What is the secret to pie crust?

[Nicole M]

It's maddening. My pies always look like h-e-double-toothpicks, I tell you! They taste fine. But just once I'd like my Christmas apple pie to look halfway decent.

 

My dough is always hard as a rock. And I cannot roll that stuff out thin enough. What's your recipe? How do you get it to roll out so the edges are smooth instead of cracking? This can't be rocket science. I am reasonably intelligent. Surely I must simply be missing some information. Anyone?

[LisaKinVA]

Sounds like too much flour. You might want to try a little less flour and chilling the dough for a couple of hours before rolling it out. That way, you are only using enough flour to keep the dough from sticking (and the cold helps with that too). So, when you put the crust in the pans, it will be softer and more work-able.

 

Lisa

[Dayle in Guatemala]

I agree with the flour thing. Also, the less you handle the dough and the colder it is when you handle it, the better.

[WTMCassandra]

Sorry, I have no advice. My answer to this question, years ago, was to give up and only purchase store-bought crusts.

[joannqn]

I roll my out way too big and then trim the edges to just a little bit too long with scissors. Then I tuck it under all the way around before crimping the edges to give it a little bit of thickness in the edge. Sometimes, with the dough I trimmed, I'll roll it out again and cut shapes (holly leaves and berries or stars) which I sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar and put on top of the pie as a decoration.

[Nicole M]

Sorry, I have no advice. My answer to this question, years ago, was to give up and only purchase store-bought crusts.

 

Heh, heh. Have you found a brand that doesn't taste all chemically?

 

Lisa & Dayle -- do you mean too much flour in the dough or on the board? I followed a Martha Stewart recipe, and it did not stick at all, it was just hard. So if I cut back on the flour, to have a higher fat to flour ratio, you think that would do it?

[Nicole M]

I roll my out way too big and then trim the edges to just a little bit too long with scissors. Then I tuck it under all the way around before crimping the edges to give it a little bit of thickness in the edge. Sometimes, with the dough I trimmed, I'll roll it out again and cut shapes (holly leaves and berries or stars) which I sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar and put on top of the pie as a decoration.

 

That sounds lovely! I'm having a hard time getting the thing to roll out big, otherwise I'd do this, too.

[Parrothead]

Pillsbury!

[hornblower]

I couldn't get it until I spent a day with my mil (from England) getting her to teach me. I had to do it with her & really see the texture and know when to add more water, more flour etc.....

 

We did it by hand but now I can do it with the food processor.

 

What kind of fat are you using? Sweet pastry with butter is harder to work with than an unsweetened one with lard. I think lard is pretty gross but that's what she taught me with & then once I got that, I switched over to using other fats.

 

btw, you can make a dessert pie with the unsweetened crusts too - the filling adds the sweetness and if you use a top crust, brush it with milk/egg & sprinkle with sugar.

Edited December 25, 2008 by hornblower
sp LOL flour NOT flower!!!

[LisaKinVA]

I have 3 different pastry doughs... one uses lard (or crisco... I like the lard better), one uses butter (this one is the most difficult for me to do), and one uses sour cream. I like the lard versions for the french apple pie and pumpkin. I like the sour cream version for a fresh strawberry pie... and will use the butter version for lemon or other more "tart" pies. The Pillsbury Refrigerated Dough is a "lard-based" dough.

 

When it comes to pie crust, a recipe truly is a "guide" -- It's best to mix the dough up (should be a bit stickly), separate it into sections (if you make enough for more than one single 9" pie), and then refrigerate for several hours. Only get one section of dough out to roll at a time.

 

Lightly flour your hands, the counter/board/pastry mat, and your rolling pin. Put the one section of dough out (I "beat" mine down with my rolling pin -- cause it's really hard at that point -- flip it over and roll as thin as I can. Flipping the crust once or twice as needed -- adding a little flour to the counter and rolling pin if it sticks. The crust should be about 1/16-1/8 inch thick.

 

I flip the pie plate upside down, and trim with a regular table knive, so that there will be about a 1/2-1" overhang, which is then tucked under and pinch-crimped.

 

Pastry is as much an art as anything -- like breads or any dough (vs. batter) -- you have to learn the texture, look and feel. Only comes with practice.

