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Spiced pumpkin pie

Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Yields Serves 8 to 10
Spiced pumpkin pie
(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
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A good pie crust is about restraint more than precision, about having a light touch and not overworking things.

Parbake the crust (because soggy pie crust will not make anyone happy), fill it up and bake your pie until it’s as dark as you can bear without burning it. Rye flour and lots of spices, by the way, mean a dark palette already, so watch it instead of just setting a timer — you can also tell a lot by the aroma, so maybe just sit there with your coffee and smell your kitchen until it seems done too.

From the story: Why you should get up before the sun on Thanksgiving to bake a great pumpkin pie

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Rye pie dough

1

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar and salt. Using a pastry cutter or two knives, cut the butter into the flour mixture until flour is coated but some coarse, visible pieces of butter remain.

2

Break the egg into a small bowl and whisk to break apart. Add it to the flour/butter mixture, drizzling in only enough to bind the mixture and make it cohesive; gently mix until the dough comes together when gently pressed. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and roll out into a 12-inch circle. (If the dough warms too much and is too hard to handle at any point, refrigerate it until it firms up.) Place in a 9-inch pie pan, crimp the edges as desired, then refrigerate for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 375 degrees.

3

Parbake the crust: Line the bottom of the crust with foil or parchment paper and weigh down with pie weights, rice or dried beans. Place the crust in the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Remove the weights and bake until the crust is lightly colored with no damp spots, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. If not filling right away, the crust can be stored at room temperature for up to a day before baking.

Coconut whipped cream

1

Whip the cream, coconut milk and sugar until gentle peaks form. Cover and refrigerate until needed.

1

Heat the oven to 425 degrees. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, coconut milk, eggs and egg yolk, vanilla, maple syrup, brown sugar, ginger, allspice, cinnamon, cloves, turmeric, salt and cardamom until blended and smooth. Strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve into another bowl, then ladle into the pie shell. Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees. Rotate the pie, and cover the edge of the crust with foil if it begins to darken too quickly. Continue to bake until the pie is set (it should jiggle only slightly in the center), 30 to 40 minutes.

2

Take the pie out and cool to room temperature, then chill overnight. Serve chilled with minced candied ginger and whipped cream.

The rye pie dough recipe is adapted from Grist & Toll, a flour mill in Pasadena. If not using Grist & Toll rye flour, substitute half all-purpose flour and half best quality rye flour. You may need to work in additional flour and to parbake the crust slightly longer. Grist & Toll’s Nan Kohler notes that flour made from stone-milled whole grains can absorb liquid differently than other flours, and that using egg instead of water helps bind the dough. Depending on what flours you use, the amount of egg can change.