When I set my “learn to bake” resolution, I wanted to be able to bake a cake, a pie crust, and a not-cake-or-pie dessert. I’m pretty comfortable with cakes now, having made a two-layer birthday cake as well as vegan cupcakes recently, and I think I’m about ready to learn the intricacies of pie crust .
And, I’ll be honest, I find pastry (making it, not eating it) deeply intimidating. Unlike cake baking, I’ve never even seen anyone make a pie crust. The closest I’ve ever come was hearing my mom mention how her grandmother used to make really great pie crusts — and even if there is a pie crust gene, it’s probably a recessive one.
And so, I’m calling on you, gentle reader, to act as my own personal Wikipedia. I’ll call you… Gezellipedia.
So, give it to me straight, Gezellipedia: how do I make a pie crust?
22 February 2007 at 9:03 am
Hmm. I was going to suggest the traditional piecrust using Crisco, but that is not so good in these times. I looked at Marion Cunningham’s Fannie Farmer, and she has an unconventional method that she says is great for novices; AND it uses oil, rather than shortening or butter. That being said, I’ve never made this. Do you want to try? Here’s her receipt and abbreviated method.
Stirred Dough (8-inch pie shell)
1 Cup flour, pinch salt, 1/2 t sugar, 4-5 T oil (peanut, corn, or other vegetable, in that order of preference), 1 T milk.
Combine dry ingredients. Stir 3 T of oil and milk together and sprinkle overflour mix. and stir with a fork. Add another T of oil, still stirring. Gently pat the dough into a ball, and if it holds together and feels moist, it is ready to roll out. If not, add the remaining oil. Put a large piece of wax paper on your board and pat the dough into a 5 in circle. Put another sheet on top, and roll out.
Peel off top paper. Invert the dough over your pie plate and ease it into the pan, then gently pull the paper off (you may have to fidget with this step).
22 February 2007 at 9:07 am
Corny Alert: Making crust is easy as pie.
Really. People are so freaked out by it, but there’s really nothing to it. You need flour, you need fat (some use butter, some use Crisco, some use a mixture of both), you need a smidgen of salt, and you need a bit of ice-cold water.
Cut the fat into the flour and salt until you’ve got a coarse meal, then start adding water, about a tablespoon at a time, until the dough holds together when you squeeze it into a ball. Divide the dough (if the recipe makes enough crust for a two-crust pie or for two single-crust pies), form each half into a hockey-puck-looking disc, wrap in plastic, refrigerate for a spell, roll it out on a lightly-floured surface (keep the dough from sticking by moving it around as you roll it, picking it up and turning it a bit, for example) or roll it out between sheets of waxed or parchment paper. If you go the paper route, you can use it to “flop” the crust into your pan. If you roll it out on the counter, roll the crust over your rolling pin and unroll it over your pan.
The key is not to overwork it early in the process. I once dated a guy who thought you had to knead pie crust like bread dough, and couldn’t understand why his crusts were never flaky.
22 February 2007 at 9:15 am
Have you tried Spectrum’s Organic Shortening as a Crisco substitute? It’s made from palm oil, and has no trans or hydrogenated fats. I bought some to make the filling in those vegan cupcakes.
Oh, hell — I just realized I don’t have a rolling pin anymore.
22 February 2007 at 9:44 am
I confess – my pie crusts suck. Mostly because like Beth’s old boyfriend, I mess with it too much. I’ve also tried the oil crust tut-tut mentions (too “oily” for my taste). I do know that all the *best* crusts use lard as their shortening. Whatever shortening you go with, experience is your best teacher. Practice, practice, practice. Good luck!
22 February 2007 at 10:46 am
Guilty to of messing with my piecrust dough too much! I use a combo of butter and Crisco. I don’t think it really matters though. Each is partial to their own fat.
22 February 2007 at 11:01 am
When I get home, I’ll have to post the pie crust recipe that I got from a 1992 issue of Bon Appetite.
It was very easy and that was the recipe I used the very first time I ever baked anything from scratch. I made an apple pie and at that time, I didn’t even have a rolling pin and it still came out good.
22 February 2007 at 11:26 am
Use a glass bottle. AND very cold water. Butter works best incorperate to size of peas.
22 February 2007 at 1:57 pm
Here you go! Check out the Amateur Gourmet’s explanation. I think he had the wrong issue of Gourmet, though – I think it was the August, not July edition.
Whatever you do, don’t try this in a hot kitchen, or on a hot day. You will want someone to put you out of your misery.
There are different kinds of crusts. Three are pate brisee, pate sucree, and pate sablee. The last one is absolutely the easiest, as you can actually pat it in a pie plate. Sherry Yard has a recipe in her cookbook, The Secrets of Baking.
22 February 2007 at 1:59 pm
Oops – forgot to post the link in my previous post. Here it is:
http://www.amateurgourmet.com/the_amateur_gourmet/2006/07/as_easy_as.html
As for the Spectrum Organics shortening, that’s all I’ve used for shortening every since I discovered it a few years ago. It works just fine. I never make an all shortening crust, though – love the butter for flakiness and flavor. The shortening makes it tender.
22 February 2007 at 2:10 pm
Sally: Lard. Hmm. This may require further investigation.
Alex: Awesome! Thanks, man.
Madame Chow: You know, I saw that post when it was written — and promptly went out and bought the aforementioned wrong issue of Gourmet.