bake - July 2018 - 57
BROUGHT TO YOU BY most delicious pies among an array of flavor categories for bragging rights to be named the nation's best. From apple and pumpkin to an open category and savory pot pies, hundreds of pies were sampled by more than 200 judges throughout the two-day competition. "We had an incredible array of competitors this year," Hoskins says. "It's evident that our best of show winners put much Techniques for PHO-Free Pies passion into their pie craft; have learned from their past experiences at the championships; and coupled these learnings with their passion to be the nation's best." Fruit flavors Blueberry pie has long been a favorite among pie lovers, and it's important for bakers to understand the many options of blueberries available. For example, wild blueberries and wild foods overall have seen a resurgence in recent years as consumers seek out more natural products. As foods became more and more processed in previous decades, new generations of shoppers began to gravitate towards foods with more authenticity. Menu and product developers who want to signal their commitment to delivering a real food experience are responding to this shift. "Across the real foods landscape, wild foods rank as truly sacrosanct," says Mike Collins, brand strategist at Ethos Marketing. "This is because there are so very few wild foods on Earth that are actually available for broad human consumption. Wild fish, wild meats, wild grains, wild greens, and wild blueberries are amongst the special few." While smaller than ordinary blueberries, wild blueberries give you more than twice the number of berries per cup compared with cultivated blueberries and 25% more cups per pound. For bakers, that means your baked goods have more berries in every bite, giving each muffin, scone, or pie extra flavor. They also have a higher skin to pulp ratio. More skin and less water equal more To better understand the challenges in converting pie crusts to PHO-free, it helps to start with a look at the critical basics of how pie crust is made: x Cutting shortening into flour, encasing pockets of flour inside a shell of fat x Adding water to moisten the flour whereupon gluten-the network of proteins that lend structure to baked goods-is formed x Rolling this dough out, these pockets of fat stretch and stretch, eventually forming sheet of fat that separate sheets of gluten-enforced flour x As the pastry bakes, the fatty layers melt, allowing the floury layers to separate from each other, solidify, and form the layers you see in a great pie crust. Mitch Riavez, national accounts manager for Stratas Foods and a fourth-generation baker, points out that pie dough has a high percentage of fat, making it difficult for the PHO conversion. He offers the following techniques to help you through the process. Do not put flour in the refrigerator prior to mixing if using a palm shortening for pie dough. It will tighten the dough up, and it will not mix properly. Do not overmix the dough. "Overmixing a pie dough is one of the worst things we can do," Riavez says. "It will take away all of the flakiness." Pie dough made with high stability soybean shortening can be easily hand-rolled or used in mass production machinery. "You should mix it similar to the way you have mixed your pie dough before, just watching your temperatures," Riavez recommends. "Do not go below 50 degrees on your dough temperature." antioxidant-rich pigment - and a better freezing blueberry. That makes a huge difference for product developers and other foodservice providers looking for cost-effective ingredients. In order to preserve their flavor and quality, wild blueberries are sorted, cleaned, and frozen within 24 hours of harvest using stateof-the-art technology. Thanks to this efficient process, wild blueberries are able to maintain their more intense, sweet and If using a palm based shortening, let the dough warm up to room temperature for ease of use. "When it comes to mass production or hydraulic pressing of pie dough, the pie dough itself should always be above 50 degrees," Riavez explains. "Anytime below that it will start to crack on you and you won't get an even spread in your pie plate." tangy taste. Wild blueberries are available year-round. For additional information, please contact your Stratas sales representative, or review our product bakemag.com | MON 2018 > 57 lines at www.stratasfoods.com.