Two years ago, I was sitting on the couch in the middle of the work day. As was often the case in the middle of pandemic times, I was a little bored and I turned on YouTube to entertain me while I worked and found a show called Bake It Up A Notch, and the host, Erin Jeanne McDowell, had done a four part pie spectacular the previous August. I have baked most of my life, more or less depending on what else was going on in my life, and I had made homemade pie dough before but basically thought that store bought was fine. I had also largely resisted all of the pandemic baking trends - no sourdough starters or banana bread here. But, I watched this pie spectacular, and by the end, Erin McDowell had convinced me that I needed to perfect homemade pie dough. A week or so later, I made the first pie I had baked in a very long time - a nectarine blackberry pie. Since then, I’ve made around 50 pies (once again, I wish I had kept better track), and have baked so much more! Have I perfected pie dough yet? I don’t know. Most of the time, the results are delicious but I wish I had done something just a little bit different, so probably not. The experience has also made me want to be a better baker in general and just be able to effortlessly whip up cookies, cakes (which seem to be my nemesis), muffins, croissants, whatever.
Why am I writing about pie?
This is not a recipe blog. While I like tinkering with recipes and don’t fret the way some people do about tinkering with ingredients, I have never developed a recipe and probably never will. But, the process of baking pie is challenging and mostly fun and I wish that I had started writing sooner about what I have learned. This really is just about sharing what I’m up to in the kitchen. Also, my husband, Michael has convinced me to enter the Orange County Fair pie baking contest, so I want to chronicle that experience, and of course, share my practice pies. Also, expect an occasional history post and probably a lot of cat pics, because those are two other things I’m passionate about.
2. Why should you join me?
I don’t think I have many other bakers in my social circle, but if I do, I hope you’ll read and share your own experiences. I will also talk about what has worked for me, what hasn’t, techniques, and what I’ve learned along the way. If you don’t bake, I hope you’ll enjoy my reflections and also maybe suggest other things I should bake. And if you’re local, I'm hoping to be able to host a pie tasting ahead of the county fair.
The aforementioned nectarine blackberry pie:
The most important thing to know about me and my pie opinions is that I think double crust pies are trash. Lattice tops are okay, crumb toppings are usually preferred. I occasionally try a method I don’t personally prefer in order to develop a skill, but I have no interest in becoming good at double crusts, and I think I could make an adequate one if I were asked. The other thing to know about me is that I am impatient and almost everything that goes wrong with my baking is due to my impatience.
Thanks for reading!