Last evening I was watching Alton Brown (Good Eats)  on Food TV Network bake the perfect apple pie. I have made a few in my day and so has my mom. I have watched many culinary entertainers prepare their versions, Emeril’s deep dish apple pie, Martha Stewart’s famous apple pie and Paula Deen’s Crunch Top Apple Pie. I know everyone has their own special technique and that is honorable, we all do. The issue I have is with one particular part of the recipe.

During Alton’s baking demonstration I noticed he placed the pie directly on the base of the oven floor so to speak. Well, I don’t know about your oven, but my oven has a heating element located on the floor of the oven; and it is structured in such a way that it would be impossible for me to place a pie on the floor of my oven.

This got me thinking… and I started to call some of the home-based bakers who attended my class and asked them to describe the “floor” of their ovens. All eleven (I just got tired of calling after a while) had the element structured in such a way that it would be impossible to place the pie on the base of the oven floor.

Was this an oversight? I am surprised some one did not pick up on this little error earlier. Yes, it was an error and a safety hazard. Why? Because if you could put the pie on the floor of the oven, you would have to be “oh so” careful in removing it, hopefully with flame retardant gloves.

There are times when you just need to look at a situation realistically, from a “real bakers” point of view.

Look just pay attention to the little things, cause I will.

Happy Baking Alton!