What ingredients are needed to make a pie? Why not try a square pie? You may have heard of a slab pie before; it is a relatively new addition to the pie-baking industry. Yet, making a slab pie is not difficult. All you need for a square-shaped slab pie are a few basic materials and the ability to follow a few easy instructions.
Preheat your oven to 375°F before baking a square pie. Roll out the pie crust into a square shape with a rolling pin, then move it to a 2-inch deep square baking pan lined with parchment paper. Next, evenly pour the filling over the crust and bake for 25-30 minutes.
Baking a slab pie is a simple method to get that perfect, crispy crust. Knowing how to prepare this pie correctly will provide you with the ideal selection of pies to bake over the holiday season. In this article, I’ll give you some easy ideas for baking the ideal slab pie as well as a more in-depth look at how to bake a slab pie.
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Is it necessary for pies to be round?
In general, a pie does not have to be circular to be labeled a pie. A pie’s form is dictated by the shape of the baking pan in which it is cooked. Pies may be made in a variety of forms and sizes as long as they are prepared in a pan that is deep enough to hold the pie filling.
In fact, I often prepare pies in square, star, heart, or other shapes. Nonetheless, pies are usually always circular for a few reasons:
- Round pies are easier to mold into a circular shape
- They bake more uniformly
- They are cut into slices, convenient for sharing with friends and family
While preparing pies, I always seek for Ceramic Pie Pans. I just discovered a Set of Two Ceramic Pie Pans for Baking that work great for making pies in the oven. On Amazon, you can get this Set of Ceramic Pie Pans!
The reason we see so many round pies in the baking community is because creating round pies is often the most convenient choice for many individuals.
Is it possible to make a square pie?
A pie may be fashioned into a square shape as a general rule. There is nothing wrong with making a square pie if you use the proper ingredients and recipe. Be sure you use a deep enough square baking pan to hold all of the pie filling.
Square pies are growing more trendy with each passing month. Some individuals believe that making a square pie provides more bang for their cash. As a result, they might obtain extra servings from the same dish.
Personally, I agree with that viewpoint. Since square baking pans offer a larger surface area than round baking pans, a larger quantity of pie may be produced at once.
*You may also be interested in learning the true difference between a sweet potato pie and a pumpkin pie. I recently created an essay on their similarities and differences, as well as how to tell them differently!
The only issue I discovered with baking a square pie was that each pie slice cut off would not have equal pieces of pie. One slice may contain a corner crust piece, whereas another does not!
It is also simpler to bake two square pies at the same time. Since both pies are square, they will fit well next to each other inside the oven.
What Is the Best Way to Cook a Square Pie?
To make a square pie, adapt the recipe to fit the size of the square pan. Since square pies have a larger surface area than round pies, bake the pie for 5 minutes longer. Make sure the dimensions are correct for a square pan.
Any basic handmade pie crust recipe would do. The following are the components and procedure:
Ingredients:
- One cup of flour (I used whole wheat pastry flour)
- Half teaspoon salt
- Two tablespoons of cold butter or margarine cut into pieces
- Coldwater
- Square pan
Instructions:
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour and salt.
Step three: Add the butter or margarine and break it into coarse crumbs using a pastry cutter or two forks.
Step four: Stir in cold water with a fork until dough forms. It should simply form a ball and not adhere to the bowl or be dry and floury. If it’s too moist, add a little more flour; if it’s too dry, sprinkle with cold water—you don’t want it wet.
Step 5: Put the dough on a lightly floured surface and shape into a disc with your hands.
Step Six: Spread out the dough until it is approximately an inch larger all around than your pan.
Step 7: Place the dough in the pan and push it into the bottom and up the edges. Remove any extra dough.
Step 8: With a fork, prick the bottom of the crust and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown.
*Side Note: You may also be interested in learning How To Make Several Pies In The Oven At Simultaneously. I just posted an article on The Correct Way To Bake Several Pies Evenly At Once!
What Is the Best Way to Prepare a Square Pie Crust?
