Everybody loves pie and everybody has a story behind their favorite. From a pile of dough to the bubbling, sugar-flecked creation pulled from the oven, pie baking is a process that brings people together. Stories have a way of pouring out in the kitchen and memories have a way of being made. This digital booklet is a record of one such get together.
With a sprinkling of flour at their feet and a vibrant supply of Northwest fruit at hand, carefully chosen chefs, bloggers and bakers with a passion for pie hovered over wooden counters at a private commercial kitchen in Seattle to create flaky, sweet labors of love. Using a blend of kitchen prowess and natural intuition, they transformed simple ingredients into perfectly latticed and crumbled crusts that were rustic, yet stylish. Through the universal language of pie, camaraderie formed among the group as they traded tried-and-true tricks of buttery crusts, just right juices and golden bake times.
They began with a communal crop of Northwest cherries, peaches, plums, nectarines and apricots, and as each artfully created, yet drastically different pie was set to cool on the counter, the individual styles of each pie-maker and the influence of those who taught them to bake shined through. Whether a chilled Cherries Jubilee or traditional Peach Ginger Pie, we learned that it doesn’t matter if a secret recipe is passed down for generations or a homespun slice comes from years o kitchen experimenting, there’s a story in every pie that makes it that much sweeter.
So while they baked, we watched and we listened.
Flip through these pages to see the communal day of baking and tip swapping unfold, read each baker’s personal story behind their pie and find recipes to turn apricots the color of sunshine, succulent peaches, nectarines, cherries and plums into down-home filling with the perfectly jammy flavor.
Once you find the one that appeals to you, tie on your apron and start rolling out your own memory.