Great American Pies

Sweeet Potato, Bourbon-Pecan, Lemon Chess, Coconut Custard, Nectarine-Blueberry, Chocolate Silk and, of course, Apple . . . and I sampled every one at the end of the class I took this morning at the New School. It seems like the nuances of those traditional, homey kinds of baking techniques (breads and pies) are always the ones that elude me, so I signed up for this class to work on my pie dough. And I learned a couple of things that'll be useful:

1. Don't fear the food processor. When I've made pie crust in it in the past, I ended up with a paste. I knew it was simply a matter of not overprocessing next time, but I always figured it was better to use a pastry blender anyway. Not after today. We blended the dry ingredients (1 pound flour, 2 to 4 tablespoons sugar and 1 1/4 teaspoon salt), then pulsed in 10 ounces cut-up cold butter and 2 ounces lard until it looked like rough meal.

2. But don't overwork it. We took the dough out of the processor after cutting in the fat and put it in a big bowl to sprinkle in the 4 ounces ice-cold water, then we squeezed it with our fingers (not our palms) to make it come together. Finish that job with some parchment.

3. I need a scale. One pound of flour is about 3 cups, but it seems to be 3 cups and a smidge more. Dough amounts were always measured in ounces. Surely I'd find other uses for it.

4. Just roll the center, then turn. That seems to be the key to getting the crust round. And I have the wrong kind of rolling pin. I need the plain kind, just a piece of wood, basically, either flat or tapered. I have the kind with handles.

5. Refrigerate, refrigerate, refrigerate. Literally three times. Cut up the butter and lard, then put it in the fridge while you measure the flour. Refrigerate the dough in a disk after forming, then again after you've rolled it out, either in the pie plate or flat. Maybe even an extra time or two if the dough starts to get too soft while you're working with it.

6. For a crisp crust, process the butter to small pieces, bake in Pyrex or ceramic and bake on the bottom oven rack.

7. You can never have too much pie. After sampling all seven types of pie this afternoon, I can safely say I've tested this one. And I was surprised to find my favorite was the Coconut Custard pie, followed by the Apple. Maybe it's because those are the fillings I worked on - the best pie is the one you make yourself, no?