Always Perfect Pie Crust Recipes

PERFECT PIE CRUST

Steps:

• Dice the butter and return it to the refrigerator while you prepare the flour mixture. Place the flour, salt, and sugar in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse a few times to mix. Add the butter and shortening. Pulse 8 to 12 times, until the butter is the size of peas. With the machine running, pour the ice water down the feed tube and pulse the machine until the dough begins to form a ball. Dump out on a floured board and roll into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Cut the dough in half. Roll each piece on a well-floured board into a circle, rolling from the center to the edge, turning and flouring the dough to make sure it doesn't stick to the board. Fold the dough in half, place in a pie pan, and unfold to fit the pan. Repeat with the top crust.

PERFECTLY FLAKY PIE CRUST

Steps:

• In a large bowl, mix together flour, salt, and sugar until well combined. Using clean hands, add butter and toss until just coated. Rub butter between thumb and forefingers to incorporate into flour mixture until butter is in lima bean-sized pieces and comes together in quarter-sized clumps when squeezed in palm, about 2 minutes. Add shortening, toss until just coated in flour, then rub into flour mixture until mixture forms pea-size pieces (some big chunks should remain) and comes together in fist-sized clumps when squeezed, about 1 minute. Drizzle in half ice water and rake through mixture with fingers until just moistened. Drizzle in remaining water 1 tablespoon at a time and comb through mixture with fingers to moisten. It will go from being a shaggy mess to coming together. Dough is moist enough when it is moistened through but is not wet when pressed. (Do not overwork the dough or it will become tough.)
• While rotating the bowl with 1 hand, push dough between other palm and side of bowl to gather into a ball. Turn dough onto a piece of plastic wrap, press it into a flat disk, then close in wrap. Place in coldest part of refrigerator (usually back bottom shelf) at least 30 minutes before rolling out and forming into a crust.

PERFECT PIE CRUST

Steps:

• Cut each stick of butter into 8 pieces, and refrigerate until needed. Place the flour, salt, and sugar in a large mixing bowl, and mix to combine.
• Add the chilled butter. Using a pastry blender, incorporate the butter into the flour mixture; the mixture should resemble coarse meal with small pieces of butter, the size of small peas, remaining visible.
• Drizzle 2 tablespoons ice water over the flour-butter mixture, and blend. Repeat with an additional 2 tablespoons water. At this point, you may have to add more water: When a handful of dough squeezed together just holds its shape, you've added enough; if the dough crumbles, continue incorporating water, 1 tablespoon at a time, checking the consistency after each additional tablespoon.
• Turn the dough out onto a clean work surface. Divide into two equal pieces, and place on two separate sheets of plastic wrap. Flatten, and form two disks. Wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
• Lightly dust a clean, dry work surface with flour. Place the chilled dough in the center of the work surface, and dust the dough as well as the rolling pin with flour. Position the rolling pin on the center of the disk, and begin rolling the dough away from you. Give the disk a quarter turn, and roll again. Continue turning and rolling until you have an even 1/8-inch thickness. Turning the dough as you roll will prevent it from sticking to the work surface. A dry pastry brush is handy to remove any excess flour during and after the rolling process.
• Lightly butter the pie plate. To minimize stretching when moving the dough, roll it around the pin, lift up, and unroll over the buttered pie plate. Using your fingers, gently pat the dough into place. Trim any excess dough with a paring knife or kitchen shears, leaving a 1-inch overhang; then fold dough under to reinforce the edge.

ALWAYS PERFECT PIE CRUST OR PASTRY

Steps:

• In a very large bowl combine flour, sugar, salt and baking powder. Cut in butter leaving pea sized chunks.
• In a 2 cup glass measure whisk water, sour cream, and vinegar; pour, all at once into flour mixture, and quickly distribute. Stop!
• Make sure dough is slightly crumbly. Divide dough mixture into 3 equal portions (about 12 to 13 ounces each) Refrigerate for 2 hours and best overnight (finish by hand). DO NOT OVER MIX- the finished dough should break, not stretch.
• Gently knead in bag to bring dough together. Form into discs.
• Use at once or wrap and store in refrigerator for several days or in freezer for up to 1 month. Thaw overnight in refrigerator if frozen.

ALWAYS PERFECT PIE CRUST

Steps:

• In a bowl, combine flour, shortening and butter, if using, and salt.
• With a pastry blender or two forks or your hands, cut and toss the ingredients until the fat is evenly distributed.
• (Break the fat into pea-size pieces.) In a small bowl or a measuring cup, combine the egg, vinegar and cold water.
• Beat to combine, then add to dry ingredients.
• Mix quickly with a fork with a tossing motion until all the dry ingredients are moistened.
• You can roll this out right away or cover with a damp towel and let it rest in the refrigerator for 20 to 30 minutes.
• It behaves better when cool.
• When ready to roll out, divide the dough into equal parts, depending on the size of the pie pans.
• Roll out on a floured surface with a floured rolling pin.

ALWAYS PERFECT APPLE PIE

Steps:

• 1. Place 1 pie crust in the bottom of pie plate. Unroll second pie crust and cut into 'strips' of pastry.
• 2. Melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat.
• 3. Add flour and stir together until smooth.
• 4. Add white and brown sugar, water, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
• 5. Stir together until smooth, simmer for 3-4 mins.
• 6. Add apples and toss to coat.
• 7. Add coated apples to pie plate; reserve some remaining liquid.
• 8. Lay pastry strips over apples in a criss-crossing pattern and press ends to the top edge of bottom pastry. Use the longest pieces for the middle of the pie, and the shorter pieces towards the outside, leaving about 1 inch in between rows.
• 9. Crimp the edges closed.
• 10. Lightly brush the top of pastry lattice with some remaining sugar syrup mixture.
• 11. Drizzle any remaining mixture over the pie allowing it to run down into the apples through the pastry lattice.
• 12. Bake at 425 for 15 minutes.
• 13. Reduce heat to 350 and bake for another 40 mins.