Shoo Fly Pie

I'm all caught up with baking, but now I'm way off on the blog side. Oops. I'll try to crank through 'em all today. Today's pie shouldn't take too long.

So on to business. Shoo Fly Pie; it's basically molasses pie, but it's a pretty unique one. Definitely a pie I will bake again.

In related news, I've been fiddling with blind baking my crusts a bit. Often, when I blind bake a crust that then needs to go in for some more baking (like quiches, primarily), they end up a little dark and crunchy. So when we get the video together, I'll add some extra info on blind baking that I've figured out with some trial and error. Until then, I'll be specific with the details for that pie.

Let's talk about molasses! This pie (baked yesterday for Friday; I 'swapped' it with the one I had originally intended for Friday when I decided to give this week a theme) is another I shamelessly hefted from an episode of Good Eats, Pantry Raid X: Dark Side of the Cane.
Start with the good ol' pie crust. When you blind bake it, go for 425F and bake for ten minutes with the weights, then seven additional minutes without the weights. then reduce the oven to 350F.

5 1/2 ounces all-purpose flour
4 ounces dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

3/4 cup boiling water
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
8 ounces molasses, by weight
1 whole egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a food processor, mix up the first four. (Yeah, yeah, I know... more measures by weight. If you don't have a scale, find a converter online. It shouldn't be difficult with a quick Google search.) Scrape it down and blend some more just to make sure it's all pretty homogeneous. Then reserve a quarter cup and set them aside.

In a separate bowl, pour the boiling water over the baking soda. Crazy science!! Just watch the episode of Good Eats; Alton Brown says it better. Add the other wet stuff, and whisk to combine. Then add the larger portion of the dry stuff and whisk again. Pour the mix into the crust and sprinkle the quarter cup of the dry stuff on top. Pop 'er in the oven for about 40 to 45 minutes, until it starts to look dry or crack on top. Let it cool for about two hours before slicing.

For as wet as the mix is going in, the filling fluffs up a lot and doesn't seem at all like a pie from the texture. But man, it is tasty. So you know what? Pie it is. DELISH.