Sunsets Best Basic Pie Crust Dough Food

BASIC PIE CRUST

Steps:

• In a food processor, briefly pulse flour, salt, and sugar. Add butter; pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal, with a few pea-size pieces of butter remaining. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons ice water. Pulse until dough is crumbly but holds together when squeezed (if necessary, add up to 2 tablespoons water, 1 tablespoon at a time). Dont overmix.
• Turn dough out onto a large piece of plastic wrap. Fold plastic over dough; press to shape into a 1-inch-thick disk. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour (or up to 3 days).
• On a floured piece of parchment paper, roll dough to a 14-inch round with a floured rolling pin. Wrap dough around rolling pin, discarding paper; unroll over a 9-inch pie plate (opposite). Gently fit into bottom and up sides of plate (do not stretch dough).
• Using kitchen shears, trim dough to a 1-inch overhang. Fold under itself to form a rim, and press to seal. Using thumb and forefinger, crimp rim of crust. Refrigerate until ready to use, up to 1 day.

THE BEST ALL-BUTTER PIE DOUGH

Steps:

• Pulse the flour, sugar and salt in a food processor to combine. Add the butter and process until the largest pieces of butter are pea-size. Transfer to a large bowl.
• Combine the vodka, vinegar and 4 tablespoons of the ice water in a small bowl. Drizzle the wet ingredients over the dough, then mix with a fork until shaggy pieces form. Knead the dough in the bowl with your hands a couple of times until it comes together (it will look quite dry, which is fine). Transfer the large clumps of dough to a work surface. Drizzle 1 tablespoon ice water over any remaining smaller bits of dough in the bowl and knead again to bring it together. If the remaining dough is still too dry to come together, add more ice water in 1-tablespoon increments. Add to the dough on the work surface and press together into a single mass, incorporating any dry bits. Pat the dough into a 1-inch-thick block.
• Divide the block into 4 pieces with a bench scraper or knife. Stack the pieces on top of one another, tucking any unincorporated dry bits in between the layers. Flatten the dough into a 3/4-inch-thick block. Repeat this process (cutting, stacking and flattening) 3 more times; this creates layers of butter in the dough that produce a wonderfully flaky crust.
• Divide the dough in half and form into 1-inch-thick discs; wrap each disc tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 3 hours and preferably overnight. The dough can be made up to 3 days ahead and refrigerated, or frozen for up to 3 months.

BASIC PIE DOUGH FOR SPINACH AND GRUYERE QUICHES

Steps:

• In a food processor, combine flour, salt, and sugar; pulse to combine. Add butter; pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal, with a few pea-size pieces of butter remaining.
• Sprinkle with 1/4 cup ice water. Pulse until dough is crumbly but holds together when squeezed (if necessary, add up to cup more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time). Do not overmix.
• Transfer half of dough (still crumbly) onto a piece of plastic wrap. Form dough into a disk 3/4 inch thick; wrap tightly in plastic. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour (and up to 3 days). Repeat with remaining dough.
• Place one disk of dough on a lightly floured piece of waxed paper. Rolling from center outward, form into a 14-inch round. Using paper, lift and wrap dough around a floured rolling pin; carefully unroll (discarding paper) over a 9-inch pie plate.
• Gently fit dough into bottom and sides of plate. Avoid stretching or tearing dough. Using kitchen shears, trim overhang to 1 inch; fold under to form a rim. Crimp with fingertips and knuckle. Repeat with remaining disk of dough.

SUNSET'S BRAMBLEBERRY PIE

Steps:

• Put an oven rack on the lowest rung, and preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly dust your counter and rolling pin with flour, then unwrap one disk of dough. With short strokes from center outward, roll dough into a 12-inch circle (about 1/8-inch thick), turning 90 degrees after every 3 or 4 passes of the rolling pin to keep it from sticking. Transfer dough to a 9-inch pie pan, letting it fall into place. (If you push or stretch the dough, it will shrink back when baked.) Trim overhang to 1/4 inch. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 15 minutes and up to overnight. Meanwhile, roll second disk into an 11-inch circle. Transfer to a baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate at least 15 minutes and up to overnight.
• While crusts chill, put berries in a large bowl. Sprinkle with flour, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, brown sugar, tapioca, lemon juice, and salt. Stir gently until berries are well coated. Taste and add more granulated sugar if you like.
• Pour berry mixture into chilled bottom crust and dot with butter. Unwrap top crust, and lay over pie. Fold bottom crust edge up over edge of top crust, and crimp edges together. Cut several vents in top crust, and sprinkle with remaining 1 tsp sugar. Put pie on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until crust is browned and filling is bubbling, 60 to 75 minutes. (Cover edges with foil if they become too dark before middle of top is nicely browned.).
• Let pie cool until bottom of pie pan reaches room temperature, at least 3 hours. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream if you like.

