Rustic Apple Tart - You Need To Make This

[Phog Allen]

Good evening gents. I am quite a fan of pies, tarts, savoury meat pies or just about anything using a shortcrust pastry to contain it all. My most favourite is cherry pie made with cherries from my uncle's backyard tree. Canned cherry pie filling isn't a patch on hand picked cherries thickened in your own home made sauce and baked in a hand formed crust. Apple is of course on my list of yummies as well and I had a very good experience with such a creation this past weekend.

I used the shortcrust recipe at Food And Wine and it turned out perfectly with little fuss or worry. The crust is the creation of Jacques Pepin according to the blogger and it is a cinch to make. And more importantly, make well the first time. Now this may sound a little odd because for many bakers making a pie crust is second nature. This is where I stumble most times.

Let me preface this. I like to bake. I can make very nice cakes, breads, scones(biscuits here in the States), and other sweet and savoury pastry without much trouble. It does take practice and even then you sometimes wind up with bricks even if you think you did everything right. Baking is a labour of love and patience at times. The one thing that almost always gave me fits was shortcrust for pies. How ruddy hard can it be? Flour, a pinch of salt, fat(butter, lard, or veg shortening), ice water. That is all. Yet I produced more shoe leather disguised as pie crusts than I care to admit to. It has always been my Achilles heel of baking. Even the ones that were edible were just so so. Then we had our yearly ladies tea a few weekends ago. I wanted to make some small tarts with cherry filling as a new item for our menu. As mentioned, my uncle's cherries were the fodder for the filling and I was not about to waste them on some half effort pie crust. So I went looking across the web for "rustic tart" and "rustic pie crust" recipes. Of course zillions of hits came up but most of the links were to "mama's best ...insert-whatever-you-want" pages. Very generic stuff about how granny's pie crusts were the best ever. Again, look at the ingredients list for shortcrust. Four items. You just don't vary it much at all. So what all these well meaning postings were really saying is grandma so and so simply KNEW WHAT SHE WAS DOING when she assembled the crusts. Consistently flaky pie crusts are almost voodoo for most bakers and I was no exception. Till now.

The crust recipe from Pepin was too easy. And it comes together in a food processor! Heresy! I have ALWAYS used my fingertips to cut fat into flour for shortcrust. Always. I have never been impressed with "pastry cutters" or the like. The just didn't seem to mix the flour correctly with the butter. They just cut the butter into little pieces. Hand mixing it allowed me to use my fingers to actually squeeze the butter into the flour while at the same time letting me leave chunks of butter in the mix. It just makes the layers flakier and lighter. Then I tried the suggestion of the food processor in the blog. It works a treat and I was stunned at the results. Here is the main caveat; Go S-L-O-W-L-Y with the processor. Pulses are a must. As is normal, make sure the fat is really cold and the water ice cold. When you add the water, drip it into the processor in a SMALL stream and pulse every two to three seconds. It only takes a very little while to get it added. When you add the last teaspoon or so and pulse, you will see and feel the dough change texture and density. STOP. Did you get that? STOP. Dump the whole thing onto a floured rolling area, gently squish/knead it together till it makes ball and roll it out to the recommended 16 inch size. Add filling, fold up edges and tuck/pleat to make it somewhat neat. Do NOT skip the next step. Put the entire pie on its baking tray in the fridge for a good fifteen minutes. Bake per instructions. Enjoy the FLAKIEST crust you will ever taste. I am not kidding. No refrigeration of the dough for thirty minutes before rolling or any of that. Just mix it, roll it, fill it, chill it, bake it, EAT IT! I cut the pastry into five or six smaller circles for the cherry tarts and after baking, the edges of the folded areas had pulled back at angles and looked almost like layered croissant. And the texture, flake, and taste is superb.

Sorry to be so long on such a mundane topic but if you are like me, making pie crust was aggravating. At least it used to be. Enjoy gentlemen because you will be making this one regularly. As soon as we get a replacement digicam I will post up some photos.

Regards, Todd

 

[Sullybob]

Todd, I had a similar experience with biscuits this past week. I used a food processor to incorporate the butter into the flour. The biscuits were simply the best biscuits that I have ever made. I have tried using forks, pastry cutters and my fingers to incorporate the butter, none worked as well as the food processor.
I also picked up a new rolling pin made by Vic Firth, I have had a French style rolling pin for several years and I have not been happy with it. I think that I have been over working the dough, causing it to be tough.
I am an average baker, but pie crust is something that I am terrible at. In fact, I even purchase ready made pie crusts for quiches. My Grandmothers pie crust is perfect every time, she understands the dough, and what it should feel like.
I have printed the recipe that you linked to and hopefully I will try it this week or next week. I have finals next week so no promises.

Thank you for sharing your experience.

 

[Phog Allen]

Shawn, I am average too but I can make perfectly acceptable baked goods most times. I am truly in awe of those pastry bakers that can make those perfect little tarts and croissants and danish that look picture perfect each time. Scones(biscuits) use to be a mystery to me. I thought I was doing everything correctly but my mother in law set me straight once she saw what was up. The fat was not cold enough, I was fiddling with it too much and warming it even more in the mixing, I was mixing the dough too much making for those perfect little hockey puck scones that were more useful as clay pigeons than for eating. Once I had these things in order, tall flaky scones were the norm. Pie crust was even more infuriating since I tried AFTER I learned how to make scones. Horrid most times. Chewy, tough, and sometimes flavourless. Now what was even MORE frustrating was knowing I had one of the best shortcrust makers I have ever seen right in my own home. My wife! She makes pie crusts that are the flakiest, lighest, tastiest I have ever eaten. She just has this knack for it. I have watched her dozens of times and I still cannot approach her crusts. At least not using her methods. Hers are perfect. No exaggeration. My parents, aunts and uncles are all of an age that were born during or before the depression. Their parents were all born in the nineteenth century. They knew a thing or three about making pie crusts. They all ask my wife to make the pies for holidays and special occasions. She gave me a huge thumbs up on the Pepin crust. It was flaky and tasty. I was shocked at the results. It was the first pie crust I have made I was really happy with. Making it rustic was a good choice too. I baked mine on one of those Pampered Chef baking stones and it worked perfectly. Setting it on a cookie sheet with parchment paper would work too, just watch the bottom that it does not become overdone if you go that route. I think you should cook these rustic pies on something that has a bit of a ledge since they will leak a pinch of filling. BTW, my rolling pin is solid aluminium and it helps to place it in the freezer for awhile. When you are rolling it helps keep the fat cool and solid.

Regards, Todd

 

[tsmba]

A processor or mixer can work well for cutting in fat....but it can be done by hand. I always used chilled ingredients (flour, too), then cut in the cold butter quickly. Then, I chill the mixture again, dump it on the counter, and smear it out with the heel of my hand. The technique varies depending on what type of dough you are making.

It is interesting how many dough recipes there are. It seems a little acid helps, some recipes call for vinegar, others for yogurt, cream cheese, etc. Getting the liquid right is also essential. I think some recipes turn out too dry, which makes rolling out a PITA.