DUMMERSTON-Baking nearly 1,000 apple pies in around 70 hours spread out over 10 days is a big job for the volunteers who report to the basement kitchen of Dummerston Congregational Church during the two week run-up to its annual Apple Pie Festival.
That job got a bit an easier this year when the church replaced the three aging gas-fired pizza ovens in its basement kitchen with a pair of new electric-powered convection ovens.
It took about an hour to bake the pies in the old ovens. Now, according to Pastor Shawn Bracebridge, it takes 47 minutes at 350 degrees to produce a perfectly baked pie.
“It cooks them more evenly, and the pies are more consistent,” Bracebridge said, calling the new ovens “a turning point” for the church’s kitchen, in that they can be used for more than just baking pies.
The process of assembling a 9-inch apple pie hasn’t changed, however. Volunteers still run the apple peelers, core and slice the fruit, roll the pie dough, fill pie plates with apples, and place the pies on metal trays, each holding five, for loading into the ovens.
“It’s easier to load and unload the oven now,” said volunteer James Brown. “It only takes one person to do it. The pies aren’t bubbling over, either. If they do, the trays catch it, so it’s easier to keep the ovens clean.”
The volunteer bakers must pay attention to the height of the pie itself, as the new oven chambers are slightly lower than the old oven, Brown said. A cardboard template with the words “Pie Must Fit Under” serves as a guide to prevent overfilling.
It took a couple of days to get used to the new baking method “and work out the kinks,” said Brown, but the results have been worth it.
Volunteers began preparing and baking pies Sept. 28 for the annual event. (This year is the 57th.) They work two shifts: 9 a.m. to noon and 5 to 9 p.m.
Heading into the evening shift on Oct. 1 — day No. 4 of the baking operation — 345 pies had been baked. Brown, who is tracking the pie stats, said there will be plenty of apple pies for sale at this year’s pie fest, which begins at 10 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 11.
“Apple Pie Sunday” begins with an abbreviated Sunday church service, followed by the laying out of whole or sliced pies on long tables under a big canopy beside the sanctuary.
The bell will ring at 10 a.m., the signal that the festival has begun. Pies will be available (whole ones for $25 and slices for $7, the same prices as last year) until 2 p.m. or until the pies sell out — whichever comes first.
People from all over the Northeast descend upon Dummerston Center and line up to buy a pie — and then, perhaps, sit under the canopy and have a slice (plain, or maybe with some Grafton Village cheddar or a scoop of ice cream on top). You can wash down your pie with fresh apple cider or pick up some cider doughnuts for a snack later on.
Beyond the pie
• Pancake breakfast: Whether you have room for a slice of pie on site will depend on whether you have already stopped at the Dummerston Fire Department’s all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast at the station in Dummerston Center from 7 to 11 a.m.
The firefighters will have pancakes (plain, apple, blueberry, or raspberry) and sausage with Vermont maple syrup, homemade biscuits with sausage gravy, and fresh applesauce. They will have plenty of coffee, cocoa, fresh cider (hot or cold), orange juice, and milk. The cost is $13 for adults, or $7 for kids 5–12.
All proceeds benefit the fire department.
• Craft fair and cookout: At the Evening Star Grange’s craft fair and cookout, from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., more than 20 crafters will sell goods such as alpaca products, jewelry, pickles, jams and jellies, wool knit creations, and wooden crafts.
In the food area, vendors will offer hamburgers, hot dogs, homemade baked beans, and corn chowder.
• Historical Society open house: At the Dummerston Historical Society from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., you can check out the current exhibit and various historical items, and you can view albums featuring previous exhibits, such as “Stone Walls in Dummerston,” “The Historic West Dummerston Covered Bridge,” “Faces of Dummerston,” “Neighborhoods of Dummerston,” “The Dummerston Fire Department,” “Authors of Dummerston,” “Dummerston History,” and “Artists of Dummerston.”
The festival is a major fundraiser for both the church and Grange.
For more information about the pie festival and craft fair, call the church office at 802-257-0544, the Grange at 802-254-1138, or Grange Master Larry Lynch at 802-310-0799.
This Special section item by Randolph T. Holhut was written for The Commons.