Super Easy Tender 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.

BASIC FLAKY PIE CRUST

Steps:

• Divide the butter into two parts, about two thirds to one third:
• For #1 2.5 ounces and 1.5 ounces (5 tablespoons and 3 tablespoons)
• For #2 3 ounces and 1.5 ounces (6 tablespoons and 3 tablespoons)
• For #3 4.5 ounces and 2.5 ounces (9 tablespoons and 5 tablespoons)
• Cut the butter into 3/4-inch cubes. Wrap each portion of butter with plastic wrap, refrigerate the larger amount and freeze the smaller for at least 30 minutes. Place the flour, salt, and baking powder in a reclosable gallon-size freezer bag and freeze for at least 30 minutes.
• Food processor method:
• Place the flour mixture in a food processor with the metal blade and process for a few seconds to combine. Set the bag aside.
• Add the larger amount of butter cubes to the flour and process for about 20 seconds or until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the remaining frozen butter cubes and pulse until all of the frozen butter is the size of peas. (Toss with a fork to see it better.)
• Add the lowest amount of the ice water and the vinegar and pulse 6 times. Pinch a small amount of the mixture together between your fingers. If it does not hold together, add half the remaining water and pulse 3 times. Try pinching the mixture again. If necessary, add the remaining water, pulsing 3 times to incorporate it. The mixture will be in particles and will not hold together without being pinched.
• For tiny 1-inch tartlets, omit the baking powder and allow the processing to continue just until a ball forms. The additional mixing produces a dough that is slightly less flaky but ensures that it will not puff out of shape in the tiny molds.
• Spoon the mixture into the plastic bag. (For a double-crust pie, it is easiest to divide the mixture in half at this point.)
• Holding both ends of the bag opening with you fingers, knead the mixture by alternately pressing it, from the outside of the bag, with the knuckles and heels of your hands until the mixture holds together in one piece and feels slightly stretchy when pulled.
• Wrap the dough with plastic wrap, flatten it into a disc (or discs) and refrigerate for at least 45 minutes, preferably overnight. (For a pie shell and lattice, divide it in a ratio of two thirds:one third - use about 9.5 ounces for the shell and the rest for the lattice, flattening the smaller part into a rectangle.)
• Hand method:
• Place a medium mixing bowl in the freezer to chill.
• Place the flour, salt, and optional baking powder in another medium bowl and whisk to combine them. Use a pastry cutter or rub the mixture between your fingers to blend the larger portion of the butter into the flour until it resembles coarse meal.
• Spoon the mixture, together with the cold butter, into a reclosable gallon-size freezer bag. Expel any air from the bag and close it. Use a rolling pin to flatten the butter into flakes. Place the bag in the freezer for at least 10 minutes or until the butter is very firm.
• Transfer the mixture to the chilled bowl, scraping the sides of the bag. Set the bag aside. Sprinkle the ice water and vinegar onto the mixture, tossing it lightly with a rubber spatula. Spoon the loose mixture back into the plastic bag. (For a double-crust pie, it is easiest to divide the mixture in half at this point.)
• Holding both ends of the bag opening with your fingers, knead the mixture by alternately pressing it, from the outside of the bag, with knuckles and heels of your hands until the mixture holds together in one piece and feels slightly stretchy when pulled.
• Wrap the dough with plastic wrap, flatten it into a disc (or discs) and refrigerate for at least 45 minutes, preferably overnight. (For a pie shell and lattice, divide it in a ratio of two thirds:one third - use about 9.5 ounces for the shell and the rest for the lattice, flattening the smaller part into a rectangle.)
• Store:
• Refrigerated, up to 2 days; frozen, up to 3 months.
• Understanding:
• Pastry flour offers the most tenderness while maintaining flakiness, but it is the addition of vinegar that relaxes the dough without losing flakiness, making it easier to roll, shrink less, and be even more tender. The baking powder lifts and aerates the dough slightly without weakening it, but it makes it seem more tender.
• Thes secret to success is finely incorporating about two thirds of the butter into the flour, which keeps the flour from absorbing too much water and forming gluten, which would make the crust tough. The remaining one third of the butter is incorporated in larger pieces, which serve to seperate the layers, resulting in the desired flakiness. This pie crust does not shrink or distort as much as the standard all-butter crust because there is less gluten development.
• If when adding the water, you find you need more than indicated in the recipe, chances are you haven't moisture-proofed the flour adequately (you haven't used the correct amount of butter or processed it fine enough), leaving the flour free to absorb more liquid. The resulting crust will be flakier but less tender.
• If you find you need less water than specified in the recipe, chances are you divided the butter incorrectly and used too much of it to moisture-proof the flour, preventing it from absorbing an adequate amount of water. The resulting crust will be more tender but not very flaky.
• Flattening the newly formed dough into a disc or discs before refrigerating makes it easier to roll without cracking. The dough is refrigerated to relax the gluten, making it less elastic and easier to roll. Chilling also firms the butter, preventing sticking and the need for extra flour when rolling, which would toughen it. Dough that has rested overnight before baking shrinks less.

