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Your own pie in the sky

Good pastry is the ticket to heavenly eating
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On a cold, grey in-between weekend — too cold for biking or hiking, and not cold enough to snow — I can't think of a better thing to do than stay inside, all cozy and warm, and make and eat pies.

A quiche or meat pie will do for dinner one night and a few more later in the week if there's only one or two of you. Or it makes for a nice casual meal with friends. A sweet and cinnamon-y apple pie baking in the oven will comfort every body and soul, first with the yummy aromas, then fork-by- delicious-forkful. If any is left over for the rest of the week, it's a miracle of willpower.

The key to all these comfort foods is pastry. Being able to make a decent pie pasty unlocks wonderful doors — social, sensory, customary and otherwise.

Since medieval times, pie making has been a cultural mainstay of the western world. Sadly, it now seems to be falling out of favour. It could be a case of convenience or post-postmodern food stylists and attitudes about healthy eating run amok. I think it's mainly because making pastry intimidates people — neophyte cooks and experienced ones alike. But don't let it!

First, if you avoid those pre-made, frozen, commercial pie crusts you'll get much more satisfying, tastier results. You'll also be able to make a pie with a deeper filling than those shallow aluminum pie plates allow, plus you'll save money and the waste from all that packaging you swear you'll re-use but never do.

Besides kick-starting main meal mainstays, good homemade pastry is the secret to amazing lemon tarts, butter tarts, galettes and fruit pies. Fall means loads of fresh, crisp apples. Go for firm, tasty ones for pie filling, like Spartans, Honeycrisps or Ambrosias, and you'll get pies suitable for their own major food group.

Don't get confused by all the pastry recipes and terms out there. Hot water crust pastry, which uses boiling water and, sometimes, hot melted lard, is traditional for things like English pork pies. Shortcrust pastry — "short," as in "shortbread," meaning rich in fats, usually butter — is traditionally associated with quiche and all things "continental." In Canada, we're most familiar with some form or other of shortcrust pastry although we've pretty much shortened the term to simply "pastry" or "pie crust," not quite lapsing into the more American "pie dough."

Whatever kind of pastry you try — whether it's Googling up a recipe or checking out a tried and true family one — Alex Relf of Peaked Pies has some great tips.

"Pastry is very simple to work with if you use quality ingredients, keep them cold, and have a bit of patience on that learning curve," says Alex, co-owner and chief pie-maker at Peaked Pies, which has quickly gotten hundreds addicted to its delicious Australian-style meat pies since opening this summer in Whistler Village.

"Before you know it you can do it with your eyes closed."

For flour, he recommends a good, fresh all-purpose one, like Robin Hood. Whole wheat flour is fine, too, but your pastry will have a different — some say nuttier — flavour and different texture. As for quality fat, Alex recommends good butter like Avalon, unsalted if you can, and don't chintz.

"If you pay seven or eight dollars a pound for that butter it really is better because it has a higher fat ratio than the cheaper four-dollars-a-pound stuff," he says.

After that, think cold, cold, cold like these recent frosty nights. Some people chill their bowls, utensils and even flour in the fridge. Cold is what marble rolling pins and slabs are all about, too. But if that feels too fussy, at least make sure your fat is nice and cold, as well as the water you use.

Another Alex tip: Don't overwork your pastry. The warmth of your hands and excess friction will warm the dough plus handling it too much agitates the glutens, which will make for tough results. Let your dough rest at least half an hour before you roll it out to allow the glutens to relax and become more supple.

A wooden rolling pin is useful, but if you don't one I've known chefs who used glass bottles to roll out dough. And you don't need a pastry cloth — just sprinkle a bit of flour on the counter and you'll be set to roll.

Besides apple pie, quiche is an easy, satisfying thing to start with. Or try an Aussie-style meat pie like Peaked serves — literally. Go in and sample a few to see what to aim for. Just remember size does matter. Peaked Pies co-owner Kerri Jones says you want a result you can pick up and eat in your hand like a sandwich or hamburger. A five-inch-diameter pie is ideal, and if you make a good, supple pastry, you can keep it nice and thin like Peaked does and still hold things together.

As for the filling, it's all about meat — "no Aussie man would let a vegetable in his meat pie," she says with a laugh. And density. When you're cooking it, you want your filling thick enough it will slowly slide off a spoon when it's tipped.

Below is a recipe for failsafe pie pastry from the heartland of Canada's prairies. My mom's side of the family has sworn by it for two generations. It comes from my dear departed Auntie Doreen, who's now gone to the big pastry shop in the sky.

Simply follow the instructions and practise. As Alex says, before you know it Bob's your uncle, or Doreen's your aunt, and you'll be known for your pies, Aussie-style and otherwise.

Glenda Bartosh is an award-winning journalist who is known for her pies.

Auntie Doreen's excellent pie pastry

(Note: Makes enough pastry for six single or three 9-inch double pie shells.)

Mix together, by hand or with a pastry cutter, until pea-sized balls form:

6 cups, less 6 tbsp., all-purpose flour

3 tsp. salt

1 lb. Tenderflake lard, cold

In a 1-cup measuring cup, beat 1 egg with a fork. Add 2 1/2 tbsp. vinegar. Using COLD water, bring the liquid level up to 3/4 cup. (If you want your pastry easier to roll and not as rich, you can fill it to NEARLY 1 cup.)

Add the liquid to the flour mixture and mix with a fork until the dough starts to come together, then mix it with your hands. Stop when it's just mixed — you don't want to overwork it. Divide the pastry dough into six equal parts and form into balls. You can use them right away or wrap them well and freeze for up to eight months.