Fork and Beans

Fork and Beans 

They say early experiences affect who we become as mature adults, and perhaps in my case - it just might be true. My first baking experiences were in my mother's kitchen where my biscuits were requested often. Occasionally during the summer months I was engaged as a volunteer at a large industrial kitchen where my mother worked, and learned a few tricks of the trade there under the guidance of the head cook. I recall the steamy heat of the place, way too many dirty dishes and a small table where the exhausted staff could gather to share stories and rest. Later, as a young adult I had the pleasure of working for a year as a pastry cook in a busy restaurant, and all those tricks I learned in my youth sure came in handy! I'd like to share one of those baking tricks with you today. 

There's nothing like the comforting decadence of a beautiful slice of pie. Store bought shells can be laden with lard and preservatives, come with excess packaging, are shallow and are, sadly, often stale-tasting. Making your own pre-baked pie shell is much more desirable but people often have trouble making the crust look flawless. One of the most common issues is the formation of large air bubbles. A further issue with making pre-baked shells is that they can shift in the pan, warp and come out less than perfect.

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You can prevent all this with a simple solution, that I call Fork and Beans. 

We keep a container with 3 cups of uncooked red kidney beans on hand for the purpose of holding down the crust, the weight of the beans will prevent the pastry dough from deforming while baking. 

After lining the pie pan with raw pastry for the bottom shell, poke the base of it with a fork several times. Cut a circle out of a sheet of parchment paper and line the pastry with parchment paper, covering the edge of the pastry as well. Fill the pie pan now with the beans. 

Bake for 12 minutes at 375˚F, or until the pastry edge shows a light golden colour. Place on a to a rack to cool. Once the shell has cooled enough to handle, carefully support the shell while pouring the beans into a small bowl. Cool the beans completely before storing in the pantry cupboard. To eliminate confusion later on, label the container. These pie-beans will never be edible, but can be reused many times and then composted once the beans do start breaking down.

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