 

I learned from my grandma... spent a summer there and learned a lot about baking (she was an excellent baker -- but only a so-so cook).

 

Lisa

[kalanamak]

It's maddening. My pies always look like h-e-double-toothpicks, I tell you! They taste fine. But just once I'd like my Christmas apple pie to look halfway decent.

 

 

I use Pie Dough Cockaigne from JOC (Cockaigne means it is a family favourite at the authoress's house). This one reheats very well.

 

sift together 2 cups all purp flour

1 teas salt

2 teas sugar

 

Measure and combine:

1/4 c butter

3T shortening (I use Earth Balance)

 

Cut half the fat into the dry ingredients until it has the grains of cornmeal. Cut the other half in until it is pea-sized. Sprinkle with 5 T water.

Blend the water in lightly with fork, allowing the moisture to spread. Add water by the teaspoon if needed to HOLD the dough together. Once you can ball it up into a tidy bundle, stop handling.

 

I personally chill it a bit at this point in saran wrap and then roll out on a floured cloth pie frame. My mother did it with waxed paper.

 

HTH

[Kay in Cal]

The "Cook's Illustrated" recipe is supposed to be great. My mil is a pastry person, and she swears by it. It substitutes vodka for some of the water--alcohol cooks off, but extra moisture makes the dough more rollable and pliable.

 

Here's a link to a blog showing them using the recipe, and a copy of the recipe itself (otherwise you have to subscribe to Cook's Illustrated online).

 

http://smittenkitchen.com/2007/11/pie-crust-101/

[stripe]

I got a tip from watching/reading Martha Stewart (I think!) that I've tried a time or two and it does work -- when you begin with the circle of dough, push in the edges of the circle with your thumb (straight down, the width of the first knuckle of your thumb). This kind of mashes it in and helps it not crack.

 

Alternatively, Cook's Country revived the traditional cream cheese pat-in crust, which works well for a single crust pie.

 

Butter crusts are tricky. Shortening ones are easier. Try measuring out all the dry ingredients and putting them with the fat (either cut up butter or the shortening lump) in a plastic (zipper type) bag in the freezer overnight and then pull it out when required, then add in the cold water.

 

I've had good success with King Arthur Flour's pie crusts, like this one, that has a bit of baking powder in it.

[Melora in NC]

My best pie crust tip comes from Hillbilly Housewife: roll the dough between two sheets of waxed paper. This doesn't solve the tattered edges problem (I roll my dough a little big & trim the edges), but it takes care of the problem I always had before with the dough falling to pieces when I tried to put in in the pan and over the filling. This is the link to the Hillbilly Housewife's recipe & description of how to roll between waxed paper: pie crust. (I guess the idea is pretty self explanatory, but just in case...).

[Nicole M]

Wow, guys! This is great! I've been using butter and whole wheat pastry flour. I think I'll use shortening and try some of your tricks. This is definitely the bookmark-worthy thread of the week! Now I can't wait to go make more pies. Too bad the oven will be full of turkey tomorrow.

[Happy]

This is an easy recipe to use.

 

Better than my Mother’s Pie Crust

 

3 Cups flour

1 tsp. salt

1 ¼ cup shortening

5 Tablespoons Water

1 egg

1 tsp. vinegar

 

Cut shortening into flour and salt until it looks like coarse cornmeal.

Beat water, egg and vinegar together.

Stir liquid mix into flour mixture.

Gather into a large ball.

Chill.

 

Pinch off enough for a crust, roll out to fit pan.

Bake one crust 10-12 minutes at 425 degrees.

 

This recipe can be kept in the refrigerator in a covered container for 2-3 weeks. It makes enough for two large pie crusts.

 

 

My mother never could make good pie crust. Eventually, she quit trying and simply ordered pies from a shop. I wanted to master the art of the crust. As a newlywed, I found this recipe. We’ve been enjoying it ever since.

[Elisabeth in IL]

My mom and now I have always used an oil recipe for 2 crusts...

2 cups of flour

little salt (if you want)

1/2 cup oil (I usually use olive oil but my mom uses vegetable oil)

6 tbls of ice cold water (but water and ice in a cup and measure the water from there.

mix oil and water together, dump in flour and mix with fork. Roll 1/2 the crust between wax paper followed by the other 1/2 for the top.

