Pie Crust is one of those things that can make or break a dessert. It can also turn the otherwise enjoyable act of baking a pie from scratch into a somewhat daunting experience. It seems that avid bakers tend to be quite loyal to their technique, especially when it comes to the butter vs. shortening ratio.
All-shortening (a little lacking in flavor, in my opinion), Half butter and half shortening (good texture and more flavor than all-shortening), and all-butter (best flavor by far, and can still be as flaky and tender as the half and half version) are the main schools of thought when it comes to pastry dough. I am not a die hard loyal to one type or another, typically. I have used the butter/shortening combo for the last few years and have always been pleased with the results. Since I've been in Italy, however, I've been keeping to a strict all-butter pie crust regimen and I don't see myself going back anytime soon. Why the switch? Shortening wasn't available, so I used all butter out of necessity. It was a good problem to have. The flavor is much better with butter, and if you are careful with your technique the results will be just as flaky as with shortening. The biggest trick is not to overwork the dough and to make sure the butter is cold and stays in large lumps throughout the dough when you roll it out.
If you've ever made homemade croissants before, think of making all-butter pie crust in sort of the same way: The butter, when left in larger bits, provides the flakiness that the dough needs. The pie dough will have a buttery marbled appearance when rolled out. If you work the butter in completely, the dough will be more tough than tender.
I also find that my crusts have the best texture when I make them the old-fashioned way instead of using a food processor to pulse the mixture. It's easiest not to overmix when you're working it by hand. Feel free to do as you wish, but if you choose to do it by hand- you'll save a lot of dishes to wash and you'll probably have better results.
All-Butter Pie Crust
- Total Time: 2 hours 20 minutes
- Yield: 2 pie crusts 1x
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups (315 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon (15 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon (5 grams) salt
- 2 sticks (8 ounces/225 grams) unsalted butter, cubed and very cold
- 1 cup water with ice
Instructions
To Make the Dough:
- Cube the butter and set in freezer for 5 minutes while you measure the remaining ingredients.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt.
- Add butter to the flour mixture and combine with a fork, two butter knives, or a pastry blender. Be sure not to mix the butter in completely. Visible bits of butter should remain, about the size of a corn kernel.
- Drizzle ½ cup of the cold water over the mixture, and bring the dough together using a rubber spatula. Add more water, one tablespoon at a time, as needed to bring the dough together. You shouldn't need to use more than ¾ cup water.
- Bring the dough together into a ball by hand, and divide in half. Shape into discs.
- Wrap each disc in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours before rolling dough out.
To Roll Out Crust:
- Remove one chilled disc from the refrigerator and place on a well-floured work surface. Sprinkle dough with flour.
- Roll dough a few times, then lift dough and rotate it, making sure it isn't sticking to the counter. Add more flour as needed. Roll a few more times, then rotate again. Continue rolling and turning until dough is of uniform thickness and measure about 2-3 inches larger than the diameter of your pie plate. (12-inches is a good size for a 9-inch pie plate.)
- Gently fold the dough into quarters. This makes it easy to transfer the dough and position it in the center of the pie plate.
- Trim and pinch the edges with your thumb and index fingers to make a nice, wavy border. (If you are doing a double-crust pie, do this step after you have filled the pie and added the top crust, then crimp the top and bottom crusts together.)
- Happy Pie-Making!
Aaron Chow
Love it love it love it!!! Why buy store-bought pie dough when you have Kitchen Joy!!!
Audrey-58daydreams
Beautiful crust :-)