Issues → November/December 2008 → Interact → 10 Things to Do →

The Comfort of a Pie -- and Seven Recipes

by Joyce Butler

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Yankee Classic from December 1986

For me, nothing brings purpose to a day like making a pie. For me, nothing is more comfortable ... comforting ... than a pie.

Years ago, when I was first married and learning to cook, I resolved that above all else I wanted to be able to make excellent pies. The challenge of a pie lies in the crust. As a novice, I quickly learned that pie pastry that is tender and flaky, yet does not crumble when it is cut, requires more than carefully following a recipe. I found that a perfect crust resulted only when I had developed a feeling for the proper consistency of the dough, only when my handling of it was deft and knowing.

I began my apprenticeship as a pie maker under the guidance of an experienced cook whose skills were developed in a traditional Maine kitchen. Although she knew the old-fashioned technique of wrapping the edges of a pie with a strip of sheeting to seal its seeping juices, and the modern aberration of using vegetable oil for a foolproof crust, she shunned the regular use of either. She had learned how to seal her fruit and milk-based pies without the use of a fussy binder; she would not resort to what she considered ersatz methods for achieving a tender crust. Her use of hydrogenated vegetable shortening, rather than lard (which the true Maine cook will tell you gives pie pastry a superior flavor and texture), was her concession to progress. In all other ways she made her pies as her grandmother had before her.

I followed her sensible example and eventually approximated her skill as a pie maker. But my apprenticeship witnessed enough tough, misshapen crusts for me to gain a degree of respect for my successes that I have never lost.

The gestures and techniques of a pie maker are timeless. As the woodsman dropping his axe, the carpenter wielding his hammer, even the housewife with her broom all work with conventional motions, so too does the pie maker. I take comfort knowing that my homely task joins me in a simple way to homemakers of the past and, I trust, the future.

The Beginning

I begin with the flour into which I cut the shortening with two table knives crossed against each other again and again like scissors. I add ice water, rather than warm or tepid water from the tap, and achieve a ball of dough that is cool and smooth under my hands. I roll a circle of pastry, fold it, lift it, and lay it loosely (to allow for shrinkage) into my pie pan. If I am making a one-crust pie, I fold the raw edge of my pastry double, prop it up on the rim of my pie pan and using my thumb and first two fingers, press the dough into a neat, zigzag edging. For a two-crust pie, I roll out the top crust and mark it with openings to allow the steam from the cooking filling to escape.

These vents give me an opportunity to "sign" my pie. The "signature" I use for my everyday pies is three or four birds in flight. On the crust of my Washington's Birthday cherry pie I carve a spray of cherries, using a doughnut hole cutter to make the holes that expose and imitate the glossy globes of fruit. At Thanksgiving I mark my crust with a primitive, spikey turkey with an S-shaped wattle. At Christmas I vent my mince pie with a Christmas tree cookie cutter.

The Spinning

When the top crust has been laid over the filling, I seal its edges with a fork, rotating the pie in quarter turns as I work my way around it. When it is sealed, I lift it, balance it on the palm of one hand and with the other cut away the excess pastry with the back of a table knife. The coil of pastry that mounds itself on my pastry cloth will not go to waste. When my pie is trimmed, I set it down and spin it between the palms of both hands, lightly pressing to seal again the edges of the crust.