How To Make A Pie Crust Food

EASY PIE CRUST

Steps:

• To make the dough for the pie crust, mix 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour and 1 teaspoon each salt and sugar in a medium-size bowl. Cut 2 sticks chilled unsalted butter into pieces. With a pastry blender, cut in butter, working until mixture resembles coarse meal.
• Add 4 tablespoons ice water; work with hands until dough comes together. If dough is still crumbly, add more ice water a tablespoon at a time (up to 4 more tablespoons). Do not overwork.
• Divide dough in half, and flatten halves into disks. Wrap disks separately in plastic; refrigerate at least 1 hour.
• To form the pie shell, roll the dough on a floured surface into a 14-inch round. Wrap around rolling pin and carefully unroll over a 9-inch pie plate.
• Fit gently into bottom and side of plate. Use kitchen shears to trim dough to a 1-inch overhang; fold under, and seal to form a rim.
• Crimp rim with fingertips and knuckle. Repeat with remaining dough; wrap each with plastic, stack, and freeze.

PIE CRUST IN THE FOOD PROCESSOR

Steps:

• Place butter and shortening cubes in the freezer temporarily to harden.
• Add flour, granulated sugar (if using) and the salt to a food processor fitted with blade attachment. Pulse until evenly incorporated. Add the butter and shortening cubes, a few pieces at a time with the motor running, until all fats are incorporated and pea-sized clumps begin to form.
• Slowly drizzle a 1/2 cup of water into the feed tube, pulsing all the while. Do this until the pie crust starts to come together. You should be able to easily pinch it into a clump. If the dough does not come together after adding a 1/2 cup of water, splash in up to 3 tablespoons more.
• Transfer the dough to a floured work surface and cut the dough ball in half using a knife or a pastry cutter. Form into two flattened round disks, wrap in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator until chilled through, at least 2 hours.

FLAKY FOOD PROCESSOR PIE CRUST

Steps:

• Measure the flour into the processor with the regular blade attached. Add the unsalted butter, cut into cubes, and shortening, cut into cubes. (Your fat should be frozen or very cold. You may vary the proportions, or use some lard, but the total should be 9 tablespoons.) Add salt. Pulse three times with three counts per pulse to lightly mix the ingredients.
• With the motor running, pour ice water into the workbowl just until the dough just starts to get noticeably crumbly. Don't wait until it is a big clump or it will be way too wet and will turn out tough.
• Stop the machine, dump the crumbly dough into a bowl, and gather the dough into a ball with your hand. you can squeeze it a bit to make it stick together. If it just won't form a ball, add a tiny bit more water. (Note that if you are making crust in the food processor, you will use less water than most recipes call for.)
• Wrap your dough ball in wax paper or plastic wrap and chill it about 30 minutes in the refrigerator. Roll it out on a cool surface if you can. Then follow your pie recipe for baking.

CHICKEN POT PIE WITH BISCUIT CRUST

Steps:

• Crust: This is for just a top crust.
• if you would like a top and bottom, double the recipe.
• Combine dry ingredients and cut in butter until it resembles small peas.
• Add milk all at one and stir just to moisten.
• Pour out onto a floured surface and knead about 8 times.
• Roll into desired shape, depending if you are using a round or square casserole dish.
• If you are making two crusts, make sure you roll the bottom one larger.
• Filling: Melt butter over low heat in a large saucepan.
• Stir in flour, chopped onions, salt and pepper.
• Cook until mixture is bubbly, stirring constantly.
• Remove from heat and whisk in broth and milk.
• Put back over heat and heat to boiling, stirring constantly for a couple minutes, until thickened.
• (YOU CAN IGNORE THE ABOVE IF YOU HAVE ABOUT 2 CUPS OF LEFTOVER GRAVY--JUST HEAT IT UP IN A SAUCEPAN).
• Add chicken and frozen peas and carrots into the mixture and combine.
• Remove from heat.
• Putting it together: Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
• Pour chicken mixture into 2 quart casserole (lined with one crust if you want a bottom crust).
• Lay crust over mixture and press into the inside edges of dish.
• Make a couple slits in the center of crust with a sharp knife.
• If you are doing a top and bottom crust, crimp edges to seal.
• Bake for about 30 minutes, until golden brown.

PERFECT PIE CRUST

Steps:

• Dice the butter and return it to the refrigerator while you prepare the flour mixture. Place the flour, salt, and sugar in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse a few times to mix. Add the butter and shortening. Pulse 8 to 12 times, until the butter is the size of peas. With the machine running, pour the ice water down the feed tube and pulse the machine until the dough begins to form a ball. Dump out on a floured board and roll into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Cut the dough in half. Roll each piece on a well-floured board into a circle, rolling from the center to the edge, turning and flouring the dough to make sure it doesn't stick to the board. Fold the dough in half, place in a pie pan, and unfold to fit the pan. Repeat with the top crust.

