On 24 Oct 2005 15:49:02 -0500, "Bob Terwilliger"
> wrote:

>Boron wrote:
>
>> By the way, some of Costco's baked goods are very good. The trick is
>> knowing which ones they are. They have some of the best croissants I
>> have had on the East Coast. Just heat in a hot oven. Their rugelach
>> are wonderful, too, as are their pound cakes. I am not a fan of their
>> pies, but that is because of the crust. Their fillings are often very
>> nice.
>
>My local Costco regularly carries ciabatta from the La Brea Bakery, which
>is one of the best bread bakeries in the country. It's fantastic stuff. But
>pies are a different story. To my way of thinking, the pie crust is the
>most critical part of the pie, and if it's not good, then the pie isn't
>good.

Agreed. If the crust isn't worth sneaking around and breaking off
little bits, then it's a failure.

Still, I'd be more than happy to spoon out some of their fillings and
scarf them.
>
>The best pie crust recipe I've found is the one from _CookSmart_. It's got
>cream cheese in the crust, which makes it a bit unusual, but wow, it makes a
>terrific cherry pie.
>
>Bob
>


I use Cooks Illustrated pie crust (uses both butter & Crisco), but
what makes it a success at my house is the flour. For ages I never
made a decent crust. I used KA flour all the time because it was great
for bread baking. Since switching to Hecker's flour, my pie crusts are
delicate and flaky.

(end of testimonial)

Boron