Art of the Pie: A Practical Guide to Homemade Crusts, Fillings, and Life

Making pie can be as easy as pie, with recipes and lessons from a renowned teacher of the craft

“I’ve been baking pies my entire life, but making them with Kate was a liberating experience. With a pioneer spirit, she throws the textbook out the window and comes up with absolutely perfect crust filled with fruit that actually sings to you.” –Ruth Reichl

Pie-making should be simple and fun. Kate McDermott has taught this and made pies with thousands of people across the country at her Pie Camps. Her confidence comes through in every recipe, and will inspire readers to don an apron, grab a rolling pin, and get cooking. (The stunning photographs in this book won’t hurt either.) Over the years, McDermott developed more than a dozen crusts, half of which are gluten-free, and in this book she gives detailed instructions for making, rolling, and baking crusts. A pie needs filling, too, and she does not neglect a single detail when describing her ingredients, methods, and tricks for making the filling and finishing off the pie. Recipes include:

•Blackberry Pie for Julia Child
•The Best Peach Pie in the World
•Old-Fashioned Rhubarb Pie

Art of the Pie is more than a cookbook. Kate’s rules extend well beyond pie baking: keep everything chilled, respect the boundaries, and remember to vent. This is a book to keep close at hand.

75 color photographs

“Kate McDermott is a masterful, no, magical teacher. She reminds us that pies, like human beings, don’t have to be perfect, all the while showing us in perfect detail how to make a truly great pie.” Elise Bauer, SimplyRecipes.com

“McDermott, a self-taught baker whose workshops have taught hundreds how to make a proper pie, shares that knowledge in one of the best books written on the topic. Those expecting a quick preamble followed by hundreds of pie recipes will be sorely disappointed―basic instructions take up a third of the book―but readers interested in the hows and whys of pie-making will find McDermott’s tutelage invaluable…McDermott excels, giving readers an informative guide they will be referring to for years to come.” Publisher’s Weekly, *STARRED REVIEW*

“Kate McDermott will not only teach you how to make a pie―and a damn fine pie at that―she’ll show you how the homey and grounding craft of baking contains important life lessons. Her expertise, creativity, and generosity abound in these pages. The Art of the Pie is destined to be one of those fruit-stained, dog-earred, spine-snapped books you’ll cherish for years.” David Leite - LeitesCulinaria.com

Kate McDermott is an award-winning self-taught home baker who has taught pie-making workshops to thousands across the United States. McDermott, her Art of the Pie camps, and her pies have been featured in USA Today, The New York Times, The Boston Globe, Real Simple, Saveur, and on NPR, among other outlets. She lives in her Pie Cottage in Port Angeles, Washington. More information about Art of the Pie® Workshops and Pie Camps® can be found at artofthepie.com.

Andrew Scrivani is a commercial and editorial photographer, food stylist, writer, and blogger. His work appears regularly in The New York Times and elsewhere. Scrivani, who lives and works in New York City, has shot 10 award-winning cookbooks.

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