BEST EVER PIE CRUST

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine flour and salt. Cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in water until mixture forms a ball. Divide dough in half, and shape into balls. Wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.
• Roll out dough on a floured counter. Don't over work it. Use as directed in pie recipe.

EASY PIE CRUST

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine the flour and salt; cut in shortening until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle with vinegar. Gradually add the milk, tossing with a fork until a ball is formed. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes or until easy to handle. , For a single crust, roll out pastry on a lightly floured surface to fit a 9-in. or 10-in. pie plate. Transfer pastry to pie plate. Trim pastry 1/2 in. beyond edge of plate; flute edges. Fill or bake shell according to recipe directions., For a double crust, divide pastry in two portions so that one ball is slightly larger than the other. Roll out larger ball on a lightly floured surface to fit a 9-in. or 10-in. pie plate. Transfer pastry to pie plate. Trim pastry even with edge of plate. Add filling. Roll out remaining pastry to fit top of pie; place over filling. Trim, seal and flute edges. Cut slits in top. Bake according to recipe directions.

EXTRA-FLAKY PIE CRUST

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt; set aside.
• In a measuring cup or a small bowl, combine the water and vinegar; set aside.
• Gently toss the butter in the flour mixture until coated, then use a pastry blender to cut the butter into the flour. (You should have pieces of butter that range from sandy patches to pea-size chunks, with some larger bits as well.)
• Drizzle in about half of the ice water mixture and stir lightly with a fork until the flour is evenly moistened and the dough starts to come together. If the dough seems dry, add a little more ice water, 1 to 2 tablespoons at a time. The dough will still look a bit shaggy at this point. If you grab a small piece of dough and press it slightly with your hand, it should mostly hold together.
• Dump the dough out onto an unfloured work surface and gather it together into a tight mound. Using the heel of your hand, smear the dough a little at a time, pushing it away from you and working your way down the mass of dough to create flat layers of flour and butter. Gather the dough back together with a bench scraper, layering the clumps of dough on top of one another.
• Repeat the process once or twice more; the dough should still have some big pieces of butter visible.
• Cut the dough in half. Shape each piece into a disk and flatten it. Wrap the disks in plastic and put in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour, or overnight, to rest.
• The dough can be stored for 3 days in the refrigerator or up to 1 month in the freezer. If making the dough in advance to freeze: Roll out the dough on a piece of parchment paper, then carefully roll it up in the parchment. Write the date on the parchment and pop into the freezer to firm up, about 30 minutes. Then wrap the crust securely in plastic wrap. Defrost the dough in the refrigerator overnight or thaw it on the kitchen counter for about 30 minutes before using.)
• Use the dough for double-crust pie recipes or cut it into disks to prepare Berry Hand Pies.

