First, measure your flour by weight for best results. Mix dry ingredients together with your fingers... or a whisk, but I like to get involved!
Make sure the dough is well floured. Roll it lightly around the rolling pin and transfer to a pie plate.
And TADA!! That's it! If you're afraid to make your own pie crust, just try it once. Please! If it doesn't work out... oh well, that's what Pillsbury is for! :)Flaky Pie Pastry from Williams-Sonoma: Essentials of Baking
MAKES PASTRY FOR ONE 9-INCH (23-CM) PIE
For single-crust pie
5 tablespoons (2 1/2 oz/75 g) cold unsalted butter
3 tablespoons cold vegetable shortening
1 1/3 cups (7 oz/220 g) all-purpose (plain) flour
1 tablespoon sugar (optional)
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons (2 fI oz/60 ml) ice water
For lattice-crust pie
1/2 cup (4 oz/125 g) cold unsalted butter
4 tablespoons (2 oz/60 g) cold vegetable shortening
2 cups (10 oz/315 g) all-purpose (plain) flour
4 teaspoons sugar (optional)
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons (3 fI oz/90 ml) ice water
For double-crust pie
2/3 cup (5 oz/155 g) cold unsalted butter
6 tablespoons (3 oz/90 g) cold vegetable shortening
2 2/3 cups (13 1/2 oz/425 g) all-purpose (plain) flour
2 tablespoons sugar (optional)
8 tablespoons (4 fI oz/125 ml) ice water
Cut the butter and vegetable shortening into 3/4-inch (2-cm) pieces.
BY HAND: In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, and salt and stir to mix. Scatter the butter and shortening pieces over the flour mixture.
Using a fork, toss to coat with the flour. Using a pastry blender or 2 knives, cut in the butter and shortening until the mixture forms large, coarse crumbs the size of large peas. Drizzle the ice water over the mixture and toss with the fork until the dough is evenly moist and begins to come together in a mass but does not form a ball.
BY FOOD PROCESSOR: Combine the flour, sugar, and salt. Pulse 2 or
3 times to mix. Add the butter and shortening pieces and pulse 8-10 times until the mixture forms large, coarse crumbs the size of large peas. Add the ice water a little at a time and pulse 10-12 times just until the dough begins to come together in a mass but does not form a ball.
BY STAND MIXER: In the large bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the flour, sugar, and salt. Mix on low speed until blended, about 10 seconds. Turn off the mixer, add the butter and shortening, and then continue mixing on low speed just until the mixture forms large, coarse crumbs the size of large peas, about 20 seconds. Add the ice water 1 tablespoon at a time, and mix on low speed just until the mixture begins to hold together, about 20 seconds. The dough will form large clumps and pull away from
the sides of the bowl, but will not form a ball. To test, stop the mixer and squeeze a small piece of dough; it should hold together.
Transfer the dough to a work surface. If making the single-crust pie pastry, shape the dough into a 6-inch (15-cm) disk. For the lattice pie, divide the dough into 2 portions, one twice as large as the other; shape the larger portion into a 6-inch (15-cm) disk and the smaller one into a 3-inch (7.5-cm) disk. For the double-crust pie, divide the dough in half and form each half into a 6-inch (15-cm) disk. Wrap each disk tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate until well chilled, about 1 hour or for up to overnight.
- The rich flavor of butter and the flake-making quality of vegetable shortening produce a pie pastry that is both versatile and delicious. The butter and shortening should be very cold so that they will form the layers in the crust that contribute to the overall flakiness. Use ice water for the liquid to ensure that the shortening and butter do not soften during mixing.
- If you are making a savory pie, such as a quiche or savory galette, omit the sugar.
- To use up your dough scraps, press them together and roll them out again into a long, narrow rectangle. Brush the surface with softened butter and sprinkle it with cinnamon sugar. Working from a long side, roll up the rectangle into a log, then cut crosswise into slices 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick. Place the slices in a pan and bake alongside the pie. They are ready when the pastry is golden brown and the sugar starts to caramelize in the pan.
7 comments:
I remember all the troubles I had (and still have, occasionally) with pie crust, but I've finally figured out that I just wasn't adding enough water because of paranoia. Mine still shrinks back a bit, so I'm still not quite doing something right.
Do you prefer making it by hand instead of a food processor?
I always have to add more water too. What is up with that? It's like they're trying to trick us into dry uncooperative pie dough, or else some of us just magically have dryer crusts. Who knows.
Anyways, another good trick is to put the whole bowl full of dry ingredients and cut up butter in the freezer for half an hour or so. You can even mix it all up and put it in tupperware to use later (after a week or two it will effect the butter, but it can save time before events such as Thanksgiving)
I love pie crust, isn't it a feeling a satisfaction to be able to make your own and for it to be lovely?
I have yet to master a homemade pie crust but I keep trying! Yours looks great.
Thanks for sharing, pie crusts are tricky business.
There's no need to turn your AC on during the winter! For years, I've been making pie crust with oil and keeping it chilled. This is my new favorite recipe. It uses hot water. :)
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Hot-Water-Pie-Crust-I/Detail.aspx
This looks awesome!
I need to find a recipe that substitutes milk products though!
May still try for the family though!
I use all butter--and it's soft when I cut it into the flour. I dribble ice water in until some but not all of the crumbly mixture clumps together. It is too dry to form into a ball. I dump it out on the bread board and press the pile down with a spatula, cut it and pile one half on the other. I do this several times until the dough hangs together. It needs to be rolled out carefully and will not look perfect. But it is flaky because it uses so little water and the butter hunks have been repeatedly flattened in the same direction.
Janet
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