Comments on: Split Decision pie-pan for baking two different half-pies in one go

By: Tess

Tess — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 08:05:00 +0000

Pie crust is about technique far more than it is about ingredients. You have to get your fat and flour well combined and then add just barely enough water, and you have to do it without getting too warm and melting your fat. Which means using ice water.

The simplest way that I know involves butter and flour in a food processor until well combined, then misting with ice water from a sprayer until it becomes a dough.

In my opinion, fats make better crusts than oils – anything solid at room temperature really. I usually use butter but palm oil works well; people like shortening; my grandmother swore by lard. If I can keep it cold enough, I bet coconut oil would make an awesome pastry crust. :)

By: md14

md14 — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 20:47:00 +0000

Pie crust cookies. Mmmmm….I haven’t had those since I was a little girl and my grandma made the pie crust herself. Alas, she’s in her late 80s now, and while she can still take care of herself she’s not so into baking pies for people who ought to be able to do it themselves.

By: Brian Whittle

Brian Whittle — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 12:10:00 +0000

to bake 2 half pies would be fairly dificult and you would have to pick the fillings with care, Like the post above making 2 pies would be easier, they do freeze.

By: SunjanaY

SunjanaY — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 02:23:00 +0000

lol

By: kinscore

kinscore — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 20:17:00 +0000

2π

each “half” pie is π

By: Hanglyman

Hanglyman — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 10:39:00 +0000

You’re making me feel really bad for my attempt at pie crust… I followed a recipe exactly, and the crust was this dry, crumbly dough that came in a million fragments that stuck to everything but each other. I used a recipe from 1920, but surely the ingredients haven’t changed that much?

By: zarray

zarray — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 08:53:00 +0000

One for each chin!

By: zarray

zarray — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 08:52:00 +0000

Yay! I only have whole wheat flower left over.

By: zarray

zarray — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 08:49:00 +0000

one for each upgrade in pant size

By: zarray

zarray — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 08:47:00 +0000

one for each man-boob

By: pjcamp

pjcamp — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 05:03:00 +0000

As a baker, I’ll say that it’s easier to make two whole pies than two half pies.

By: Won Word

Won Word — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 03:41:00 +0000

“Non-stick” (i.e., Teflon) pans are crap and toxic.

Do yourself a favor and get glass, ceramic, cast iron or enamel pans ( avoid aluminum, unless you like eating toxic metal with your pie).

By: azaner

azaner — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 03:10:00 +0000

I thought so too, at first, but everyone knows 2 pi r square.

By: BombBlastLightingWaltz

BombBlastLightingWaltz — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 03:00:00 +0000

This is a half baked idea.

By: a1penguin

a1penguin — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 03:00:00 +0000

But each half is a full pi, so you actually get two pi from this pan, not two halves.

By: sockdoll

sockdoll — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 01:35:00 +0000

“the like of which humanity was not meant to ken of”

Verbify that noun! Bifurcate that pastry!

By: Snig

Snig — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 23:22:00 +0000

There’s also the option of doing multiple type tarts in a muffin tin, just using regular pie dough. I’ve done key lime, raspberry and blueberry simultaneously. Raspberry and blueberry tarts for 4th of July this year. It’s a good fallback when you don’t have quite enough of any one type of fruit for a single homogenous pie, and you don’t want a gamish. Hybrid pies have their own charms, of course. Though many many pies is generally a good thing, lack of fruit, or fridge space can be a factor. Can be frozen, easier to store than an entire pie.

By: aeryn

aeryn — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 22:31:00 +0000

I’ve decided the comments have gone on too long without a pie crust recipe. This one is easy and delicious – if you have a food processor.

Whole Wheat Pie Crust (from http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/recipe.php?recipeId=952)

Makes one (9-inch) pie shell

Use this crust to make any of your favorite pies or quiches, including Portobello and Broccoli Quiche with Tempeh or Lemon Chess Pie. This dough can also be frozen for later use.

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
7 tablespoons very cold butter

Method

Mix flour with salt in a medium bowl or food processor. Add cold butter and cut in using a pastry blender, or pulse in food processor. Add 2 to 3 tablespoons ice water, 1/2 tablespoon at a time, until dough forms into a ball. Gather up and pat into a disc. If possible, cover and refrigerate dough for 30 minutes before rolling out. When ready to use, roll dough out on a lightly floured surface into a 10-inch circle. Gently fold into quarters using a little flour as needed to prevent sticking. Place dough in pie plate and carefully unfold, fitting loosely and then pressing into place. Trim the edges and crimp for a decorative crust.

By: chgoliz

chgoliz — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 21:15:00 +0000

Don’t forget the best reason for making a little extra pastry dough: sprinkle cinnamon sugar on the bits left over and bake them in the oven.

By: Antinous / Moderator

Antinous / Moderator — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 21:14:00 +0000

Or diabetic and non, low fat and non, allergic and non…

By: waetherman

waetherman — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 21:02:00 +0000

I make a fair number of pies, and of a few different variety. I strongly disagree with most of the folks who think this isn’t practical; most of the pie recipes I use are close enough that I could adapt them to make them together, for instance an apple and pumpkin at Thanksgiving to a chicken pot and vegetarian vegetable pie for any ordinary weeknight dinner. And while making two pies may seem just as good or better, the fact is that it is more work (though the leftovers are the reward).

As for those who question how one would use a pre-made pie crust with this; for shame. Pie crust is such a simple thing to make that no one should ever buy a pre-made crust.

By: LydiRae

LydiRae — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 19:54:00 +0000

EXACTLY. Even flour with butter tastes so much better than pre-made.

By: LydiRae

LydiRae — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 19:51:00 +0000

Personally, homemade crust tastes so much better. I make a quadruple batch, divide it into thirds (for more options when rolling out and crimping) and freeze it in portions so I can defrost a wad of dough later and make a ton of pie.

Not well-baked crust is goddamn delicious. Now I want to make pie.

By: Baldhead

Baldhead — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 18:43:00 +0000

Your question confuses me. WHy would anyone want to use a pre- made crust? No tastebuds?

By: niktemadur

niktemadur — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 18:40:00 +0000

When in comes to pizza I understand the principle, let’s say I love anchovies, a friend of mine loves pineapple, while each of us hates the viceversa, so we go half-and-half on a large. The fact that the pizza jerks charge full price for each ingredient is another story.

So at face value, the pie mold sounds like a good idea, then the comments here suggest that different pies need different oven temperatures/times. So it looks like the mold is something you buy, use once or twice, then becomes yet another abandoned kitchen thingamajig that takes up space in the drawers for DECADES.

By: Gordon JC Pearce

Gordon JC Pearce — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 17:44:00 +0000

What do you mean, *buy* pie pastry? What the hell kind of geeks *are* you?

By: gws

gws — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 17:21:00 +0000

I personally prefer to make multiple pies, but what about if some pie consumers are allergic or intolerant to a particular ingredient? You could make one half with it, and the other without. I don’t know if this would be enough to protect someone who has, say, a nut allergy. The two halves are in pretty close proximity.

The crust problem is easily solved by just making your own, but I also wonder how it would bake. Might actually be ok. And more crust is usually a good thing.

By: aethelberga

aethelberga — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 17:19:00 +0000

Wow, pie haters. I can easily see this working with a slight tweaking of recipes & the desire to do two different desserts for a dinner party.

By: C.J. Hayes

C.J. Hayes — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 17:13:00 +0000

Or just make two pies and friggin’ eat them.

By: Guysmiley

Guysmiley — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 17:03:00 +0000

Two half sized pies for only double the prep effort!