PJP Fight Club...

Baking pies is a messy endeavor.  If you've ever stopped by PJP on a busy day, you've noticed that we - and our baking space - are a hot mess.  In fact, when we started to envision PJP Buttonwood and saw it in our minds as one open space, more than a few people thought that we were crazy.  Our architect asked several times - "Are you SURE you don't want a wall in front of your baking area??"  And we were sure.  Because we bake pies from scratch, there isn't really anything to hide at PJP Buttonwood.  We don't use canned pie filling or defrost crust made in a distant factory and call it our own. Lately, we are making a lot of pie dough at PJP Buttonwood.  Almost everyday, people ask us for the recipe or to simply list out the ingredients in a batch of PJP dough.  And I'm sorry to tell you that the first rule of the PJP Fight Club is that we don't talk about how to make the dough.  And the second rule of the PJP Fight Club is that we don't talk about how to make the dough.  (Bonus points if you caught the obscure movie reference - and email me because we should probably be friends).

All kidding aside, the PJP dough recipe is a family secret that dates back to my great grandmother.  She made dough based on supplies readily available to her in an economically depressed era.  While I can recall only a very few memories about her, I know that she would roll dough and slice it into strips and bake it and call it "pie crackers."  And my grandmother did the same thing.  And my mother.  And I do the same for my kids.  You know how some families pass down some sort of heirloom?  I think ours is pie dough...which is really kind of weird, but it works for us.  Obviously.

All of this made me think...what if we just sold a PJP crust in the pie tin to anyone interested in baking at home?  f you've tried to make pie dough at home, you likely know that it makes your kitchen a flour disaster and it is a lot of work to get enough to make one pie (especially if you need a top crust or a lattice top).  So yeah, you can buy a Pillsbury crust at the grocery store, but it comes rolled in a weird log on wax paper and is that unnatural frozen-but-not-really-frozen state in the box.  Or you can get a pie crust in the tin from the frozen food section of the grocery store...but then you have to wonder, what sort of machine puts that in the tin and how long has it been frozen like that and where does it come from and why can't you even pronounce all the things in the ingredient list?

So starting tomorrow, we will have freshly rolled pie dough available for sale at PJP Buttonwood.  We will have the dough in the pie tin, but we won't flute it unless you ask us to do so.  We are selling one crust for $3 or two crusts for $5.  You can buy them and take them home to fill with your heart's desire.  Or you can take the tins home, take the dough out and roll it flat, cut it into strips and bake some pie crackers for someone you love.  Whatever you decide to do, you'll be glad you bought PJP dough to do it with.