Pie Tips from a First Year Pie Baker
Hey all, if you follow me on Instagram, you know that I spent this autumn working at Vala’s Pumpkin Patch and Apple Orchard making pies. Vala’s is a pumpkin patch, but SO much more. It’s affectionately known as “The Disney of the Midwest” for a reason–the autumn activities, so many opportunities for photos, and, of course, the FOOD. I worked in The Pie Barn and it was my first year. The people all around the farm were all amazing and it really does feel like a family.
While I of course can’t share the Vala family recipes, I do want to share some of my favorite tips for making pies at home! They do have a cookbook (unfortunately I don’t think it’s currently available to purchase online, but feel free to get in touch with them to find out!), which I highly recommend getting so you’ll have their delicious recipes for pie crust, apple and pumpkin pies, and their chicken pot pie. There are a ton of other recipes in their hardcover book too, I just haven’t had the chance to try them just yet.
Vala’s Pie Crust
I won’t go into too many specifics, but we do a few things to make our pie crust special. If you don’t think you’re a “pie person,” this crust will convert you (I’ve heard this countless times just this year!).
Tips for Making the Perfect Pie Crust
If I had to summarize my pie crust tips, I’d say don’t be afraid to add more flour and keep putting it back into the refrigerator if it gets too soft.
To avoid giving away too many trade secrets, I’m going to highlight a few tips that really helped me with my pie making at home. Happy baking, foodies!
Butter crust. We use European butter which has a slightly higher butterfat content than your standard butter, which works wonders.
Pastry flour. This has less gluten than standard all-purpose flour, making for a better pie crust.
Vinegar. I’ve seen a lot of vodka pie crusts in my day, but this was a first for me. After some research, it turns out that adding vinegar helps prevent the gluten from forming while working with the dough. I think this is PERFECT in an environment like The Pie Barn where you have so many people involved with the process of making pies. It’s also great for new bakers who might overwork the dough.
Not in use = chill. Whenever you aren’t doing something with your pie crust, it should be chilling. At work (granted we’re working in the summer with no A/C in the Barn), we freeze the butter and dry ingredients before mixing the dough, use ice water instead of just water when making the dough, chill the mixed dough before dividing it, chill after forming into disks, chill after rolling it out. Don’t be afraid to put it in the refrigerator if it’s getting too warm/soft!
Don’t trim too much dough! If you like a good sized crimp, you need extra dough on the edges. Roll it large enough to fit into your pie pan and hang off the sides until it touches the countertop. Tuck that “skirt” under to make the edges thicker. Then crimp. It makes the crimps much more defined and gorgeous!
Gluten-free crust. While we don’t make one at Vala’s right now, I did use their pie crust recipe to make one for Thanksgiving! The only thing I changed was what flour I used. Bob’s Red Mill was the only gluten free flour I could find locally, but I was really happy with how it turned out! It took more time to crimp it since it’s more crumbly (gluten is useful), and the texture after baking was noticeably different by me, but it was still incredible
If you want to hear more about my insider tips from working at Vala’s, let me know! I’d love to share my favorite spots on the farm, favorite hard ciders, and of course my must-have Insta-worthy foodie finds.
