12 Secrets of Delicious Pies

1. Sifting the flour. Before kneading the dough, I always sift the flour – this way it is saturated with oxygen and the dough becomes fluffier. Without sifting, the dough turns out dense and heavy. It is best to sift twice for a perfect result.
2. Quality of the yeast. When baking, it is important to choose your yeast carefully – poor quality can ruin the pie. Pressed yeast should have a creamy shade and should not crumble when pressed. The colour should not be too dark – dark yeast is best avoided. I always check the use-by date: if it is nearly expired, I do not buy it.
3. Clean dishes. For kneading the dough I use absolutely clean dishes with no foreign smells. If the bowl previously held fish or sauerkraut, the smell can pass to the dough even after washing. The ideal option is a separate "pastry" bowl.
4. Room-temperature ingredients. All the ingredients for baking should be warm or at room temperature. Otherwise the dough rises poorly – in a cold environment the yeast "falls asleep". I take the ingredients out of the fridge 1–2 hours before I start cooking.
5. Temperature of the liquid. I warm the milk and water for the dough to 35 °C – at this temperature the yeast becomes active and the dough rises well. Hot liquid (40 °C and above) will "kill" the yeast, and cold liquid will slow the process down.
6. Amount of sugar. I do not add a large amount of sugar to the dough – otherwise the pie may burn. Sugar slows down fermentation. But a shortage is bad too – the pies will turn out pale. The same applies to vanilla and baking soda: in excess, the baking will come out dark with an unpleasant smell.
7. The secret of tenderness. You can make the pies more tender by adding only the yolks (without the whites) to the dough. The whites add density, the yolks add tenderness and a creamy taste.
8. No drafts. When preparing baked goods, it is important that there are no drafts in the room. Strong air currents encourage the formation of a dense crust – the pie will turn out tough. I close all the windows while the dough is rising.
9. Glazing before baking. I always glaze the top of all closed pies before baking – this gives them a glossy shine and an appetizing golden colour. I use sugar water (for sweet pies), beaten egg (universal) or milk (for a softer effect).
10. Preheating the oven. I preheat a gas oven 10 minutes before baking, and an electric oven 25 minutes before. An under-heated oven will make the pie sink, while an overheated one will burn the outside while the centre stays raw.
11. Removing shortcrust pastry. I take a shortcrust pastry pie out of the mould only once it has cooled. A hot shortcrust pie is fragile and falls apart when moved. Cooling it completely guarantees a beautiful shape.
12. Rescuing a burning pie. If I notice that the top is burning while the bottom is still raw, I use foil, covering the baking from above. After that I keep baking until fully done at a lower temperature. This trick rescues even "hopeless" cases.

These 12 secrets are universal, but each type of dough has its own features. Yeast dough needs time and warmth, shortcrust pastry needs precision and cold, and choux pastry needs quick mixing with hot liquid. Following the basic rules, adapt them to the specific recipe – and the result will always be excellent.

Most important of all is practice. The first pie is rarely perfect. The second is already better. The tenth is just like grandmother's. The main thing is not to be afraid to experiment, to write down your "observations" and gradually build up your own "library" of homemade baking.