[Natalieclare]

Nicole,

I had used lots of different recipes, and I was still having the cracked edge problem. So I deduced there was a problem in my method. I figured out that I was cutting in my fat too much. I learned to stop cutting in when the crumbs were bigger and I haven't had the problem since.

[kalanamak]

Nicole,

I had used lots of different recipes, and I was still having the cracked edge problem. So I deduced there was a problem in my method. I figured out that I was cutting in my fat too much. I learned to stop cutting in when the crumbs were bigger and I haven't had the problem since.

 

Yes. I also use a crust guard. I used to have rings, but they have vanished. Now I gerryrig it with tinfoil. A hassle, but doable with a little patience.

 

"Easy as pie" is a true statement if you practice a bit.

[Halftime Hope]

I am going to second some of what the other ladies have said (shortening/lard crusts, trim the edges, roll between waxed paper, etc.) but I don't chill the dough, unless it is a very warm day, and then I just let it rest for 10 minutes in the bowl, in the frig, before rounding the dough up into a large ball. It's too hard to work if you thoroughly chill it, and overworking it to get it pliable enough can toughen up your finished product. The idea is to avoid mashing and handling it, as much as is possible.

 

I do use ice water after cutting in the fat to bind it together; that gives it a chilling effect, but far less than chilling for a couple of hours.

 

As far as cracking edges, if you are rolling between wax paper, you can coax the edges back together as you go. I'd guess that edges that won't go back together and stick would indicate that your dough was too dry or too cold.

 

Once you have the dough rolled out to the desired thickness, peel back the top layer of wax paper, invert onto/into the pie pan, ease the dough down into the pan so it's "slumped" down into the pan, then trim to the desired size, leaving plenty to crimp so it's pretty. We bake the trimmed edge scraps with cinnamon sugar--they are highly sought-after in my household. :)

 

If I'm making a double crust pie, I trim the bottom crust slightly smaller than the top crust, so the top crust can fold under the bottom one; then you can crimp the two crusts together.

 

If you are pre-baking the bottom crust for a filling, be sure to prick holes in it to allow the steam to escape whil you are baking, otherwise the crust may not sit flat in the pan. If you watch it baking and see the pie crust rising in the pan, from a bubble of steam under the crust, you can poke it, let the steam out, and finish baking, so it comes out perfectly.

 

I usually put foil around the edges of my crusts so the edges are perfectly browned, not overdone. (I hate ruining something that involves any work. :) )

 

People always say how hard pies are to make, but they really aren't.

 

(Now if I could just frost a pretty cake...but that's a thread for later, and I know where to come for help! :) )

 

Merry Christmas!!

Edited December 25, 2008 by Valerie(TX)

[stripe]

By the way, if you like cooking with whole grains, I really like the King Arthur Flour whole grain baking book -- I've tried their whole wheat pie crust and it's not bad. (I don't see it on their website, otherwise I'd have linked to it.) But I still think you need more liquids. But try that weird Martha tip of mashing the edges of the circle -- it works really well. Since I have raggedy edges too, I need to keep practicing -- another excuse to make pie, I say!

[Sharon H in IL]

Two Tablespoons of vodka in place of two of the Tablespoons of water. You get the benefits of liquid without the gluten formation that causes toughness. Rolls out smooth as playdough.

 

From Cook's Illustrated magazine. Love that place. :)

[Storm Bay]

Get a great teaching cookbook, such as the 1979 Fanny Farmer cookbook. Pie crust is an art, but not that hard if you follow directions exactly. Use pastry flour, as it's far better than all purpose flour for pie crust, especially for a beginner. Be sure you cut your butter or shortening in BEFORE the ice water (and, yes, it has to be ice water) and get it to that right size. Use two knives (not a fork) unless you have a pastry knife. Etc, etc. But get a great teaching book--they're not all equal. I first made pie crust using my Fanny Farmer book, and if I didn't have it down the first time, I did by the second because the instructions are so good.

 

And for a whole wheat pie crust, USE PASTRY FLOUR!!! Pastry flour has less gluten than all purpose or bread flours do.