Pithivier
Encyclopedia
A Pithivier is a round, enclosed pie
usually made by baking two disks of puff pastry
, with filling stuffed in between. It has the appearance of a hump and is traditionally decorated with spiral lines drawn from the top outwards with the point of a knife, and scalloping the edge.
The filling is always placed as a lump in the middle of the bottom dough layer, rather than spread on it, because it would then liquefy and leak during baking. The pie is traditionally finished with a distinct shine to the top of the crust, by egg-washing beforehand, or by the caramelising a dusting of confectioner's sugar at the end of baking, or both. Whilst the filling of the Pithivier is often a sweet frangipane
of almond
paste, (optionally combined with fruit such as cherry or plum), savoury pies with a meat or cheese filling can also be labelled as a Pithivier. It is used on English menus as a pretentious
way of saying 'pie
'.
It is commonly assumed that the dish originates from the town of Pithiviers
, France
.
Pie
A pie is a baked dish which is usually made of a pastry dough casing that covers or completely contains a filling of various sweet or savoury ingredients....
usually made by baking two disks of puff pastry
Puff pastry
In baking, a puff pastry is a light, flaky, leavened pastry containing several layers of fat which is in solid state at 20 °C . In raw form, puff pastry is a dough which is spread with solid fat and repeatedly folded and rolled out and used to produce the aforementioned pastries...
, with filling stuffed in between. It has the appearance of a hump and is traditionally decorated with spiral lines drawn from the top outwards with the point of a knife, and scalloping the edge.
The filling is always placed as a lump in the middle of the bottom dough layer, rather than spread on it, because it would then liquefy and leak during baking. The pie is traditionally finished with a distinct shine to the top of the crust, by egg-washing beforehand, or by the caramelising a dusting of confectioner's sugar at the end of baking, or both. Whilst the filling of the Pithivier is often a sweet frangipane
Frangipane
Frangipane is a filling made from or flavored like almonds. This filling can be used in a variety of ways including cakes, tarts and other assorted pastries, such as the Jesuite. An alternative French spelling from a 1674 cookbook is franchipane with the earliest modern spelling coming from a...
of almond
Almond
The almond , is a species of tree native to the Middle East and South Asia. Almond is also the name of the edible and widely cultivated seed of this tree...
paste, (optionally combined with fruit such as cherry or plum), savoury pies with a meat or cheese filling can also be labelled as a Pithivier. It is used on English menus as a pretentious
Pretentious
Pretentious person means a person pretending to be someone who he is not just for the sake of showing that he is a higher intellectual than others....
way of saying 'pie
Pie
A pie is a baked dish which is usually made of a pastry dough casing that covers or completely contains a filling of various sweet or savoury ingredients....
'.
It is commonly assumed that the dish originates from the town of Pithiviers
Pithiviers
Pithiviers is a commune in the Loiret department in north-central France. It is twinned with Ashby-de-la-Zouch in Leicestershire, England....
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.