Rising to the occasion: King Arthur class for bakers

When they were growing up in the Far Northeast, the Stahl sisters grabbed every opportunity to accompany their father, an accountant, on his client calls - especially when those visits were to neighborhood bakeries.

"We'd go into the back and watch the bakers at work," says Alice Poyss (nee Stahl), who lives in Medford now and is the middle sister at age 53. Julie Furey, the youngest at 51, lives in Collegeville, and Kathy Kirsch, 54, lives in Fort Washington.

Memories of those neighborhood bakeries, where flour-puff clouds floated overhead and hearth-baked breads beckoned, inspired the sisters to become bakers in their own home kitchens.

That, and the absence of tantalizing aromas from their mother's kitchen.

"Our mother couldn't even sew a button on," says Julie, and the others nod in agreement. Julie was additionally motivated to take up baking because her daughter is allergic to many of the additives found in processed foods.

Making up for what they missed in the way of baking lessons at home, the former Stahl sisters say they turned to King Arthur for instruction as well as ingredients.

That would be the King Arthur Flour Co. of Norwich, Vt., which generates new customers while securing the loyalty of its established fan base by offering both ingredients and instruction.

Kathy, Alice and Julie took a weekend bread-making class at the company's National Baking Center in Vermont to celebrate Julie's 40th birthday. But it's a rare day when representatives of the storied flour company come to town, so you can be sure the sisters were on hand March 21 for a free daylong King Arthur demonstration class in Cherry Hill.

In a field crowded with competition, King Arthur has long been known for its use of chemical-free, U.S.-grown wheat - and for building its market through hands-on and demonstration classes for both experienced bakers and beginners.

Along with hands-on classes at its Vermont headquarters, King Arthur runs a Life Skills program that teaches middle-school students to bake bread for themselves and their local charities. Pottstown's North Coventry Elementary School participated in January, and after a session at St. Aloysius School, also in Pottstown, in March, students there donated bread to the Boyertown Salvation Army.

The Stahl sisters, like so many others, love organizing their all-female get-togethers around cooking classes because the results benefit everyone in their families.

"Baking is contagious," says Kathy. "One person in the family or in a group of friends starts to bake, and then everybody wants to get in on the action."

That's why they celebrated Julie's birthday at a bread-baking workshop, and why they were among about 300 people who attended the demonstration at the Crowne Plaza Hotel on Route 70 last month.

"I'm here in the hope of making fewer mistakes," Kathy whispered as the program got under way. "Piecrust is not forgiving. You get tips here you can never get out of a book."

They sat front and center taking notes as instructor Carolyn Hack demonstrated making an all-butter crust for sweet or savory pies (see recipe). And as soon as the workshop was over and Kathy and Julie, who were sharing a ride home, got into their car, they said to each other, "I can't wait to start baking!"

Kathy made the cinnamon rolls Hack had demonstrated in the morning session and Julie made the chocolate ganache tart from the afternoon pie session.

"All three of us took something from the classes and applied it when we got home," said Alice, adding that she regrets not learning to bake earlier.

"My mother-in-law was from Austria and she made the best pies and cakes," Alice said. "Her strudel was to die for. But none of her recipes were in writing and she didn't speak much English."

Baking makes the whole house a warm place, Kathy said.

"It makes a house a home in a way that cannot be replicated by bringing home anything store-bought."

Makes one 9-inch double crust pie

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For the crust:

2 1/2 cups (10 1/2 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour, pastry flour or a combination of both.

1 teaspoon salt (use table salt, not a large-grained salt)

1 cup unsalted butter (two 8-ounce sticks)

1/4 to 1/2 cup (2 to 4 ounces) ice water

For the filling:

8 cups apples

2 tablespoons lemon juice

3/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon allspice

1/8 cup boiled cider or undiluted apple juice concentrate

2 tablespoons butter, diced in

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1. Mix the dry ingredients.

2. Cut half the butter into the flour. Cut the first stick into 1/2-inch slices and combine that thoroughly with the flour. Then cut the remaining stick into 1/4-inch bits and add that to the mix, just enough to coat the bits of butter with flour. You should have a mixture with small, even crumbs.

3. Add water slowly, one tablespoon at a time, until the mixture barely sticks together.

4. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the ball of dough in half, pat into flat disks about an inch thick, wrap both halves in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes (overnight is fine too).

5. Lightly grease a 9-inch pie pan that's at least 2 inches deep. This will make serving the pie easier after it's baked.

6. Combine the sliced apples and lemon juice in a large mixing bowl.

7. In a small bowl, whisk together the sugar, flour, cornstarch, salt, and spices. Sprinkle the mixture over the apples, and stir to coat them. Stir in the boiled cider or apple juice concentrate.

8. Sprinkle flour on the work surface and place one unwrapped piece of dough on the surface. Whack it with the side of your rolling pin to flatten it quickly. Roll from the center outward with as few strokes as possible. Use a large spatula to lift and flip the crust from the well-floured work surface every few strokes, adding more flour to the work surface if the crust starts to stick. Repair cracks by overlapping.

9. Using a spatula, fold the dough in half and then in half again the other way so the dough is a quarter of what it was originally. Lift the dough and place the center corner in the center of the pan. Unfold. Mold the dough to the edges of the pan and trim the excess (about one-inch beyond the edge of the pan) using scissors.

10. Brush the inside of the crust with lightly beaten egg white or milk. Add the apple filling. Dot the top with the diced butter.

11. Prepare the top crust, rolling it out just as you did the bottom, making it about an inch less in diameter. Center the top crust over the filling. Trim odd edges. Wet the edge with a bit of milk or beaten egg white, then bring the bottom crust up and over to seal. Pinch the two crusts together as you flute the edges. Cut vents into the top crust to allow steam to escape.

12. Preheat oven to 425 degrees and bake 50 to 60 minutes. Remove from oven, put on rack and cool.

Per serving (based on 12): 238 calories, 3 grams protein, 20 grams carbohydrates, trace sugar, 16 grams fat, 43 milligrams cholesterol, 197 milligrams sodium, 1 gram dietary fiber

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