Tips, recipe for pie crust
Hi all,
Does anyone have a recipe for a pie crust using all butter that is easy to roll out - with that tips for rolling out dough? My mom helped with the blackberry-blueberry pie with lemon cornmeal crust from Fine Cooking. The dough contained cornmeal, flour, butter, shortening, lemon juice and ice cold water, sugar and salt. She rolled out one ball of dough and then I tried. The dough fell apart when I went to roll it out. Mom gave the dough a massage and I rolled from there. The finished product looked like a continent on a world map.
How do you get a circle? Is there a maximum time dough can be left in the refrigerator?
Does anyone have luck with a crust that has both butter and shortening. I'm a fan of the all-butter crust, for its flavor and naturalness (no trans fats). Thank you for any advice.
Add a comment:
Previewing your comment:
HTML Hints
Some HTML is OK: <a href="URL">link</a>, <strong>strong</strong>, <em>em</em>
Comment Guidelines
Post whatever you want, just keep it seriously about eats, seriously. We reserve the right to delete off-topic or inflammatory comments. Learn more at our Comment Policy page.
If you see something not so nice, please, report an inappropriate comment.
Start Talking!
Need a question answered? Have advice to share? Start a Talk topic now!
Sign up to get your questions answered and share advice.
11 Comments:
Pie crust is never super-easy, but especially when you're using all butter, the importance of fridge time can't be overestimated (and for butter, you can't really over-refrigerate). I use 1/2 c butter to 1 1/2 c flour for a single pie crust. Working with cold butter, cold flour, and a cold pastry blender, blend it in until it's reached the famous "coarse meal with some pea-sized blobs" stage.
Add ice water until it just holds together...anywhere from 4-8+ tbsp., depending on your flour and the humidity. You won't really have a "dough" at this point, but when you squish a little between your fingers it will hold, even though you'll see dry floury bits in the bowl. Dump it onto a big sheet of plastic wrap and form into a round about 6" in diameter - your floury bits will incorporate. Chill this about half an hour.
Remove from fridge and roll between two sheets of wax paper, starting from the center and working outward, but don't roll over the edge of the dough onto the counter. Check often to see if it's sticking to the paper - if so, brush with a little flour. Rotate dough to ensure even rolling, and flip it over occasionally. If at any point your dough is no longer cold, put it back in the fridge until thoroughly chilled before continuing to roll.
Get it about 2" around bigger than your pie plate, flip it over onto the plate (this part is hard), and allow it to fall into place, rather than pressing it (which will develop gluten and make your crust tough). Once it's in the pie plate and you've rolled/fluted/crimped your edges, put it back in the fridge until it's cold and set again. The chilling stages relax the gluten as well as ensuring the butter is as cold as possible when the pie goes in the oven - to help create flakes.
I'm sure lots of folks don't chill so much and make great pie crusts, but I don't have the natural knack and this method works for me. Once I started chilling in between all the steps, I went from the puzzle-pieces, falling-apart pie crust to being able to rely on making a good crust, so I recommend it if you don't have magical cold pie-maker's fingers (my mom has 'em too).
producestories at 3:51PM on 02/28/09
Julia Child, I think it was, suggests banging the dough a few times with your rolling pin after you take it out of the fridge and before you start rolling. It seems to loosen up the butter or whatever other shortening you're using. Practice, practice, practice. Most of us when we put out dough in the pie pan have edges that look like Antarctica. That's why we trim it. Don't feel bad about it. The real question is, how does it taste?
lemons at 4:41PM on 02/28/09
Chilling is a good idea, though I admit I don't tend to add the extra chilling steps most of the time. I make mine, chill for an hour or more, then roll from there.
I have a pastry board so I don't use waxed paper (never did have luck with that, but I know many who do) but just remember to never over work the dough as it gets tougher each time. I never roll out any dough more than twice.
I rarely get perfect circles when I roll, but I cut the edges into a more defined circle before placing in the pan. Another trick for getting it to the pan is to roll it gently around your rolling pin, and lift it to the pan and unroll across the top. Then of course shape and such with your hands.
While I still do flour-fat-water crusts now and again, I have become a huge fan of recipes using vinegar or alcohol, and/or egg.
This is my favorite recipe which I tell everyone is no-fail. Even my baking challenged best friend has this one work for her every time, from rolling out to shaping to baking.
You can do all butter or half butter and half shortening or lard, whichever you like.
