VOLUME 3 /NUMBER 13 Pie Crusts

Practical technology from Lallemand Inc.

Pie Crust Production

IE DOUGH is the simplest form of tion by the flour, allows the flour enzymes For large-volume operations (up to two dough, combining flour, fat, salt, to modify the dough, reduces shrinkage, and hundred pies per minute) the dough is ex- Pand water. The filling is the pre - improves the crust tenderness. Unbleached truded into two continuous dough strips. dominant portion of the pie and conse - flours with lower proteins or blends of bread Once sheeted, the dough is cut into uni- quently will affect the pie’s character. Yet and cake flour are best suited to pie products. form rectangles and further sheeted, usually the crust greatly influences the pie’s over - For small operations, scaled dough balls with a cross-rolling device. The bottoms are all quality and eating properties. are pressed into the pie plate with a fitted then placed in pans, filled, fitted with the plate that forms to the shape of the pie top, crimped, and trimmed. Sometimes wa - PRODUCTION PROCESSES pan. A major problem when producing pie ter is sprayed prior to filling to allow a bet - Pie dough is normally produced with a crusts this way is that the texture of the ter seal between the top and bottom crusts. two-stage process. First the flour and fat crusts tends to be mealy rather than flaky. Dusting flour is kept to a minimum; if used, are blended. Then the liquid, usually ice For larger operations (twenty to thirty a soft and weak type of flour is preferred. water, is added and mixed very gently pies per minute) the pie dough is sheeted Baking conditions to be used depend on without developing the gluten protein to a predefined width and thickness, then the type of pie, whether fully baked or par - into a cool (less than 70°F or 20°C), cohe - cut into rectangles. The rectangles are trans - tially baked, filled or not filled. For filled sive dough. The dough texture is achieved ferred to a cross-rolling machine, which pies, a high oven temperature is preferred through the blending stage, which dictates further sheets the dough into the correct to a low oven temperature. In a hot oven the final absorption. dimensions for the top and bottom crusts. (450° –500°F or 230° –260°C) the crust will After mixing, the dough is retarded for The bottom crust is then deposited into bake quickly and set before the filling reach - several hours or overnight. Retarding the the pan and filled; the top crust is dropped es boiling temperature and water starts to pie dough ensures complete water absorp - on, crimped, and trimmed. evaporate from the filling. Continued

PIE CRUST PRODUCTION PROCESSES

filling T

S mixing retarding dividing pressing sealing baking U

R ingredient s C

D E S

S 35-40 °F

E 2-4 °C

R press oven

P mixer refrigerator

de positing cross- filling T

S mixing retarding sheetin g cutting rolling sealing baking U

R ingredient s C

D E L L 35-40 °F O 2-4 °C extruder die cutter R sheeting oven mixer refrigerator rolls RO TARY PIE MACHINE

