Editor's note: At the Food section, we get all sorts of questions about cooking, and in The Chronicle Cooking School classes we get even more. Starting today, we'll supply answers in a new column devoted to cooking basics. To start off, just in time for Thanksgiving, we'll focus on pie -- what kind of pie pan is best, and how to roll out a crust..

Weeks before The Chronicle's first cooking class, the questions were already rolling in. Among the first was a plea for help with a seemingly simple task.

"I need to buy pie pans and wanted to know which type would be the best to use -- glass, metal or ceramic?" Other bakers were wondering how to make their pies as pretty as the ones in bakery cases.

I was lucky enough to grow up with three apple trees in my backyard and with parents who baked pies together instead of turning on the TV. (For the record, my dad still always makes the crust and my mom peels the apples.) Pies have a special place in my heart.

My family's favorite pie pan, especially for double-crust pies, is an old- fashioned Pyrex pie plate. Inexpensive and unfussy, it's been a fixture in American kitchens for over 90 years. It may not look like anything special, sitting modestly beside other pans sporting brightly colored glazes or cutting- edge textured surfaces. But, like with piecrust itself, less is more.

The specially treated ovenproof glass, durable enough for the windows of the Apollo and Gemini spacecrafts, browns piecrusts better than either ceramic or metal. The pan retains heat so efficiently that you may even need to lower the temperature of the oven by 25 degrees to prevent over-browning.

You can easily check the color of the bottom crust for doneness, and at the table you'll be able to cut the pie without worrying about scratching the pan. Unlike aluminum, glass will not react with acidic fruit fillings to create off flavors.

The Pyrex pan's sloping sides flare out to a wide rim that supports the most flamboyant fluted crust. The standard size is 9 inches across the top and 1 1/2 inches deep, although a deep-dish version is also available.

If you still prefer metal for its lightness and ease of storage, buy a heavy pan with a dark finish; it will absorb more heat and brown more deeply than shiny, reflective metal surfaces. In kitchens where baking is a daily task, metal is more practical than Pyrex. For some cooks, a pan that can break is a pan not worth having.

On the other hand, a decorative ceramic dish looks dramatic, and ceramic has many of the advantages of heat retention and even cooking as does glass. Because you won't be able to see if your pie is done, you may need to try a recipe a couple of times to get the timing for a crisp, well-browned crust.

But who has ever complained about too much pie?

Rolling and fluting a piecrust

Let the dough chill and rest in the refrigerator for at least an hour before you roll it. Work quickly and use as little flour as possible to roll out the dough to prevent toughening the crust. Some cooks like to roll the dough between two sheets of plastic film or waxed paper, but wrinkles in the layers can develop deep cracks that will ruin the delicate crust-to-be. Bake your pie in the lower third of the oven to give the bottom crust a heat boost. Keep an eye on the pie as it bakes; you may need to shield the edge with strips of foil to prevent the crust from burning.

1. To transfer the dough to the pie pan, roll it loosely around your rolling pin, position the edge of the dough just past the rim of the pie pan and then unroll the dough over the pan.

2. Gently press the dough into the bottom of the pan with the side of your hand. After filling the pie, repeat with the top crust. Cut the vent holes in the top crust before transfering it.

3. Fold the edge of the crust back over itself, toward the outside of the pan, and pinch it so that it stands high. This will help hold in juices and prevent over-browning.

4. Press the edge of the dough between the forefinger of one hand and the thumb and forefinger of the other hand to create either a sharp V or a soft curve.

5. Repeat all the way around the piecrust, moving your forefinger down at equal increments.