3 cups flour
1 cup butter/shortening (I usually toss in an extra 2 tbsp butter per batch)
1 egg
1 tbsp vinegar or vodka
Ice water as needed
Mix the fat and flour until it resembles coarse crumbs. Mix the egg and vinegar in a cup and drizzle over the flour mix. Sprinkle on a few tbsp. of ice water and begin to work the mixture gently together with a fork, adding more ice water as you go until the dough pulls together but is still a bit crumbly.
Chill at least an hour, covered, then roll out and use as desired.
Makes enough dough for 2 double crust pies or 4-5 single.
I have kept dough in the fridge for 3 days just fine, and in the freezer for months.
Also, if you like to use shortenings, several brands including Crisco now have trans-fat free offerings. Those can be a bit different and not as nice to work with in a buttercream icing, but I have seen no difference in pie crust or other pastry so far with the trans-fat free.
Good luck!
sadiepix at 4:47PM on 02/28/09
I only do butter, chilling might be less necessary if shortening or lard is added to the mix, since they're harder at room temp?
producestories at 5:47PM on 02/28/09
The Cook's Illustrated foolproof pie crust is almost foolproof. It does have shortening, but I suppose you could use butter instead and just follow the instructions otherwise. It's the technique, and the votka, that makes it foolproof. Allegedly.
If you don't have votka, I've subbed rum and other alcoholic substances. There's not much in there, so as long as the flavor doesn't clash, you're fine. The general idea is that alcohol will moisten the flour just like water does, but alcohol won't activate the gluten. So you can work it more without it becoming tough.
dbcurrie at 6:47PM on 02/28/09
You could also try a recipe with cream cheese in the dough. For the past couple of years, I've been using a recipe that calls for butter, shortening, and cream cheese along with all the other traditional ingredients, and it works beautifully. (And like you, I always had trouble with rolling out the dough before.) The theory behind it is that the butter is for flavor, the shortening is for flakiness & tenderness, and the cream cheese is to aid in rolling out more smoothly.
kimberlymac at 9:19PM on 02/28/09
You can use all butter instead of any combination of butter, shortening, or lard in any recipe. For wetness you can use alcohol, cream, milk, water, some sour cream... If your dough is crumbly, don't be afraid of a wet dough - just use flour on your counter. I like a wetter dough at first because the flour will absorb a lot of moisture while it is resting in the fridge. Roll from the center outwards, not back and forth. And, don't worry about cracks near the edge, they are normal when you are rolling out cold dough. You want the coldness so that the butter doesn't melt into the flour, but it does make the dough stiffer.
twosavoie at 9:23PM on 02/28/09
I've tried the Cook's Illustrated version. I am no baker and am only a novice home cook.
If I can turn out impressive and VERY taste results with that recipe several times, ANYONE can do it.
I've heard of people replacing the shortening in it with plain butter, but I haven't done so myself, yet.
I put the butter, vodka and shortening in the freezer before hand.
Actually when I made the dough for Christmas, I put the vodka outside as it would chill faster than the freezer. I would have put the shortening and butter out there, too but my mother was afraid the neighborhood cats would eat it, hahaha...guess the neighborhood cats don't have any interest in vodka though.
fuuchan at 11:19PM on 02/28/09
For standard flaky tart crust, I use only butter, flour, some water and salt. I cut up the butter and chill it in the freezer before beginning for a few minutes. It gives you some time. I think the temperature and not overworking it is the most important thing. Also, if it starts to soften, stop whatever you're doing and put in the fridge for a while. Heat will ruin your dough.
Also, for transfer, I don't bother with the wax paper and simply wrap it lightly around the rolling pin and transfer that way.
Pie crust is hard to get right. Keep working on it.
storyscribe at 7:55AM on 03/01/09
Recipes can vary but these tips should be applied anytime you make pie crust.
* Butter must be ICE COLD.
* Water must be ICE COLD (and don't add too much).
* Do not mix pie dough so much it's homogenous in color. You should see bits of butter throughout the dough.
* If using a FP, be very aware of how long you process after the water is added. Pulse 10-12 times MAX after the water goes in.
* You MUST chill pie dough after it's mixed to relax any gluten that may have developed in the mixing process.
* Option - once your dough is fitted into the pie shell, you may chill it for 30 minutes to relax gluten even further.
* Pies must be baked at very high temperature which affects both the crust and filling.
Pie crust, biscuits, scones, even bread dough and pasta - all these things require a "hand" that has memory. They are more tactile products whose successful outcome depends as much on technique as it does on ingredients used.
therealchiffonade at 10:47AM on 03/01/09
Cook's Illustrated suggests adding vodka to the dough -- it increases the ease of handling without detracting from the texture. As for rolling it out, I suggest doing it between parchment paper and rolling in one direction. I wrote about this recently.
Savour at 7:01PM on 03/06/09