How to Build a Better Pie: Sweet and Savory Recipes for Flaky Crusts, Toppers, and the Things in Between [Paperback]

Millicent Souris (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2012

Whether you want to try your hand at Apple Pie or Chicken Fat and Pea Pie, How to Build a Better Pie will provide everything you need to know. Learn the skills, practice the techniques, master the recipes, and build yourself a better pie.

Inside, author Millicent Souris shows you:

—Solid foundations: how to make and roll out the crust, including a basic crust and alternative crusts such as crumble, shortbread, and cheddar cheese

—The practical equipment basics and essential pie-making tips that you really need

—The methods behind a lattice and a full top crust, and how to tell which one to use

—Fruit pies, from Rhubarb Pie to Cherry Pie to Apricot Tomatillo Pie, and beyond

—Staple pies, including Walnut Maple Pie, Corn Buttermilk Pie, and Chocolate Olive Oil Pie

—Savory pies, such as Oyster Pie, Lamb Pie, and Chicken Pot Pie

—How to go small: hand pies, turnovers, and galettes

Editorial Reviews

Review

How to Build a Better Pie was reviewed in The New York Times' T Magazine! http://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/06/01/bookshelf-how-to-build-a-better-pie/

About the Author

Millicent Souris is a New-York-based, self-taught, homegrown, DIY-driven pie-maker. She's made thousands of pies in the past 10 years (you may have tasted some of them in places as far-flung as Chicago and Brooklyn). A resident of Brooklyn, she teaches pie-making workshops at the Brooklyn Kitchen, and she can spot a limp crust from 100 paces.

Product Details

• Paperback: 168 pages
• Publisher: Quarry Books (June 1, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1592537960
• ISBN-13: 978-1592537969
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 0.6 x 10 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #871,454 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Pie is for everyone August 20, 2012

By taddpjh

Format:Paperback

In the same way that Sandor Katz makes reading about fermentation educational, interesting, friendly and encouraging all at once, Ms. Souris has created a book about pie that informs and invites the reader to stand up, get in the kitchen and make some pie. She makes very important and refreshing points about food as SUSTENANCE rather than fetish, and although the book will appeal to "foodies" (shudder), it is written for everyone who is interested in making real food that is nourishing and satisfying in every way. Her recipes are wonderfully varied, and include unique and creative combinations. Souris also encourages the reader to modify the recipes to their tastes. Try them and adjust as needed to suit yourself (if you don't like as much salt - use less!). That is the point of cooking and why each of us has our own signature in the kitchen. So buy this book, get inspired, try the recipes, make them your own, and eat some pie!!!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars great book November 8, 2012

By W. Kulbicki

Format:Paperback

Cookbooks of any kind must be able to accomplish several things beyond just a series of recipes. It must be informative, show good technique, and just be fun to read. This book accomplishes all of this.
I love reading a cook book where the author encourages experimentation. The section on vegetable pies is a good example. Ms Souris encourages you to consider "how food acts and what it needs". the point being that a good cook needs to realize that some veggies need to be cooked before being tossed into a pie while others would suffer being precooked. An obvious point but one that needs to be mentioned is is often not.
If I were rating only the content, the book would have had 5 stars, it is that good. But, I dropped one star (would have prefered dropping a half or even a quarter star) because it does not contain gluten free options or substitutions.

1.0 out of 5 stars Check the ingredients VERY carefully February 11, 2013

By Baffled in Palatine

Format:Paperback

I'm cheating - my wife picked up this book from the library and made an all strawberry variation on the Strawberry-Rhubarb pie recipe which we just sat down to last night. The pie used the Basic Pie Crust recipe at the start of the book and it is VILE. 3 t of kosher salt results in a horrendous pie crust which was also chewy after baking the full time and cooling completely. (The fruit was thoroughly macerated - I did the dishes and discarded of perhaps 1/2 to 3/4 cup of juice). I can still taste it. It's unlike any crust I've ever had in my life. The recipe called for a further 1t of kosher salt for the filling. The filling was muted (although perhaps the taste of the crust affected my judgement of the contents).

Perhaps the other recipes will justify your buying this book, perhaps not. But I have to wonder at the capability of an author who publishes a crust recipe requiring such a large adjustment in the recommended ingredients as this one does. I have to wonder what other ingredients will need adjusting, and how many pies will hit the garbage can (as did ours last night) along the way.

5.0 out of 5 stars A great primer on pie... December 3, 2012

By M. Johnson

Format:Paperback

I'm a novice cook and less than a novice pastry chef. This book is great. I love the recipes, the tone of the writing and all of the additional information that the author incorporated into the text. (And what a great variety of savory and sweet recipes, too!) I've made two fantastic pies following her directions and I plan to make more.

3 of 8 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars SALT!!! August 13, 2012

By TSM

Format:Paperback

Oh my lord, the recipes in this book are totally inedible.
The pastry asked for 3 teaspoons of salt, I thought that was a little odd so I cut it down to two, the filling asked for another 1 teaspoon, I ignored that, even still the pie was inedible.
I had to scrape out the filling make a new batch of pastry with only a tiny pinch of salt this time and finally we could eat.
So frustrating!