EASY ALL-BUTTER FLAKY PIE CRUST

Steps:

• Add 1 ½ cups flour, salt, and sugar (optional) to a food processor. Pulse 2 to 3 times until combined. The remaining cup of flour will be added later.
• Scatter butter cubes over flour and process until a dough or paste begins to form, about 15 seconds. (There should be no uncoated flour).
• Scrape bowl, redistribute the flour-butter mixture then add remaining 1 cup of flour. Pulse 4 to 5 times until flour is evenly distributed. (Dough should look broken up and a little crumbly).
• Transfer to a medium bowl then sprinkle ice water over mixture - start with 4 tablespoons and add from there. Using a rubber spatula, press the dough into itself. The crumbs should begin to form larger clusters. If you pinch some of the dough and it holds together, it's ready. If the dough falls apart, add 2 to 4 more tablespoons of water and continue to press until dough comes together.
• Remove dough from bowl and place in a mound on a clean surface. Work the dough just enough to form a ball. Cut the ball in half then form each half into discs. Wrap each disc with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 2 days. You can also freeze it for up to 3 months (just thaw it overnight in the fridge before using it).
• Add 1 1/2 cups flour, salt and sugar (optional) to a medium bowl. Stir 2 to 3 times until combined.
• Scatter butter cubes over flour and mix briefly with a fork or spatula to coat the butter with flour.
• Cut the butter into the flour with a pastry blender, working mixture until the flour has a coarse, mealy texture similar to fresh bread crumbs. About 1 - 2 minutes.
• Add remaining 1 cup of flour. Work butter and flour with the pastry blender until flour is evenly distributed. About 20 seconds. (Dough should look crumbly with pea-sized pieces).
• Sprinkle ice water over the mixture - start with 4 tablespoons and add from there. Using a rubber spatula, press the dough into itself. The crumbs should begin to form larger clusters. If you pinch some of the dough and it holds together, it's ready. If the dough falls apart, add 2 to 4 more tablespoons of water and continue to press until dough comes together.
• Remove dough from bowl and place in a mound on a clean surface. Work the dough just enough to form a ball. Cut ball in half then form each half into discs. Wrap each disc with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour, and up to 2 days. You can also freeze it for up to 3 months (just thaw it overnight in the fridge before using).
• Remove one of the dough discs from the refrigerator and let sit at room temperature for 5 minutes.
• Lightly flour work surface, top of dough and rolling pin. Then use rolling pin to roll out dough to a 12-inch circle (about 1/8-inch thick). Be sure to check if the dough is sticking to the surface below - add a small amount of flour when necessary.
• Check for size by inverting pie dish over dough round. Look for a 1-inch edge around the pie dish. To transfer dough to dish, starting at one end, roll dough around rolling pin then unroll over dish.
• Gently press dough down into dish so that it lines the bottom and sides of the dish. (Be careful not to pull or stretch the dough). Then, use a knife or pair of kitchen scissors to trim dough to within 1/2-inch of the edge of the dish.
• Fold edge of dough underneath itself so that it creates a thicker, 1/4-inch border that rests on the lip of the dish. Then, crimp edges by pressing the pointer finger of one hand against the edge of the dough from the inside of the dish while gently pressing with two knuckles of the other hand from the outside. Refrigerate dough at least 20 minutes or freeze for 5 minutes before baking.
• If making a double crust pie, do not crimp edges yet. Roll out second dough disc, fill pie then top with second dough round. Trim the edges then crimp.
• Heat the oven to 425 degrees F. Place a baking sheet on a middle oven rack.
• Roll out enough dough to make one 9-inch crust (1 dough disk). Place into a pie plate and then pierce the bottom of the crust with a fork (this prevent air pockets or bubbles from forming while baking). Line the crust with two sheets of aluminum foil or parchment paper. (Be sure to push foil against the edges of the crust). Then, fill foil with dried rice, dried beans or pie weights. Refrigerate 30 minutes or freeze for 10 minutes, or until firm to the touch.
• Place pie crust onto preheated baking sheet and reduce oven temperature to 400 degrees F. Bake 20 to 30 minutes or until the crust is golden.
• Make an egg wash by whisking one egg yolk and 1 tablespoon of cream in a small bowl. Then, remove rice, beans or pie weights and foil from pie crust. Brush the bottom and sides of the crust with egg wash. Bake until egg wash is dry and shiny, 3 to 5 minutes. Cool crust completely before filling.
• Oven temperature and bake time for double crust pies will vary depending on the pie recipe you plan to follow. As an example, we set our oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit for our double crust cherry pie (see the recipe here).
• Remove half of dough from refrigerator and let sit at room temperature for 5 minutes. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to a 13-inch (1/8-inch thick) circle.
• Check for size by inverting pie dish over dough round. Look for a 1-inch edge around the pie dish. Carefully press the dough into the dish. Spoon the pie filling into pie crust.
• Roll out second half of dough then top pie. Use a knife or pair of kitchen scissors to trim dough to within 3/4-inch of the edge of the dish.
• Fold edges of top crust underneath edges of bottom crust, pressing the edge to seal it so that it creates a thicker, 1/4-inch border that rests on the lip of the dish. Then, crimp edges by pressing the pointer finger of one hand against the edge of the dough from the inside of the dish while gently pressing with two knuckles of the other hand from the outside. Refrigerate pie at least 20 minutes or freeze for 5 minutes before baking.
• Just before baking, make egg wash by whisking egg yolk and cream together in a small bowl. Use a pastry brush to brush over the top crust. Then, sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of sugar. Then, cut 3 to 4 slits in top of pie. Bake as directed by the specific recipe you are following.

