"N. Thornton" > wrote in message
m...
> "Vox Humana" > wrote in message
>...
> > "N. Thornton" > wrote in message
> > om...
>
> > I think you are making this more difficult that need be.
>
> I'm all ears to an effective method.
>
> > I also don't
> > understand why someone would choose to make a giant pie with a filling
so
> > viscous that it would hold up to being sliced into 30 pieces rather than
> > making several pies with a pleasing consistency. While it would be more
> > work, I would consider making 30 tarts that don't have to be sliced into
> > portions rather than one industrial size pie.
>
> Maing lots of litluns would be way more work and yield a mere fraction
> of the final pie volume. Quadrupling ones workload per serving is
> clearly not the way to do it.
>
> Regarding the consistency I think a pie that is just about set enough
> to cut and handle can be pleasing, without being in any way hard. But
> we shall see once I figure it out, I could be wrong.
>

You have already been given an effective method. I never bake lemon pies
made with curd. Curd is made on the range top and poured into a baked pie
shell, then refrigerated. You can only make curd so viscous. Heating it
beyond about 180 will scramble the eggs. You have a window between about
160F and 180F. Above or below that you will have problems. You need to get
a thermometer. The suggestion about the plastic wrap involved putting it on
the curd before refrigerating it. Again, the pie doesn't go into the oven,
with or without plastic. The plastic helps prevent a skin from forming on
the curd. Personally, I think that the rough surface left when you pull off
the plastic ruins the appearance of the filling, so you have to balance the
absence of a surface skin with the aftermath of pulling off the plastic
film.

If you are making a huge round pie, the problem is that the slices are going
to be very long and narrow. If each slice is 2 inches wide, the
circumference of the pie would be 60 inches requiring a pie with a 19 inch
diameter. A three inch slice would be 14 inches long and require a pie with
a 28 inch diameter. A 3 x 14 inch piece of pie would be very hard to remove
from the pan, require a huge serving plate, and would be too large a
serving. No edible pie pastry will hold together over a 9 or 14 inch
length, let alone the issue with the filling. Most home ovens are too small
to hold a 19 or 28 inch diameter pan. So, unless you are a professional
baker, you wouldn't be able to produce the large pie. I would just make 4,
9 inch pies and be done with it. Four pies will be less work, quicker, and
have fewer problems than one huge pie. The crust will be edible and the
filling won't have to be the consistency of a gum eraser. On the other
hand, if you are just trying to set some record or impress someone with a
size fixation, then the quality of the product is going to be secondary or
you will have a large pie that disintegrates upon serving.