds are made of eggs, citrus juice, and a thickener.

• Cooked curds are cooked separately from the crust and are placed into a pre-baked pie or tart shell.

• Uncooked curds are placed into an uncooked or blind-baked crust and baked in the oven to solidify, much like a custard.

Chiffon

• Chiffon fillings have a light, fluffy texture that is created by the addition of whipped egg whites or whipped cream.

• These are folded into a cream or fruit base that is stabilized with gelatin.

• Chiffon fillings are placed into a pre-baked pie shell or tart crust and refrigerated to solidify.

• They come in many flavors, such as strawberry, lemon, pumpkin, and chocolate.

Frangipane

• Frangipane is a delicious filling made of ground almonds, sugar, eggs, starches, and flavorings.

• It is most commonly used in tarts and has a wonderful almond flavor.

• Frangipane is also popular in other pastries, such as Danishes.

• Frangipane is baked, much like a custard.

Pastry Creams

• Pastry cream is a mixture of milk and/or cream, sugar, flavorings, eggs, and starch.

• These ingredients are combined and cooked until solidified into a creamy gel.

• Pastry cream is placed into a pre-baked pie shell or tart crust.

• Also used for cream puffs, Boston cream pie, and napoleons.

Ganache

• Chocolate ganache is made with melted chocolate, heavy cream, and sometimes salt and flavorings.

• Ganache is placed in a pre-baked pie crust or tart shell and is refrigerated to solidify.

• Creates a rich, truffle-like filling.

Filling Troubleshooting

Too Runny

•Not enough thickening agent (cornstarch), filling was not brought to a simmer

Too Thick •Too much thickener, too many egg yolks

Lumpy •Cooked too long, ice bath was not used, filling was not strained after cooking

Ticket Out the Door

List three things you learned during today’s lesson and three things you would like to

know more about or are having trouble understanding.

Picture Credits

Flour: http://jessica.mcrackan.com/2010/08/tomato-pie.html Fat: http://notwithoutsalt.com/2010/12/14/quick-puff-pastry/ Liquid: http://zoebakes.com/2008/06/23/perfect-pie-dough-101-lattice-top/ Salt: http://kimscountyline.blogspot.com/2010/07/sweet-as-pie.html Flakey Pie Crust: http://www.thewrightrecipes.com/sweets/the-best-pie-dough-and-apple-pie Blind Bake: http://blog.williams-sonoma.com/how-to-blind-bake-a-pie-or-tart/ Tarts and Tartlets: http://erincooks.wordpress.com/2007/08/14/raspberry-tart/ Tart Facts: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/strawberry-tarts-recipe/index.html Short Dough: http://www.sugarcoatedkitchen.com/tag/short-dough Pate Brisee: http://youcandoitathome.blogspot.com/2010/10/produce-from-garden-silverbeet-

ricotta.html Crumb Crusts: http://blogs.menupages.com/southflorida/2008/06/ Fruits: http://www.foodgal.com/2009/11/new-bakery-gourmet-turkey-sandwich-pastry-chefs-

event-more/ Curds: http://www.foodbeam.com/2008/01/28/des-petits-nids-dans-les-citronniers-lemon-

meringue-tartlets/ Chiffon: http://www.williams-sonoma.com/recipe/cookie-crumb-crust.html Frangipane: http://melangerbaking.com/2010/04/23/raspberry-lemon-frangipane-slice/ Pastry Cream: http://glutenfreecanteen.com/2012/04/18/orange-meringue-tarts-gluten-free/ Ganache: http://www.delish.com/recipes/cooking-recipes/martha-stewart-chocolate-desserts