The current covid conundrum seems a bit too familiar. I vividly remember this exact time last year, holed up in my apartment, reading a book next to my modest tabletop Christmas tree, balancing R&R with an anxious desire to get shit done.
Déjà vu is setting in as we find ourselves in yet another wave of the pando. (Yes, I call it the pando because the apocalypse needs some degree of levity.) Progress seems halted, and I’m sure many of us are going back to the proverbial drawing board to figure out how to navigate this thing.
Are we in a better position than we were this time last year? Yes. Is this situation still disheartening? Also yes.
The end of the year is inevitably a time for reflection and myriad best-of-lists. In 2021, I got three shots in my right arm that offered some peace of mind. There were wistful stretches where I traveled, and cooked for loved ones. I ate inside a restaurant, never being more thrilled by a bread basket in my entire life. I went to see a Marvel movie curled up in a fully reclined IMAX seat, liberally buttered popcorn in hand, ready to watch Scarlet Johansson kick ass with sass and panache. There was a return to live performance, to a pace of life reminiscent of what we had before. I turned 30, and felt something long forgotten. Optimism.
I also made a lot of pie.
The polarity between #teamcake and #teampie rivals that of the US political system. And while carrot cake might be the one true to my heart (gentleman, take note), I am a proud member of #teampie. Why? For me, few activities underscore the value of simplicity, trust, and adaptability more than pie making.
A pie’s small number of components and ingredients yields endless variation. Pastry is, in essence, fat smashed into flour that is hydrated. Fruit fillings are fruit, sugar, acid, and a thickening agent. Custards are eggs, dairy, and sugar. Pie making is less of a recipe and more of a process that relies heavily on trust, intuition, and understanding the role of each ingredient.
There are also several underlying allegories for open mindedness in pie making that I find profoundly beautiful. For example, every baker has their own way of making pie dough, and for many it has been refined across generations. And while some may claim their method is the best, there’s no such thing. Despite varying modes of preparation, we’re all on the same meandering journey that arrives at the same buttery, flaky, impossibly delicious destination.
A recurring theme of my own pie journey is the interplay between adaptability and trust. I know my ingredient ratios work, but it might be warm that day and the dough needs more chill time or more bench flour. I might need to scale up a recipe and freeze a bunch of pies to bake later. I may be baking in someone else’s kitchen and not have all the equipment I’m used to having. These all required some subtle adaptations.
Rather than a work-around in a less than ideal scenario, each adaptation presented a growth opportunity. I never chilled my dough twice, but baking in an un-airconditioned apartment in the summer required it. Now, I always chill twice and rolling out the dough is an absolute dream. I never baked my pies from frozen before, but this past Thanksgiving I had to in order to bake off three in a short period of time. Now it’s my preference. I never mixed my dough entirely on the counter from a shaggy mass, but seeing someone do it on Instagram and not having an available bowl big enough to comfortably mix a double batch inspired me to give it a go. Now it’s hard to beat the satisfaction of watching said mass transform into dough using nothing more than a bench knife and a little self assurance.
That all said, every time I make a pie I’m reminded of the same lesson. What immediately appears like a less than ideal scenario can be so much more than that. It may very well be an opportunity to grow into something better than we were before.
What I’m Listening To: All My Favorite Music in 2021
My year-end Spotify review list revealed that I’m an angsty hipster gay, and I don’t hate it. Here’s what I listened to while flinging flour all over my kitchen.
Scissor Sisters, Nightwork
Japanese Breakfast, Jubilee
Mitski, Be the Cowboy
Every goddamn Sufjan album
All things Aretha Franklin, enjoyed during solo kitchen dance parties
Lady Gaga’s song Joanne on loop for an hour
Yola’s cover of Yellow Brick Road, also on loop for an hour
Wunderlich singing Schubert lieder (shoutout to Franz, the original angsty song-writing hipster gay)
Sophie, OIL OF EVERY PEARL’s UN-SIDES
Y2k pop, so much Y2k Pop (Britney, Destiny’s Child, boy bands galore)
Ben Platt singing love songs that are charming and delightful
Probably some more classical music since that’s my job
What I’m Making: Apple Hand Pies
Okay, so a hand pie might be divergent from what you were expecting. But it’s on brand given the subject matter of this newsletter, no? The truth is, there are volumes of literature by bakers far more experienced than I on proper crimping, rolling, latticing, etc. As such, I will let my small contribution to the lexicon of pie be a hand pie method/recipe that I love.
Hand pies embody nostalgia for me - please see the McDonald’s apple pie or the Pillsbury Toaster Strudel. Sharing food that evokes that nostalgia with an added flair of sophistication is a passion of mine, and there are few more delightful packages of nostalgia than gooey apple filling encased in flaky all-butter crust. Hand pies are great to gift, bring to parties, or share with a friend on a drive or a walk. They also freeze immensely well to be baked off on a whim. They fall into my category of “perfect foods,” a status achieved by few.
I model my pie dough on Stella Parks’ ratios and slightly altered her method. (If you’re not familiar with Stella, her book Bravetart is biblical for many bakers.) I’ve tried dozens of approaches to pie dough over the years, and this one has become my favorite.
The cornerstone of her pie dough philosophy is to intentionally cultivate gluten, which may at first seem like sacrilege. But in the spirit of understanding ingredients, it’s important to note that gluten gives the dough strength to lock in a high ratio of fat. There’s so much - I repeat, so much - butter in this dough that it has zero chance of being tough. However, if that butter leaks out during baking you will be left with a sad tough dough and a lot of oozed butter. Butter leakage is your dough crying over lost flakiness.
