Pie and Pastry Bible Book

The first day I opened this book, I read 100 pages of it. It is a cookbook for crying out loud. It is made of recipes I can follow; I wasn't supposed to read it. And that's what makes this book remarkable.

Where I grew up, getting good pastry was just a matter of trying the different "patisseries" in town and picking my favorite one. Then I moved to the US.

For years now, I have made the most American of all pies: the apple pie. My husband complimented it. I was wondering if he was just being nice so I gave some to my neighbors and they liked it too. I figured the crust was decent. But I could never consistently make the crust manageable. It would sometimes crack and sometimes become soggy and stick to the countertop. I searched for years for a good crust recipe. There were a lot of "secrets" that sounded outright desperate (like using vodka) but more than that - I did not understand why my crust turned out the way it did so I couldn't fix it.

If you want to troubleshoot your pie crust, this book is for you. Ms. Beranbaum explains what every step of her recipe does, why she uses baking powder (and which kind to use) and why vinegar. Following her recipe to the letter is a pain but now, I now know how to make a great pie crust and figure out my own shortcuts. In fact, my husband said it was the best crust I have ever made and the kids decreed that we should have a pie per season.

Last time I was back to visit my parents, I ate some "tarte aux fraises" practically every day. It is this little dessert made of a crumbly sweet crust, light custard, and fresh strawberries under a shiny jelly glaze. I was really happy to find a recipe in this book (strawberry pie means something different in the US). I would never have even attempted that before this book.

In short, this is the best cookbook for learning how to make pie crust and pies.