Pumpkin Pie (Retired)

I have finally perfected my pumpkin pie! The new recipe is here.

First of all, if you’ve made your filling ahead of time, remove it from the fridge to remove some of the chill.

Prepare the Pie Dough

Use Sally’s pie dough recipe.

Make the dough fresh as freezing it seems to make it crack when rolling it out. To save time & ease stress, make the pie dough two days before you plan on baking your pie. Once the dough is made, wrap it and pop it into the fridge. 

Roll it out and shape it the next day: Stay calm, and be patient. Use the French rolling pin. Place your rolling pin in the center of the disc and rolling towards tge 12:00 position, roll the rolling pin towards the edge. Don’t push hard. Put a bit more pressure as you begin rolling in the center, and then gradually ease up as you roll towards the edge. You will roll in eight different directions: 12:00, 12:10, 12:15, 12:20, 12:30, 12:40, 12:45, 12:50. Then you will start all over again. 

Flour your rolling pin once in a while to prevent the dough from sticking to it.

Pick up the dough and rotate it from time to time to prevent it from sticking to the counter. Add a bit more flour underneath if necessary.

If you notice the dough becoming lopsided, use your hands to help mold it back into an even circle.

Repair cracks by wetting your fingers with ice water and molding the dough back together.

Roll the dough into a 13 inch circle. You can use your largest stainless steel bowl as a guide because it is 13 inches in diameter.

When crimping the edges, build them up tall, because the dough will inevitably shrink some when baked, so the taller edges will help accommodate all of the filling. 

When you are done, carefully cover it with plastic wrap and put it in the fridge. 

Make the Filling

Make the filling the day before baking.

1/2 cup (99g) granulated sugar

1/2 cup (106g) brown sugar, packed

1 tablespoon AP flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ginger

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon cloves

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, optional

3 large eggs, beaten

2 scant cups (425g) or one 15-ounce can pumpkin purée

1 1/4 cups (283g) cream or evaporated milk

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the sugars, flour, salt, and spices.

In the bowl of the KA mixer, beat together the eggs, pumpkin, and cream or evaporated milk. Whisk into the dry ingredients. For best flavor, cover and refrigerate the filling overnight before baking.

Par-bake the Dough:

Use the lowest rack position in the oven.

Preheat oven to 375. 

Line the pie crust with parchment paper. Crunching up the parchment paper is helpful so that you can easily shape it into the crust. Fill with dried beans. Make sure the beans are evenly distributed around the pie dish. Par-bake the crust for 8-10 minutes. Carefully remove the parchment paper/beans. Prick the bottom of the crust all over with a fork to create steam vents and return crust (without beans) to the oven for 7-8 more minutes or until the bottom is *just* starting to brown.

Baking the Pie

Once you have blind-baked the crust, turn the oven up to 400. Place your pie pan on a half-sheet pan that has been lined with foil. Pour the filling into your pie pan. Carefully slide your sheet pan/pie onto the lowest oven rack. Bake for 45-50 minutes, carefully rotating the pan 180 degrees after 25 minutes (you can slap the pie shield on at this time too).