Hints & Tips for Successfull Pies

Small tips for successful pies

Sweet red pumpkin pie

Hard wheat flour from village makes the best sheet.
You will not make the perfect sheet on your first try. Keep trying. You will soon find out your own secrets.
The right thin rolling-pin can be found at open-air markets, and at Athinas Street, in those little stores selling hangers and mortars.
We can spread many sheets and preserve them in the freezer, wrapping each one separately in plastic wrap. A few minutes defrosting before usage is enough.
The sheet "loves" oil. Spray some on it before you put in the oven. Corn-oil makes the end result much crunchier.
Never expect a tastier result with redy-made pastry sheet.
We never cover our pie after taking it out of the oven - we want to preserve the pastry crispy.
Spinach-pies with frozen spinach do not have the taste of the fresh vegetable. During the summer, we can replace frozen spinach with fresh blite.
You can spread any remaining dough in little round pieces, add some oil, oregano and ground cheese, thus creating lovely tiny home-made pizzas.Common mistakes - and how to workaround them

Spinach pie with cheese

Question:I can't get the sheet to spread. Answer:Your dough is too thick. Add some oil and mould it again. Question:The dough sticks on my rolling pin. Answer:Pour some flour on the surface and let it slide Question:My sheet is not crispy enough. Answer:You haven't added enough oil in the dough or the sheet surface before you baked it. Question:My dough is too watery Answer:Add flour

Tips from those who know

Leek pie

Maria Karamaggioli, from Thebes: "The classic Thebes' pies are the cheese-pie and the spinach -pie. However, we also use chicken and yellow pumpkins. You have to cook a pie when you have a guest in the house, or when you're invited somewhere - you have to offer something. My secret is that I only use flour, salt and a little oil for the dough - the oil makes the sheet a little looser. You don't need to overcook you pie, and the fire mustn't be too hot, or it will become dry like bread crust". Vicky Vallatou, from Kefalonia: "The pies used to be a festive meal in Kefalonia. Especially meat pies, made during the 15th of August with billy-goat meat, which does not smell bad in the summer. My secret for a crispy pastry sheet is to use 2/3 of hard flour along with 1/3 of soft. Also, add a little cinnamon powder on the bottom of the pan, on top of the oil, before spreading the sheet. Finally, the secret of a Kefalonia herb-pie is the variety of spice".