University of California’s science and food blog has come up with some beneficial scientific tricks to help you bake pie like a pro. To help baking and cooking enthusiast inside you, Biophysicist Amy Rowat has suggested five interesting scientific ways to let you bake crisp and crunchy apple pie this holiday season. The university food blog explains how small amount of vodka and little understanding on molecular level can help you cook your Grandma’s tried and tested recipe in a better and advanced way.
Here are five tricks to cook apple pie like a pro:
1. Butter for flakier crust
Butter in scientific sense is group of tiny water droplets discrete in air and when placed in oven, these droplets convert liquid into gas. It is advisable to use butter with lower butterfat content as slightly lower fat content means higher water content. Thus, making sure you get a crispier and flakier crust.
2. Fruit filling for higher surface-area volume
As your fruit pie bakes, the water from the fruits converts into gas, causing air pockets to expand the crust. Therefore, if you want to enjoy fruit-packed pie, use flat fruit slices instead of cutting them into small wedges. Also, cut vents in the center of the top crust, as it helps in evaporation and prevents pie from swelling.
3. Day-old pie for perfect flavors
Temperature plays an important role in bringing up the perfect and right flavors, and sometimes it is better to enjoy a day old pie, as it brings out the perfect pie texture. As pie cools, the pectin molecules spend quality time interacting with each other. Hence, giving you more solid, gel-filled pie that’s easy to cut and serve on a plate.
4. Flour for better pie crust
Flour has different protein counts, depending upon the type of flour used for pie. For a flaky and crunchy pie crust, it is best to use flour with low protein content like pastry flour or cake flour.
5. A little doses of vodka
Replacing water with vodka helps in moistening the dough, consequently making it easier to roll the dough without forgoing the texture.
Check the video posted by UCLA’s Amy to bake perfect apple pie this holiday season.
Via: Medium
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