Buttermilk Pie-Some Pix and Some ??

jfm0830 · June 2013

Buttermilk Pie is probably the best dessert I've ever had. A former bosses wife used to make it for me on my birthday. The pie is incredibly rich and moist, it reminds me of having a thick buttermilk pancake, loaded with maple syrup and butter. A small slice and I am full for hours. My bosses wife lost her recipe before I was able to get a copy, but I recently found a great recipe on the King Arthur Flour website for Buttermilk Pie. Whenever I need a baking recipe that I know will work and be delicious, the King Arthur Flour website is my first stop.

I am going to let the pictures tell the story, but before I do I am going to offer up a trade: some food porn in exchange for picking the brains of other's who do a lot of baking on the Egg. The recipe called for the pie to be baked at 325 degrees. I had my Egg stabilized at 325 dome temp for 30 minutes before I put the pie on. I had the platesetter legs down. The recipe said to bake the pie on the lower rack for 20 minutes and then for 40 more minutes on the middle rack. I simulated this by placing the pie directly on the platesetter for the first 20 minutes and then set it up off the platesetter using 1/2" copper plumbing T's after that. Everything was fine with this first 20 minutes or so and the 10 minutes after. But then the pie & crust began to brown before the custard was set. All I can think of is even though the dome thermometer is close to the grate level there must still have been higher temps at the plate setter level. My question is do those of you who bake use the dome thermo or do you place a thermo at the platesetter level? Any other ideas what might cause this pie to cook up faster.

This recipe didn't just have a one pie crust fits all pie crust. It used a pie crust tailored to this particular recipe. It used All-purpose flour, vinegar, salt, buttermilk powder, cold butter, shortening, baking powder & ice water.

The dry ingredients were whisked together & then the shortening & butter were mixed in. I used a fork to help mix in the cold butter, which I had also cut into 1/4" cubes.

The buttermilk & ice water were mixed in last. The water was added until the dough started to come together into a coherent mass.

The dough was formed into a ball, then pressed into a disk. It was wrapped with plastic wrap & refrigerated for an hour.

The dough is out of the fridge after an hour and has been rolled into a 12" crust.

The crust is in a 9" pie plate and it will be put back in the fridge while the filling is made.

The filling used: All-purpose flour, buttermilk, sugar, butter, salt vanilla extract, eggs & butter.

The filling is mixed & the pie crust is back out of the fridge ready to be filled.

The pie crust is filled & is ready to go out onto the Egg which has been stabilized at 325 degrees dome temperature.

The pie went onto the platesetter directly for the first 20 minutes.

Twenty minutes have passed and the pie is now up on 1/2" plumbing T's. This was done to simulate the shift from the lower to upper rack in the oven.

The pie is done after 60 minutes, the custard filling has finally set, despite the color being a little darker than I wanted didn't interfere with how the pie ate, which was fantastic.

I brought the warm pie over to my parents house and shared it with them. I'd never heard of buttermilk pie until about 7 years ago, and after the first bite it became a new favorite. My parents never had it before this day and they both said it was their new favorite pie. My wife agreed when she tried it.

This really is an amazing pie. If you chose to try making this recipe remember: small pieces or you will explode. Don't ask me how I know this.

Jim

SmokinDAWG82 · June 2013

Looks good as usual Jim

Charlie tuna · June 2013

Now that you walked us thru the pie assembly -- where are the actual amounts or where can we find them? I can tell, just from the photo, thats gonna be my favorite pie too!!

TexanOfTheNorth · June 2013

Jim, that pie looks great. I haven't buttermilk pie since I was a kid. You might consider foiling the exposed crust for the first 20 minutes to slow down the rate at which it browns.

jfm0830 · June 2013

Thanks guys!

Charlie tuna said:

Now that you walked us thru the pie assembly -- where are the actual amounts or where can we find them? I can tell, just from the photo, thats gonna be my favorite pie too!!

Uh that would be where I said: "...but I recently found a great recipe on the King Arthur Flour website for Buttermilk Pie"

That is a link to the recipe. No need to apologize I'm sure the pictures had you distracted.

)

Jim

Charlie tuna · June 2013

Thanks jfm0830. Got it printed and have everything to make it except buttermilk..... X(

Hibby · June 2013

I tried this pie from a recipe in either Cooks Country or Cooks Illustrated/America's Test Kitchen. It's so good. Nice job. Where did you get your flour container? I need a big one like that.

Village Idiot · June 2013

I've made buttermilk pie for years, and it is my second favorite pie (1st is chocolate pecan). Buttermilk is great in lots of recipes. My favorites are jalapeño cheese cornbread, buttermilk roasted chicken, and of course, buttermilk pancakes. Just don't make me drink it straight. Yuk !

TexanOfTheNorth · June 2013

VI, my grandmother used to drink it straight. It does make a pretty good fruit smoothie though.

jlsm · June 2013

The buttermilk you get in the store today bears little resemblance to real buttermilk. I really like to drink the real thing; the store variety, not so much.

Village Idiot · June 2013

jlsm said:

The buttermilk you get in the store today bears little resemblance to real buttermilk. I really like to drink the real thing; the store variety, not so much.

Yes, real buttermilk is different. I have made butter (and therefore buttermilk) by buying whipping cream, then putting it in the Kitchen Aid at medium/high speed. You have to be quick to cut the speed to low just as the butter is making, or you'll have your buttermilk on the ceiling.

Buttermilk Pie-Some Pix and Some ??

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