Pie Crust Recipe
Let’s all be honest, it is the pie crust that makes the pie. Yes, the filling is important too, but if the crust is bad, then the whole pie isn’t right.
Ingredients
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ lb unsalted butter (1 stick)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 teaspoons shortening (butter flavored if possible)
- ice water
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, sift the all-purpose flour, sugar, and salt. If you have a food processor, once the dry ingredients are well mixed add them to the processor.
- Add butter and shortening. If you are using a food processor about 6 to 8 pulses should incorporate the fat into the flour. If you don’t have a food processor, then there are a few ways you can do this step.The fat needs to be incorporated or cut into the flour. You can do this in a few different ways. If you have a food processor, then that will do it for you. Or you could use a fork, or you can use your fingers. I personally like to use my fingers. Cut the fat into the dough until it resembles bread crumbs.
- Now, you need to add the water. It’s hard to know exactly how much you will need to add. Make sure the water is ice cold. Some people find that 1/4 cup of ice water does the trick, some people find they need to add a few tablespoons more of ice water. Add the ice water slowly, a few tablespoons at a time until the dough is tacky.
- Dump the mixture onto a floured surface. The flour will keep it from sticking to the surface. Make sure your hands have flour on them, and then knead the dough. Knead it long enough to form a disk. Do Not Over Knead. This is very important. You want your crust to be tender and flaky. Over kneading develops the gluten in the dough, and that is something you do not want. Cut the disk in half. Then knead both parts until they resemble disks.
- Wrap both disks in plastic wrap and stick them in the refrigerator. They should stay refrigerator from an hour to a week. Do not skip this step. You may be tempted to just go ahead and put the pie crust in the pan and then stick it in the oven. Don’t do that. While the butter and water were cold when you added them to the flour, your hands have warmed them up. Because the butter is no longer cold when you put it into the oven, the butter will cook before the dough and burn. Putting the dough in the fridge and letting it rest will re-solidify the butter.
- Take the dough out of the refrigerator and set it on a floured surface. Dust the rolling pin with flour to stop it from sticking to the dough. Roll out with the rolling pin until the disk is a 12-inch circle. Don’t use a lot of pressure when rolling out the dough. You want it to be at least 1/8 inch thick. Carefully put the dough into the pie pan. Press the dough gently into the curves of the pie pan. There will be a little bit of dough hanging over the top of the pie pan. You should trim the dough 1/2 an inch from the pie pan’s edge.
- Add filling.
- Optional step. You can roll out the second disk and place it in a pie pan to make another pie, or you can roll it out and place it on top of the filling.If you are going to place it on top of the filling, do so gently. Trim off any extra dough. You can crimp the edges by using your thumb and forefinger, or you can use a fork to seal the edges.
- Score the pie with a knife four times. Each slice should be about 2 inches long. You need to do this if your pie has a top so the steam can escape.
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