STRAIGHT LINE PIE MACHINE COMPOSITION OF PIE CRUST TYPES fat. The remaining fat or flour is added with the liquid and mixed again. The resulting MEDIUM LONG SHORT crust has a fine, somewhat short texture INGREDIENT MEALY FLAKY FLAKY FLAKY FRIED DOUGH that cuts more easily than a mealy crust. Pastry flour 100 100 100 100 100 100 Flaky crusts are obtained when the Shortening 50 – 80 60 – 70 60 – 70 60 – 80 30 – 40 40 – 60 flour and shortening are blended very Sugar 0 – 2 0 – 2 0 – 2 0 – 2 2 – 6 2 – 5 coarsely, with the fat lumps smaller than a Salt 2 – 3 2 – 3 2 – 3 2 – 3 2 – 3 1 – 2 quarter of an inch. The liquid is added and Milk powder 1 – 3 1 – 3 1 – 3 1 – 3 1 – 2 2 – 4 mixed briefly until it’s absorbed and the Baking powder ––––0 – 1 0 – 1 bowl is free of crumbs. This type of crust is used most by large commercial bakeries for Soy flour ––––3 – 6 normal pies. Water 25 ± 25 ± 30 ± 30 ± 20 ± 30 ± Long flaky crusts are produced using a harder shortening, which is blended very Pie Crust Production (Continued) coarsely with the flour, the fat particles approximately one inch in size. The liquid INGREDIENTS water) are the other essential pie crust is added to the dough just so it holds to- Flour. Unbleached pastry flour made from ingredients. Sugar, milk, baking powder, gether and can be handled. The divided a soft wheat is best for pie dough produc- and soy flour are optional ingredients used dough is then sheeted rather thickly (two tion. Bread flours with higher protein lev- only in certain types of crusts. inches), given a threefold as for puff pastry, els absorb water too quickly, resulting in then rolled again; the process is repeated gluten development and a tough dough. CRUST TYPES twice. This yields a very tender and flaky Conversely, cake flours with very low pro- Mealy crusts are made by blending the fat crust with excellent bite and good color. tein absorb water too slowly and yield pasty, and flour into almost a paste, which results Fried crusts need a dough with the proper sticky doughs. in a finer distribution of the fat through degree of toughness. To achieve the desired Fat. Hydrogenated vegetable shorten- the flour. When ice water is added and dough texture, the fat and flour are blend - ing has replaced lard as the fat of choice blended for a short period, less water is ed slightly (if at all) before the addition of today because of its good plasticity, neutral taken up by the flour particles because they the liquid. The dough is mixed at higher taste, and consumer-friendly label declara- are well covered by fat. This type of dough speed to produce a more-cohesive dough. tion. Plastic shortenings tend to distribute yields a pie crust with a fine grain that is Short crusts are preferred for pies with cus - better in the dough, giving the crust a more more suitable for crust tops rather than tard or other high-moisture fillings. The mealy texture, whereas hard types of fat bottoms. flour, salt, sugar, and shortening are blend - tend to give a more flaky texture. Medium flaky crusts are made by ed into a smooth paste. Warm water is then Other ingredients. Water (usually blending either half of the fat with all of added and the dough mixed well. The lean - cold) and salt (always dissolved in the the flour, or half of the flour with all of the ness of the dough, the warm water, and the extra mixing cause the dough to dry faster during make-up, creating a water barrier Pie Crust Problem Solvers for the custard.

S THE pie industry changes, many • Improved machinability with reduced of the traditional ingredients and damage related to shearing. A methods have failed to keep up • Improved flakiness and bite with low-fat with the requirements of the new technol- pies. ogy. To help bakers produce pies of con - stant high quality, Lallemand offers prod - The normal usage rate of Fermaid ® P ® ucts such as Fermaid P. varies with formula type and process. As a Lallemand Baking Update is produced by ® Fermaid P is a blend of deactivated rule of thumb, for normal pie dough with Lallemand Inc. to provide bakers with a bakers’ yeast strain (Saccharomyces cerevisi - some rest period, the usage rate for source of practical technology for solving ae) and enzymes. Originally designed to re- ® problems. You can find the latest issues Fermaid P is 0.2 to 0.4 percent based on online at www.lallemandbaking.com. duce shrinkage in pizza dough, lab and field flour. For high-speed operations with little trials confirm the benefits of Fermaid ® P to If you have questions or comments, or no rest period, the rate is 0.5 to 1.0 per- please contact us at: the pie baker. Introduced as a more-natural cent based on flour. For reduced-fat pies replacement for L-cysteine and bisulfite in LALLEMAND Inc. and fried pies, the inclusion rate is 0.5 to 1620 Préfontaine pie dough, commercial trials quickly showed 1.0 percent and for frozen pies, 0.3 to 0.8 Montréal, QC H1W 2 N8 Canada that, in addition to reducing crust shrink - percent. tel: (800) 840-4047 ( 514) 522- 2133 age during baking, the proper use of Lallemand can provide technical sup - email: solution s@ lallemand.com ® www.lallemand.com Fermaid P yielded the following benefits: port to help the baker select and optimize • Quicker processing of the dough, elimi- our product offerings for pie production. To the best of our knowledge, the information in Lallemand Baking Update is true and accurate. How- nating the need for dough retarding. ever, any recommendations or suggestions are made without warranty or guarantee. • More-resilient crust with reduced ten- © 2018 Lallemand Inc. dency to snap or break.