Roll the pie dough into a square shape using a rolling pin to produce a square pie crust. After placing the square dough in the pie pan, ensure that the square-shaped pie crust is long enough to cover both the bottom and edges of the square pan.
A cup of flour, half a teaspoon of salt, and two tablespoons of cut-up butter or margarine are required to produce the square crust.
Follow these steps: Cut the butter or margarine into tiny pieces and mix it into the flour.
butter combination. Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter, two forks, or even one knife (but be cautious!) until you have coarse crumbs. Next, gently pour ice-cold water over the top, mixing it up with your preferred utensil.
Continue to mix until the dough forms a ball—you don’t want it to be too moist or too dry. Add extra flour if it’s too moist; if it’s too dry, add cold water in little increments.
When the dough is ready, lay it on a lightly floured surface and shape it into a disc with your hands. Press the dough into the bottom and up the sides of a square pie pan. Remove any extra dough from the crust, prick the bottom with a fork, and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown.
How Do You Make a Slab Pie From a Round Pie?
To make a round pie into a slab pie, add additional pie dough to the round pie’s crust to give it four corners. Add to a 2-inch deep baking tray and top with more pie filling. Increasing the surface area of the pie by adding more dough to the crust allows it to expand into a square pan.
Nevertheless, since a slab pie is often thicker than a conventional round pie, you will need to alter your baking time. To allow the insides of the pie to bake for longer, I generally add 5 minutes to the baking time.
Keep an eye on your pie since it may be done sooner depending on the size of the square baking pan.
I’ve used Ceramic Pie Weights for as long as I can remember, and they’ve rescued my pie crusts on several times. As a general guideline, for every 9-inch pie, use around 2.2 pounds of pie weights. I use these Ceramic Pie Weights, which you can get on Amazon!
If I don’t have a pie pan, what should I use?
You may bake your pie without a pie plate by utilizing tart pans, cake pans, baking sheets, muffin pans, casseroles, and square pans. Here are several pie pan alternatives that you may use to bake your pies. Be careful to adjust the baking time for each pan individually.
The following are some alternatives to pie pans:
A square pan is the closest thing to a pie pan. But, you will get square pies, and you may need to modify the quantity of filling in your pie.
Casserole: I’ve seen friends bake pies in casserole dishes. The pie turns out perfectly. Nevertheless, if you are a novice baker, I would avoid it since the crust to filling ratio would be incorrect due to the shape and size of your pan.
A cake pan is not the ideal choice for a pie. Nonetheless, if you’re in a need and don’t have any other pans, it’ll suffice. Please be cautious while moving your pie to the oven since cake pans are delicate.
Tart pan: Another excellent choice for preparing a pie. Tart pans, on the other hand, are smaller than pie pans. This implies you’ll need to modify your recipe properly.
Muffin pan: A muffin pan is similar to a pie pan. But, since you will be making smaller pies, your recipe will need to be adjusted as well.
If you don’t have any other alternatives, a baking sheet will do for baking your pie crust. Just make sure the borders are elevated so the filling doesn’t fall over.
FAQs:
Is it possible to make a pie in a square pan?
Pies may be made in a square pan on average. Let the square pie to bake for 5 minutes longer than instructed. Since square pans have a bigger surface area than round pans, alter the pie recipe proportionately based on the size of the square pan.
What is the optimum size square pie?
A normal size for a square pie is eight inches on all sides when using an 88 square baking pan. This will allow you to fill it with your favorite filling while maintaining a good crust-to-filled ratio. When divided into squares, this size pie may feed up to 8 people.
I just discovered a fantastic Set of 2 Quality Nonstick 8-Inch Square Pans on Amazon. These 2 inch deep pans are great for baking a Square Pie!
In conclusion
Pies are tasty, and like everything else, they may be made simple or complicated. Slab pies enable bakers to make a flaky and uniform crust as well as a substantial filling in one pot, reducing stress and messes.
I’ve prepared many circular pies in my years as a baker, but learning how to create a square pie was quite fulfilling. It rekindled my desire to create something new while also adding another masterpiece to my baking repertoire!