BASIC PIE CRUST 101

Steps:

• Mix flour and salt in mixing bowl. Cut shortening into the flour with a pastry cutter, until mixture resembles the texture of tiny split peas. Do not use your hands to try and mix it; the heat from your hands will melt the shortening, causing the pastry to be "heavy," not light and fluffy.
• Once the mixture is the right texture,, add the ice water and combine with a fork. It may appear to need more water, it does not. Quickly gather the dough into a ball and flatten into a 4-inch-wide disk. Wrap it with plastic, and refrigerate at least 30 minutes.
• Remove dough disk from refrigerator. If stiff and very cold, let stand until dough is cool but soft enough to work with.
• Using a floured rolling pin,roll dough disk on a lightly floured surface from the center out in each direction, forming a 12-inch circle. To transfer dough, carefully roll it around the rolling pin, lift and unroll dough, centering it in an ungreased 9-inch regular or deep-dish pie plate. (or you can fold dough in quarters, then place dough point in center of pie pan and unfold dough, whichever is easiest for you.

WEIGHT WATCHERS BASIC PIE CRUST (WW)

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar and salt. With two knives (or pastry cutter), cut in butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in cottage cheese and yogurt just until the mixture forms a ball. Gather dough into ball; wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate several hours or overnight.
• On a floured surface, roll out dough to a 13" circle. Fit dough into a 9" pie plate, pressing to fit and rolling the dough over to form a rim. Refrigerate until chilled; prick the bottom with a fork.
• For a prebaked crust, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line the crust with foil; fill with dried beans, rice or pie weights. Bake until crust is set, about 10 minutes, remove foil and weights. Bake until golden, about 5-8 minutes longer. Cool on a rack.

SUNSET'S PEACH STREUSEL PIE

Steps:

• Put an oven rack in the middle position and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Stir together walnuts, pecans, flour, brown sugar, and salt in a small bowl. Add butter and stir with a fork until mixture forms small clumps (break apart any large clumps with your fingers). Set aside.
• Gently mix peaches, sugar, and tapioca in a large bowl. Taste and add additional sugar if you like. Set aside.
• Dust your counter and rolling pin with flour. With short strokes from center outward, roll dough into a 12-inch circle (about 1/8 inch thick), turning 90 degrees after every 3 or 4 passes of the rolling pin to keep it from sticking. Transfer dough to a 9-inch deep-dish glass pie plate, letting it fall into place. (If you push or stretch the dough, it will shrink back when baked.) Trim overhang to 1/2 inch, tuck edge under, and crimp edge. Pile peaches into crust, then top with streusel.
• Put pan on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until topping and bottom crust are well browned, about 1 hour. Let cool to room temperature, at least 2-1/2 hours, before serving.
• NOTES: "If your peaches are exceptionally juicy, toss with an additional tbsp of tapioca. To peel peaches, make a small X on the bottom of the fruit, then plunge into boiling water for 30 seconds. Once cool, the skin will pull free.".

SUNSET'S BEST BASIC PIE CRUST DOUGH

Steps:

• Mix flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Drop in butter and shortening. Using your hands, a fork, a pastry cutter, or two knives, work butter and shortening into the flour mixture until it resembles cornmeal with some small pea-sized pieces.
• Using a fork, quickly stir in 1/2 cup ice water (mixture will not hold together). Turn dough and crumbs onto a clean surface. Knead just until dough starts to hold together but some bits still fall away, 5 to 10 times. Divide dough in half and pat each half into a 6-inch disk. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 20 minutes and up to overnight.
• NOTES: "If you would like to use lard--which also contributes flavor and flakiness to pie crust--substitute 2 tbsp lard for 2 tbsp of the shortening. Try to get good-quality lard from a butcher shop if you can; it's generally much better than ordinary grocery-store lard.".