Dough For One Crust Pie Recipes

PASTRY FOR SINGLE-CRUST PIE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine flour and salt; cut in shortening until crumbly. Gradually add water, tossing with a fork until a ball forms. Roll out pastry to fit a 9-in. or 10-in. pie plate. , Transfer crust to pie plate. Trim crust to 1/2 in. beyond rim of pie plate; flute edge. Fill or bake crust according to recipe directions.

BASIC PIE DOUGH FOR APPLE PIE

Steps:

• In a food processor, combine flour, salt, and sugar; pulse to combine. Add butter; pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal, with just a few pea-size pieces of butter remaining.
• Sprinkle with 1/4 cup ice water. Pulse until dough is crumbly but holds together when squeezed with fingers (if necessary, add up to 1/4 cup more water, 1 tablespoon at a time). To help ensure a flaky crust, do not overprocess.
• Transfer half of dough (still crumbly) onto a piece of plastic wrap. Form dough into a disk 3/4 inch thick; wrap tightly in plastic. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour (and up to 3 days). Repeat with remaining dough. Makes 2 disks.

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.

SINGLE-CRUST FOOD PROCESSOR PIE DOUGH

Steps:

• Combine the flour, cornstarch, and salt in a large bowl. Scatter the fat on a large flour-dusted plate. Measure the vinegar into a 1-cup glass measuring cup. Add just enough cold water to equal a scant ⅓ cup. Refrigerate everything for 10 to 15 minutes.
• Transfer the dry ingredients to a food processor. Add all of the fat, then pulse the machine six or seven times, until the pieces of fat are roughly the size of small peas.
• Pour the vinegar-water mixture through the feed tube in a 7- or 8-second stream, pulsing the machine as you add it. Stop pulsing when the mixture is just starting to form larger clumps.
• Turn the dough out onto your work surface and pack it into a ball. Put the dough on a sheet of plastic wrap and flatten it into a 3/4-inch-thick disk. Wrap the disk and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before rolling.

DOUGH FOR ONE-CRUST PIE

Steps:

• Toss the flour and salt into the workbowl of a food processor and pulse a couple of times to combine. Cut the butter into 1/4-inch cubes and sprinkle them over the flour in the workbowl. Add the lard in 2 or 3 pieces. Process with 15 rapid on-off pulses or just til the biggest lumps of flour-covered fat are no bigger than a few small peas. Add 3 tablespoons of ice water through the feed tube and pulse 5 times. Feel the dough and makesure it's just damp enough to hold together when you squeeze a bit in your hand. If not, add the last tablespoon of water and pulse 5 more times. The dough will be loose and ragged (don't overprocess it into a ball).
• Dump the dough out onto a work surface. Push the dough with the heel of your hand 2 or 3 times to flatten out some of the lumps of fat. Then gather the dough into a ball. Flour the work surface and roll the dough out with a floured rolling pin into a circle 12 1/2 inches in diameter. Fold the dough in half and put it into a 9-inch pie pan. Unfold it and press it into the pan, trimming the edges if you need to. Roll the edge under and shape a high fluted edge all around. Toss the finished pie shell into the freezer to chill while making the filling.