OUR FAVORITE PIE CRUST RECIPE-HOW TO MAKE A TENDER PIE CRUST

Steps:

• For a flaky, tender crust (as opposed to one that's harder, mealy, and more cookie-like), the following works well.
• Whisk together all of the dry ingredients, reserving a few tablespoons of the flour.
• Cut in half of the fat, working the mixture until it's mealy and crumbly.
• Place the reserved flour on your work surface, and coat the remaining fat with the flour.
• Use a rolling pin or the heel of your hand to flatten the fat till it's about 1/2-inch thick.
• Break this flour-coated fat into 1-inch pieces, and mix it into the dough, just till it's evenly distributed; some of the pieces of flour-coated fat should break into smaller pieces.
• Sprinkle the liquid(s) over the dough while tossing with a fork.
• Just as soon as the dough becomes cohesive (i.e., you can squeeze it into a ball easily), stop mixing; there should still be visible pieces of fat in the dough.
• Flatten the dough into a disk and wrap it in plastic wrap or waxed paper.
• Refrigerate for 30 minutes or longer; this resting period allows the flour to absorb the water, making the dough easier to roll out.
• Flour your work surface and roll the dough into a 12 x 9-inch (approximately) rectangle.
• (If it isn't holding together well, sprinkle it lightly with a couple of teaspoons of water.
• Fold the dough into thirds (like a letter), then fold it into thirds the opposite way, to form a rough square. Wrap it well and refrigerate again.).
• When you're "ready to roll," remove the dough from the fridge.
• If the dough is made with all lard and/or vegetable shortening, you'll be able to work with it directly from the refrigerator.
• A dough made with all butter will need to warm slightly (10 to 15 minutes) before rolling, as butter becomes brittle when it's refrigerated.
• Dough made with a combination of butter and shortening should rest for about 5 minutes at room temperature before rolling.
• Roll the dough to the size needed (about 13 inches for a 9-inch pie).
• Fill and bake as directed in your recipe.
• Note: in this particular recipe, cut all of the lard or vegetable shortening into the flour, then coat the butter with flour before adding it to the dough.

TENDER PIE CRUST

Steps:

• Blend flour, sugar, and salt in processor. Add butter; using on/off turns, process until coarse meal forms. Add 8 tablespoons ice water and cider vinegar; blend until moist clumps form, adding more ice water by teaspoonfuls if dough is dry. Gather dough together. Turn dough out onto work surface; divide dough in half. Form each half into ball and flatten into disk. Wrap disks separately in plastic; refrigerate at least 1 hour. (Can be made ahead. Keep dough refrigerated up to 2 days, or enclose in resealable plastic bag and freeze up to 1 month, then thaw in refrigerator overnight. Soften slightly at room temperature before rolling out.)

GRANDMOTHER'S SUPER FLAKY PIE CRUST

Steps:

• preheat oven to 350 F degrees (Fahreinheit).
• pour flour into medium bowl, add margarine using pastry blender (or crisscrossing with knives) until lumps are slightly smaller than pea-size.
• Add water. mix gently with fork until dough comes away from the sides of bowl. (you may need more water) be very gentle, and try not to mix too much.
• transfer half of dough to a sheet of wax paper lightly sprinkled with flour. sprinkle a little flour onto top of pie dough.
• cover pie dough with another sheet of wax paper.
• roll out so the pie crust is level, and not too thick in one place, or too thin in another. (about 11 or 12 inches in diameter).
• peel off top layer of wax paper from dough, and place pie pan on top of dough. carefully slide your hand underneath bottom layer of wax paper, and flip.
• Then,carefully peel the wax paper from pie dough, and ease into pan.
• repeat steps 4-8 with other half of dough.
• Bake for 15 min, or so or until golden brown in color.
• Fill with any pie filling!

SUPER EASY TENDER PIE CRUST

Steps:

• Measure flour and salt into the sifter and sift into mixing bowl.
• Cut shortening into flour with a pastry cutter (pastry blender) or two knives until it resembles coarse meal.
• Sprinkle water, 1 T at a time, over different parts of the mixture while tossing with a fork until all the particles are just sticky enough to stick enough to hold together when pressed and to form a dough that clings to the fork.
• USE ONLY ENOUGH WATER TO MAKE THE PARTICLES CLING TOGETHER - they should not be wet or slippery. Amount of water needed will vary.
• Form the pastry into smooth ball between cupped hands. Roll out at once. (If it is a very warm day, you wrap the pastry in waxed paper or foil and refrigerate up to 1/2 hour and then roll out.)