Page 22 - Pie Squared

IN MY PIE MAKING LIFE, THERE have been times I’ve

put together pie in a kitchen equipped with nothing

more than a paring knife and a pie pan (back in the day

when I believed pies had to be round).

EQUIPMENT

It is possible to make slab pie with no special equipment except a
slab pie pan. This 9- by 13-inch baking sheet, no more than 1 inch
high, is called a quarter sheet pan in restaurant parlance. I may call it
a slab pie pan, but it is sure to become one of the most useful pans

in your kitchen. I have four. I use them for roasting vegetables or
even a whole chicken, making scones, reheating leftovers, and
toasting nuts. Some larger countertop “toaster” ovens fit a slab pie
pan and you know what that means? Pie in the summer without

turning on the big oven.
I do not line the pan in parchment or with a silicone baking mat. I
never spray with cooking spray, coat with butter, dust with flour, or do
anything else to prepare the pan. Baking the pie directly in the metal

pan makes for the best, brownest, crispiest, flakiest crust.
Please do not let this list of equipment dissuade you from making
a slab pie. Many of the following recipes require nothing more than
the slab pie pan.