by Lois Szymanski, Photography by Nikola Tzenov
A Passion For Pies
Thanksgiving is the only holiday where food takes center stage. When eyeing up the dessert table, it’s the pie that catches your eye. There’s something about a golden-crusted homemade pie that instills a sense of comfort. Maybe it’s knowing how much someone who cared put time and heart into baking it. Or perhaps it’s the scent of a pie baking in the oven that envelops all your senses.
Shane Weeks learned to bake by shadowing his grandmother in the kitchen when he was a child. “My mom was single, and we lived with my grandmother,” he says. “I’ve always loved to bake, and I learned to bake with her. It is my passion.”
Baking is a career for this Union Bridge resident. He makes pies for Pryors Orchards in Thurmont and creates baked goods for his family, donating 10% of his proceeds to hospice.
“I have a strong passion for hospice and the care they provide for people at the end of their lives,” he says. “I started baking cupcakes and donating money back to them to help fund the things not covered for families. That expanded into me baking cakes, pies, sweet breads — everything.”
Weeks also takes orders for homemade creations under his business “Shane’s Sweets,” available on Facebook. His offerings include cakes, cupcakes, brownies, donuts and pies.
At Thanksgiving, Weeks’ family likes pumpkin, apple, peach and lemon meringue pies, and he is always up to the baking challenge.
“I do three or four pies each year — pumpkin, lemon or apple,” he says. “I think lemon meringue is the all-time favorite for my family.” When asked to share tips for those new to pie baking, Weeks concentrated on the crust.
“The less you handle the crust, the better,” he says. “If you handle it too much, it is tough and not flaky. Make sure everything is cold,” he added. “Refrigerating the dough for an hour before rolling it makes everything so much easier.”
“Cakes make you think of a birthday, but when you see a pie, you think of the family dinner. It’s all about bringing everybody together for a meal.” – Shane Weeks
Scents Of Nostalgia
Seventeen-year-old Estella Gover of Manchester makes apple pies for her family’s Thanksgiving. Her pie-baking adventures started several years ago when a friend gave her a bunch of apples. “I keep my pigs at a friend’s house, and they have an apple orchard,” the 4-H participant says. “I was over there, and they said, ‘Go ahead and take some apples,’ so I did, and I made a pie. I ended up making about six pies that year. I made one at Thanksgiving and one for Christmas.
“I could eat a whole apple pie by myself,” she adds, noting that she bakes two apple pies for each family holiday. Experimenting with a pie’s top crust has led her to create some beautiful pies.
“I’ve learned you have to make a larger batch of crust for the lattice top because it takes more crust, even though you think it won’t. A couple of times, I did a braid on top, and I’ve done a few with a solid top, using a cookie cutter for a cutout. One Thanksgiving, I cut out leaves.”
Gover recommends that pie-baking novices always bake two pies at a time. “When you’re baking a pie to take somewhere, it smells so good that you are going to want one at home, too,” she shares.
Gover also suggests experimenting with a recipe until the pie suits your family’s tastes. “Follow the recipe, but also don’t. We added nutmeg and clove and used a little more cinnamon,” she says, referencing some interpretations of an apple pie recipe her mom found online.
“When you smell a pie baking, it’s almost a nostalgic thing,” Gover says. “It makes me think of when I was younger and could smell my mom’s pies baking. I knew then that we were getting ready for a holiday.”
Sharing The Love For Pie Baking
Lisa Lucabaugh makes pumpkin pies for Thanksgiving annually. She also bakes apple and peach pies using jarred fresh fruit from the trees on her family farm in Hampstead. Dottie Baugher Dunn of Baugher’s Orchard in Westminster agrees. “Pumpkin and apple are our most popular pies for Thanksgiving,” she says.
The tradition of pie baking at Baugher’s began when Romaine Baugher started baking pies during the 1930s. Baugher’s Fruit Market & Restaurant opened in 1948, where pies continue to be a customer favorite. “We make over 2,000 pies for Thanksgiving week,” she says.
Bakery manager Sharon Kinser handles all the planning, ordering ingredients, packaging and lining up extra staff to help out. “We have four bakers on staff most of the year, but during the holiday season, they all call their friends and relatives to help after hours,” she says.
“We could have 12 to 15 people working then. We can’t do that many pies in one week, so we make them ahead and freeze them unbaked. Then, we bake them when the season arrives.”
According to Dunn, Thanksgiving week brings in approximately 15% to 20% of Baugher’s annual pie sales. Baugher’s sells 20 different types of pies. Sometimes a customer will buy 10 or 12 pies at one time, Dunn noted.
“We sell a tremendous amount of pumpkin pie and all different kinds of apple pies. We make cherry pies, berry pies and cream pies — chocolate, coconut, lemon meringue and apple cream cheese pie. That’s really popular. It’s made with a layer of apples, a layer of our cream cheese recipe and a crumb topping. It is delicious!” she explains. “Our customers like to get something fancy like that for the holidays.”
