Pie School

By Kate Lebo Staff Favorite - Áine's Choice Lessons in Fruit, Flour & Butter When people find out I worked as a pastry chef, one of the most common questions I get asked is "okay, but how do you make a good pie crust?" Instead of going into a twenty minute spiel on my favorite butter brands, the right kind of salt to use, and why I loathe it when people are told to grate frozen butter into the flour (you're making the butter chunks too small), I just recommend this book. Easier, and just as useful. I had a copy of the original 2014 edition that I lent out and never got back, mostly because I forgot who I let borrow it, but that gave me an excuse to buy the newly revised edition that came out in 2022. The new edition is just as delightful, with the addition of about twenty new recipes, including one that calls for the native, delightful, and under-utilized huckleberry, and an entire chapter on savory pies. Outside of a wide range of pie filling recipes, the book also includes nine different recipes for pie dough (including two gluten-free options), step by step instructions (with pictures!) on how to mix your dough, how to roll it out, how to make a lattice, or, if you really want to impress people, how to render your own lard for an extra-flaky crust. It's a great stepping stone to up your pie game if you're looking to improve your skills, and also provides an excellent starting point if you've never made a pie before.