Welcome to the Pie Diaries 2

Welcome to The Pie Diaries 2 blog, which I will use to capture our adventure as we embark on a road trip from Sydney to Perth.  So why the Pie Diaries 2?  Well it goes back about 10 years when my good friend Macca did the original pie diaries on his road trip from Perth to Tasmania.  Along the way he sampled pies at various bakeries to determine the best pie in Oz.  The best pie he found was at the Denmark bakery (we will be going past there on our trip so I can verify).

With us undertaking a road trip back to Perth I thought it was fitting to bring back the pie diaries and see where the best pie in Australia is (plus a few sneaky vanilla slices on the side).  I’m also keen to find some good pies in South Australia this time as in the original diaries a good pie could not be found.  I’m sure they have lifted their game by now.

Now to have the pie diaries we obviously need rules and judging criteria on accessing the best pie.  Now I know everyone has their own idea of what makes a good pie so my judging criteria factors in key points I got from Macca (including celebrities) and some of mine own ideas of a great pie.

So firstly to make sure we are comparing like for like across bakeries I will only be having a beef pie (no fancy gourmet fillings).  I’ll score every pie out of 10 and to get a high score it will be judged on the following criteria (in no particular order):

1.     Shape – Round pies are a must.  A round pie is most efficient and every bite of pastry will have meat and gravy.  Square pies are a no-no.  The corners are wasted and there is nothing worse biting into a pie and just getting pastry.

2.     Heat – Warnie stated a good pie just needs to be hot enough to suffocate it.  Therefore pies which you bite into and burn your tongue are no good.  Temperature needs to be perfect.

3.     Filling – A delicate combination of beef and gravy needs to be achieved.  Not enough and the pie is chunky and dry.  Too much and you’ll need a spoon to eat it like soup.  Obviously getting the combination is one thing, but the beef and gravy used needs to be tasty with the beef melting in your mouth.

4.     Pastry – Flaky pastry is no good.  There’s nothing worse than finishing a pie and finding half of the pastry in a pile at your feet.  It’s needs to be light, but strong enough to hold the contents and have a light crunch when you bite into it.

5.     Tomato Sauce – A sign of a bad tasting pie is when tomato sauce needs to be added.  Now I like a bit of sauce every now and then, but this is about finding the best pie and a great pie doesn’t need sauce to cover up the taste.  As soon as I bring out the sauce, no pie can score above 5.

6.     Atmosphere – Now this is very subjective but something I believe is key to producing a great pie.  A homely country bakery producing pies on site with love and care is important to a great pie experience.  Chains or over-rated bakeries miss this and fail to deliver.  I had to introduce this rule after the Dunsborough bakery.  One of the best bakeries around alas no more as it’s focused too much on its name and has fallen down in making quality pies.

Now the criteria is established I will be tasting two Sydney bakeries before hitting the road.  They will be Bourke St Bakery, Surry Hills and Hanna Pies in Ultimo.  Stay tuned for their ratings in the next couple of weeks and at the end of November we pack up our swag and hit the road, where the pie tasting will begin in earnest.

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