I also bake pies lower and longer for the same reason. A lower oven temp for a longer period ensures even melting of the butter, keeping it sealed in the crust during the bake. Baking the pies from frozen also adds an extra insurance policy against dreaded butter leakage and helps maintain their structural integrity.
My filling is simple, and is also inspired by Stella’s method of making fruit pies. She advocates for a ratio of 25% white sugar and 5% tapioca starch by weight in relation to the fruit, which works on every fruit I’ve ever tried.
From there, we riff.
My personal preference is to avoid a lot of spices because I want the apples to be at the fore. I also don’t use brown sugar (and would not recommend it for this method) because I find the molasses lends too much liquid and can overpower the apples. A little cinnamon, vanilla, pinch of salt, and cider vinegar is my go to flavor profile for the filling, but you can of course add more (or fewer) additional flavorings if that’s your jam. Like before, we’re all going to the same destination, which is filling that’s gooey, appley, and delicious.
(Steps going clockwise from upper left hand corner)
Apple Hand Pies
Makes 4 large hand pies
Equipment
Large mixing bowls
Rolling Pin
Digital Scale
Bench Knife
Sheet Trays
Parchment Paper
Pastry Brush
For the Pastry
(Ingredient list and measurements from Stella Parks’, Bravetart)
225g low-protein all-purpose flour, such as Gold Medal Blue Label,* plus more for dusting
15g sugar
1 teaspoon; 4g Diamond Crystal kosher salt; for table salt, use half as much by volume or use the same weight
2 sticks; 225g unsalted, American-style butter**, straight from the fridge
115g cold tap water
For the Filling
300g baking apples from 1-3 apples, diced into ½ inch cubes (I prefer honeycrisp, gala, pink lady, or granny smith)
75g plain or toasted sugar***
15g tapioca starch
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon apple cider vinegar, or to taste
½ teaspoon vanilla extract, or to taste
Pinch of kosher salt to taste
For the Egg Wash
1 large egg
1 tablespoon cream
Pinch of kosher salt
*I would not recommend using an unbleached organic flour like King Arthur or Bob’s Red Mill here. They have a slightly higher protein content and will make the pastry tougher. In this instance, the less expensive stuff is your friend.
**Do not use European style butter like Kerrygold or Plugra here. They have too high a fat content and will make the dough too squishy to work with. Cabot is my favorite American style butter to use in pastry, but any American style brand (Kate’s, Land o Lakes, store brand etc) will work.
***Another nod to Stella, who taught me the magic of toasted sugar. Using toasted sugar here can replace some of the butterscotch notes one might be missing from the lack of brown sugar. Plain and toasted sugar are interchangeable. Read more here.
To Make the Pastry
Combine flour, sugar, and salt in a large mixing bowl and whisk together to evenly distribute.
Cut butter into cubes no smaller than ½ inch
Toss the butter in the flour mixture to coat each individual piece
Smash each cube of butter between index finger and thumb to flatten it and return to the bowl
Pour over water into the mixture and toss gently with fingers to combine. The mixture will appear dry. Do not add more water, ever.
Turn the mixture onto a lightly floured work surface and pile in the center.
Press the mixture lightly with a rolling pin and fold it onto itself using a bench knife. It will be shaggy. Folding style is a matter of preference - I do a mix of once vertical/once horizontal or a letter fold used for making puff pastry.
Continue this process until a cohesive dough forms, rolling it out ¼-½ thick between folds as it becomes more cohesive, and placing any outlying butter pieces on top of the dough to be pressed in during rolling. Add as much flour as needed to prevent the pin and top of the dough from sticking. It can always be dusted off between folds. I find 3-4 folds does the trick. Do not overwork.
Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge 30-60 minutes. This will finish hydrating the dough, allow the gluten to relax, and make rolling significantly easier.
To Make the Filling
While the dough is chilling, dice the apples and combine with remaining filling ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and chill.
To Assemble
Divide the dough in half, returning one half to the fridge. Roll the other half into a ¼-½ inch thick 10’x10’ square (trimming with a knife or pizza cutter to get sharp edges). Move the dough often and use as much flour as needed to prevent sticking. Any excess can be brushed off later. Rolling into a slightly larger square is fine, but be sure to go no thinner than ¼ inch thick. Pastry scraps can be used to make optional decorations.
Cut the square into two 5’X10’ rectangles. On the lower half, place ⅓ cup of the apple filling, being sure to scoop as little rendered liquid as possible. Do not overfill.*
Brush edges with egg wash, and fold over to form a 5’X5’ square. Cup the filling gently to keep it centered. Crimp the edges with a fork (dust the tines in a little flour to prevent sticking) and cut a small slit to on the top of the hand pie for steam to escape during baking. Adhere any decorations using a small amount of egg wash, being sure to not cover the steam vent.
Repeat process with other half of the dough.
Place the hand pies on a parchment lined sheet tray and freeze minimum 2 hours before baking. Store remaining egg wash in the fridge for later. Completely frozen pies can be transferred to an airtight container and stored in freezer for up to 2 months.
Preheat oven to 350. Brush frozen hand pies with remaining egg wash and bake on a parchment lined sheet tray 50-60 minutes, or until pastry is deeply golden.
Allow pies to cool on the sheet tray 3-5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Let the pies cool completely before eating so the filling can set. Eating prematurely will burn your mouth and make the filling ooze out.
*extra filling is very delicious when added to oatmeal while it’s simmering.