Pie making can be a difficult and frustrating endeavor if you don’t have the right tools. Most of the basics are readily available at your local Bed Bath & Beyond; others can be ordered from Amazon. It’s fun to buy fancy or vintage items at specialty shops and flea markets, or to order them from Etsy and eBay. The photo above shows all the equipment you need to make a two crust, 9 inch fruit pie.
Rolling Pin- If you are going to the trouble of making a pie crust “from scratch”, do yourself a big favor and get the right rolling pin. It need not be expensive. You should find one that is made of smooth wood, is not too heavy, and spins easily. I use a medium size J.K. Adams maple rolling pin from Vermont, but there are others on the market that are also very good. Some have ball bearings, which can be nice. A light touch is required for rolling out pie crust, so I don’t like rolling pins that are too heavy. And you should always use a cloth rolling pin cover, so don’t waste your money on rolling pins made of marble or other heavy material unless you just like to collect rolling pins. Oversized wooden rolling pins can be beautiful and are also great for your collection, but they are unwieldy to use and difficult to store. As for the trendy “French rolling pins”, those may be wonderful for cookies, breads and other pastries, but not so great for pie crust.
Rolling Cloth and Pin Cover- I’ve been making pies for over 40 years, and I have always used a rolling cloth and rolling pin cover. These sets used to be widely available, but now many stores seem to have replaced them with rolling mats made of plastic or silicone. I bought one of those mats several years ago, used it once, and then threw it out. Some people apparently love them. I don’t get it. All I can think of is that they may be using them for something other than pies. There is one for sale at BB&B that recommends using it either for rolling out dough or for children’s crafts. It would be much more suitable for the latter.
OK, so let’s assume you have purchased a rolling cloth and pin cover set. Before using it for the first time you should put it through the washer and dryer. They are cotton so they will shrink, and the rolling cloth will most likely need ironing. (If this is too much trouble you probably should not be making pies from scratch.) After the rolling pin cover has been washed and dried you can trim it to fit your rolling pin if necessary.
Pastry Blender- I suppose if I were stranded on a desert island with no pastry blender I could make a pie without one, but I am not so I don’t have to. This handy device enables you to cut the shortening into the flour without mashing the dough. It costs about $5.00. Of course if you live in a remote wilderness area without even a Walmart and you can’t wait for an Amazon Prime delivery, you can always improvise with two regular table knives.
Mixing Bowls- For a two crust fruit pie you will need two large bowls and one small one, preferably made of glass. I like to use vintage Pyrex Cinderella bowls, described in the previous post, but new Pyrex clear glass bowls are fine.
Pie Plate- Use a glass, ceramic or stoneware pie plate. The one in the picture above is an old Pyroceram 9 inch pie plate with the signature Corning cornflower. I’ve had it forever. These are not made anymore, but they are easy to find on Etsy and eBay. I also have some clear Pyrex pie plates, but the Pyroceram one is much easier to keep looking nice.
Measuring Cups & Spoons- Use metal measuring cups, not glass.
Other Utensils- large mixing spoon, paring knife, fork & knife from you flatware set
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