A homemade crust can turn a good pie into an amazing one, delivering more flavor and a lighter, flakier texture than a store-bought crust can. It can be intimidating to make a pie crust from scratch when you have to do it by hand, however, and many people will opt out of homemade pie crusts just because they worry about screwing it up. If you ... Read More »
Homemade pie crust is the best option when you are baking pies, and although they can sometimes be intimidating to make, it only takes a little practice to get the technique of making a very flaky pie crust down. That being said, ready made pie crusts are very convenient and can be a time-saving solution for many bakers who want to put together a pie ... Read More »
There are two things that would be pie-bakers find to be intimidating: making the pie dough and then rolling it out. The technique used for making pie dough – cutting butter/shortening in to a flour mixture – is used for many types of baked goods, including scones and biscuits. The technique for rolling out pie dough is really only used for making pies. Fortunately, if ... Read More »
Coconut oil is a type of vegetable oil made from pressing the natural oil out of coconut meat. It is becoming more and more popular, and is now more widely available than ever before. Like any fat, it has many culinary uses, but because it is a solid a room temperature, it is popular for bakers looking for an alternative to regular vegetable shortening in ... Read More »
Pie plates are usually made of one of three materials: metal, ceramic or glass. Metal pie pans range from thin, disposable aluminum pans that might come with a store-bought graham cracker crust to heavy duty steel pans. Glass pie pans, which includes Pyrex brand plates, and ceramic pans are typically thicker and heavier than metal pans. There are so many pie plates to choose from, ... Read More »
A pie crust shield is a baking tool that covers the outer edge of a pie to keep it from over-browning or burning while the pie bakes. You can make one yourself by gently folding a piece of aluminum foil over the outside edge of a pie plate, but the advantage of the pre-made shield is that you never have to fuss with a hot ... Read More »
Many bakers swear by all butter pie crusts, but for every one who does, there is a baker who swears by pie crusts made with only vegetable shortening. Vegetable shortening can make a great pie crust. It is easy to work with and will turn out a crust that is consistently tender, which is a trait that has been winning pie lovers over for decades. ... Read More »
Grapes are a fruit that most of us simply eat straight out of the bowl, or wait until they turn into raisins and use them in baking. But there is another good use for grapes. They can easily be roasted and become even sweeter and more tender after a short time in the oven. Roasted grapes are delicious on their own or on top of ... Read More »
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