[djbnh]

Since "Covid" a couple years ago, I expanded my baking to sourdough breads. Here's a few from Dec 2022 - Jan/Feb 2023:












I also learned to get pretty good with pies, here's a few from 2022-23:














Baking for me is a fun hobby, highly relaxing. Some bread / pie baking reminds me of carefully setting up a tonearm / cartridge combination re: making precise (gram) measurements, observing and tweaking, being patient, etc. Other times its like listening to music: relaxing / energizing / engaging / contemplative / experimental - only you get to eat, and smell (mmmmm) the results, at a very reasonable cost. I found KA Baking's site to be a great starting place for learning about sourdough, bread / pie recipes, etc. Happy baking!

[Samac]

Wow, nice work. Everything looks fantastic. Thanks for the King Arthur link. Might have to give a sourdough a try someday.

Cheers,

Scott

[WGH]

Beautiful, looking good enough to eat!

I have been using the Cooks Illustrated Vodka Pie Dough recipe, it's always flaky. If you measure right there is always a little nip left over for the chef. 
https://www.seriouseats.com/cooks-illustrated-foolproof-pie-dough-recipe

During my hippie period I tried whole wheat pie crusts, they are hard to roll out without crumbling and no fun to eat. All butter pie dough is a challenge, Tucson is almost always too warm, got to work quick. I always roll out pie dough between two sheets waxed paper.

Every year my realtor drops off a Halloween pumpkin as a thank you, it hangs out until Thanksgiving when I cut it in half, scoop out the seeds, cover each half with tin foil and bake in a 350 degree oven for over an hour. I do the same with butternut squash and puree both in a food processor until very smooth. The 50/50 mix is put into a strainer over a big pot which drains overnight in the fridge. I might get 2 cups liquid. The drained pulp makes the best, freshest pumpkin pie you ever ate. I you don't drain the pulp overnight you get pumpkin soup in a soggy pie crust.

[djbnh]

Beautiful, looking good enough to eat!
That's awesome, thanks for sharing!

I have been using the Cooks Illustrated Vodka Pie Dough recipe, it's always flaky. If you measure right there is always a little nip left over for the chef. 
https://www.seriouseats.com/cooks-illustrated-foolproof-pie-dough-recipe

During my hippie period I tried whole wheat pie crusts, they are hard to roll out without crumbling and no fun to eat. All butter pie dough is a challenge, Tucson is almost always too warm, got to work quick. I always roll out pie dough between two sheets waxed paper.

Re: Cooks Illustrated vodka crust - I had been using that recipe for a few years, and then changed over to a couple crusts that I prefer from KA Baking. I also used to use CI's pumpkin pie recipe, yet found that KA Baking's recipe was far easier, and far tastier, to me. I wholeheartedly agree with your butter crust comments, and I find a mix of butter / shortening hits all the right notes for us. (I love that KA Baking provides metric measurements, and wish [to no avail] CI would do that too.)

1) Blue Ribbon Blueberry Pie - I quickly found out that the crust works well with deep dish apple pie. I note that I use a combination of shortening & butter for this crust, per my earlier comment. Did I mention that this summer I picked one section of my rural road's NH blueberry bushes bare? haha, there were lots of slices to work off on the elliptical / extra walks. NOTE: a real game changer for this and other fruit pies is using Instant Clear Jel in the recipes, I'll never go back to cornstarch or flour as a primary thickener as Instant Clear Jel sets perfectly. I note that I don't buy the KA Baking brand Instant Clear Jel, as Amazon has Hoosier Hill Farm's Instant Clear Jel for a far better per oz. price.
2) Apple Pie. Great filling recipe, the crust is ok; the accompanying blog has good ideas on a mix of apples to use (I use Cortlands and Granny Smiths. Also, instead of the boiled cider I sub in some apple butter plus a bit of water.)
3) Smooth and Spicy Pumpkin Pie. I use the buttermilk crust from the Blue Ribbon Blueberry Pie recipe here as well. Filling is killer, yet I think homemade pumpkin / squash puree YOU make would up the pumpkin pie nirvana meter well into the red.

Another pie game changer was using Mrs. Anderson’s Baking Easy No-Mess Pie Crust Maker Bag (Amazon). Couldn't be simpler to roll out crusts. And the Talisman Designs Adjustable Pie Shield Crust Protector (Amazon) ensures no burnt crust edges for me.

Sorry to carry on...this hobby is super fun and tasty. Happy baking!