King Arthur Flour Baking Education Center
King Arthur Flour is here to help you make your very own pies for the holidays.
There is no excuse to not bake your own pies. Not when help is just across the border in Norwich, Vt., at King Arthur Flour. The company headquarters is the site for a well-stocked Baker’s Store, café and fully equipped classrooms. Help is also close at hand through their baking hotline (855) 371-2253. It’s a free service where you talk directly to baking experts with any issues with recipes or ingredients. They’ll even troubleshoot problems after the fact.
The King Arthur Flour website is a rich tool for learning too. There are a variety of blogs and online video demonstrations for everything from pie crusts to no-knead bread. The website also is a fount of recipes for everything flour, from pizza and pretzels to breads and pies to cookies and cupcakes.
The Baker’s Store in Norwich and the online site offers all the tools a baker might lust for, including brotforms for bread, pantry essentials, and baking and decorating tools.
Of course, the easiest way to learn the proper techniques in baking is to take a hands-on class at the Baking Education Center in Norwich. Classes are offered for home bakers, baking professionals and kids. There is always something to learn in baking … after all, it is an art and a science.
Cranberry Apple Pie
From King Arthur Flour Baking Center
Pie crust
2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1 cup King Arthur Unbleached White Whole Wheat Flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar (optional)
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup cold butter
6-9 tablespoons ice water
Pie filling
1 1/2 cups chopped cranberries, fresh or frozen
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon grated orange peel (zest)
1 tablespoon King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1/3 cup orange or cranberry juice
6 tablespoons chopped pecans
3 large, firm, tart apples, peeled, cored and sliced
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon butter
Directions
1) For the crust: In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, salt and sugar, if using. With a pastry blender, two knives or your fingertips, cut the shortening into the flour mixture until it resembles cornmeal.
2) Dice the butter into 1/2” cubes, toss them in the flour mixture to coat and cut them in until the largest pieces are the size of a dime.
3) Sprinkle the ice water over the flour/fat mixture, tossing with a fork, using 2 tablespoons at a time. Continue until the dough is just moist enough to hold together. Gather it into a ball, cut it in half and flatten the halves into two disks. Wrap the pieces of dough and refrigerate to give them a rest for 30 minutes or more before rolling them out.
4) For the filling: In a medium saucepan, cook the cranberries with the sugar, orange peel, flour and juice over medium heat until the mixture simmers and is slightly thickened. Remove from the heat and cool.
5) To assemble the pie: Lightly grease a 9″ pie plate, and preheat the oven to 425°F. Roll out half the pie dough and fit it into the prepared plate. Sprinkle half the pecans over the dough. Place the apples on top of the nuts, then dot with butter and sprinkle with cinnamon.
6) Pour the cooled cranberry mixture over the apples and sprinkle on the remaining pecans. Use the other half of the dough to make a lattice crust and place it on top of the filling. Seal and crimp the edges.
7) Bake the pie for 30 minutes (check after 20 and cover the edges with a pie shield or foil if necessary), until the crust is golden and the filling is bubbling in the center. Remove from the oven and cool before slicing.