HOW TO MAKE A LATTICE PIE CRUST

Steps:

• Make sure to start with a chilled pie crust. It should have at least 30 minutes in the fridge before rolling it out. Let it sit at room temperature for a couple minutes to soften before rolling. For tons of details on how to make the best pie crust and roll it out successfully, check out my post for How to Make Flaky Pie Crust.
• Roll out your first pie crust into about a 13 inch circle and lay it in an ungreased 9 inch pie plate. with the edges hanging over the edge. Stick your pie pan in the fridge or freezer if there is any time lag before the next step.
• Fill 'er up. Fill your crust with COLD pie filling, mounding it in the middle. Your lattice is going to be so much easier to form if your filling is cold or frozen. (Room temperature filling at the very least.) A lattice is basically impossible to do with warm pie filling, because it will melt the butter in your crust and make it fall apart. Place your filled pie in the fridge or freezer if there is any time lag before the next step.
• Dust a work space with flour. I highly recommend rolling out the lattice on a pastry cloth or on parchment paper. That way it is easy to transfer the whole thing to the fridge or freezer if it gets warm and soft.
• Roll out your second pie crust into a circle that is about 10 inches across. You want this one to be rolled out thicker than the first one. First of all, you don't need to worry about making it big enough to go up the sides of the pie plate (it's just laying flat across the top) and second, thick strips are much easier to maneuver in a lattice situation than thin wimpy strips. Keep em sturdy; don't roll out too thin.
• Cut into strips. Use a pizza cutter that you've rolled in flour to slice the pie dough into even strips. You can make the strips as wide or as thin as you want; if you are a beginner, you might want to make thick strips to simplify your life. I made my strips about 1 and 1/4 inches wide.
• Remember, if at ANY point your pie dough starts to get soft, stick the whole thing back in the fridge or freezer for a few minutes. I lift up my entire pastry cloth and transfer the whole thing to the freezer.
• Weave your lattice. Take every other strip of pie dough and lay it across your pie with a little space in between each one. See photos. Peel back every other strip that is on your pie, all the way to the edge.
• Lay an edge piece of dough perpendicular to the others, tucked up right against the edge. See photos! Replace the peeled back strips of dough to lay flat on top of the pie.
• Take the strips that are underneath, and peel them back. Lay down your next strip of dough. Replace the peeled back strips.
• Continue until the pie is completely weaved. I know this is hard to understand without a visual, so be sure to check the photos in the post! Remember, if at ANY point your pie dough becomes soft, toss all of it in the fridge or freezer. If you have a strip that tears, use a tiny bit of ice water to patch it with your fingers.
• Fold up the edges. You can trim any super long pieces of lattice that are hanging over the edge if you like, but I usually just leave them and incorporate them into the crust. For lattice pies, I like to fold the edges up and over onto themselves. It might look cracked and wimpy. That's ok. Pretend it is play dough and just mold it back into a smooth edge.
• Crimp the edge. Use your fingers to crimp the edge of your pie crust. I like to use 3 fingers (many people use their knuckles) to make a curved edge. See photos!
• Refrigerate or freeze the whole pie to make sure that the pie dough goes into the oven completely cold. That's what makes for a flaky crust!
• Don't forget to brush the top of your pie with egg or milk (or a mixture of both, my favorite) and sprinkle with granulated or raw sugar before putting it in the oven. This will make your pie nice and brown.
• Halfway through your bake time, add a tin foil pie shield on the edges of your pie to protect the edges from burning. See my flaky pie crust post for all the details.

PERFECT BAKED PIE CRUST

Steps:

• Heat oven to 475ºF. Mix flour and salt in medium bowl. Cut in shortening, using pastry blender (or pulling 2 table knives through ingredients in opposite directions), until particles are size of small peas. Sprinkle with cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, tossing with fork until all flour is moistened and pastry almost leaves side of bowl (1 to 2 teaspoons more water can be added if necessary). Gather pastry into a ball. Shape into flattened round on lightly floured surface. Wrap flattened round of pastry in plastic wrap and refrigerate about 45 minutes or until dough is firm and cold, yet pliable. This allows the shortening to become slightly firm, which helps make the baked pastry more flaky. If refrigerated longer, let pastry soften slightly before rolling.Roll pastry, using floured rolling pin, into circle 2 inches larger than upside-down 9-inch glass pie plate. Fold pastry into fourths; place in pie plate. Unfold and ease into plate, pressing firmly against bottom and side. Trim overhanging edge of pastry 1 inch from rim of pie plate. Fold and roll pastry under, even with plate; flute as desired. Prick bottom and side of pastry thoroughly with fork. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until light brown; cool on wire rack.