Welcome to the new By the Book, where the Sauce editors choose a monthly theme and pit cookbooks in a head-to-head battle to see who comes out on top. And the winner? We hand the champion over to you in a By the Book Facebook giveaway. This month, we’re tackling all things sweet. First up: Pastry by Nick Malgieri.
Pastry sets out to rehabilitate people who have sworn off DIY pastry due to traumatic experiences like making flavorless, unrollable dough. Author Nick Malgieri is your cheerleader, creating approachable, basic pastry recipes (including a number of gluten-free options) that are a balanced mix of sweets and savories, as well as strudels and even a quick puff pastry.
As pie recipes go, this one was straightforward and did not require expert skill. A few variations are suggested: crumb topping instead of a double crust, omitting the apples for a blueberry-only version or substituting raspberries and blackberries for the blueberries. In short, the rules are flexible.
The result was delicious, but ugly – though admittedly that has everything to do with my inability to make visually appealing pie. While it may not have looked good, it did taste good. The jammy blueberry filling was a thick, sweet counterpoint to the tart Granny Smiths, and the all-butter crust was flaky and mildly sweet.
The Rundown Skill level: Beginner. The recipes require common ingredients, tools and equipment. Also, the subtitle is Foolproof Recipes for the Home Cook.
This book is for: Folks wanting to give pastry and dough-making another go after failing miserably in the past.
Other recipes to try: Mississippi Chess Pie
The verdict: TBD. Check back next week when we pit Pastry against Chocolate Chip Sweets.
Blueberry and Apple Pie Makes 1 9-inch pie, about 8 servings
2 9-inch pie crusts made from Sweet Pastry Dough (recipe follows)
2 pints blueberries, rinsed, dried and picked over
¾ cup sugar
4 Tbsp. water or apple juice
3 Tbsp. cornstarch
¼ tsp. ground cinnamon
¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1 lb. (2 large) Granny Smith apples, peeled, halved, cored and cut into 3/8-inch dice
3 Tbsp. unsalted butter
Milk for brushing
1 to 2 tsp. sugar
• Combine 1½ cups blueberries, the sugar and 2 Tbsp. of the water in a medium saucepan. Set over low heat and cook, stirring often, until the blueberries have become very juicy and the sugar has dissolved. Mix the cornstarch with the remaining water, then stir in about a third of the blueberry juices. Stir the cornstarch mixture into the saucepan, return to the heat and cook, stirring constantly, until thickened and clear, about 3 minutes.
• Remove from the heat, scrape the filling into a medium bowl and stir in the spices. Let cool.
• Set a rack at the lowest level in the oven and preheat to 375 degrees.
• Fold the remaining blueberries and the diced apples into the cooled filling.
• Scrape into the pie crust and spread evenly. Dot with butter and arrange the top crust. Attach, flute and pierce the top crust. Brush with milk and sprinkle with the sugar.
• Place the pie in the oven and decrease the temperature to 350 degrees. Bake until the curst is baked through and the juices are actively simmering, about 45 minutes.
• Cool the pie on a rack and serve warm or at room temperature.
Sweet Pastry Dough Makes 2 single-crust pies or tarts or 1 double-crusted pie
2 cups (260 g.) unbleached all-purpose flour (spoon into dry-measure cup and level)
1/3 cup (75 g.) sugar
½ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. fine sea salt
8 Tbsp. (1 stick / 112 g.) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into 12 pieces
2 large eggs
• Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in the bowl of a food processor; pulse several times at 1-second intervals to mix.
• Add the butter and pulse again until the butter is finely mixed throughout the dry ingredients and no visible pieces remain.
• Use a fork to beat the eggs enough to break them up and add to the bowl. Pulse again until the dough almost forms a ball; avoid pulsing too much or the dough might become too soft.
• Invert the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and gently knead together 3 or 4 times to make it smooth.
• Divide the dough into 2 pieces, form them into disks, and wrap each in plastic. Chill for a couple of hours before rolling.
• Before rolling the dough, place it on a floured surface and gently knead until smooth and malleable. Form into a disk again before beginning to roll.
Reprinted with permission from Kyle Books
This article appears in October 2015.