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    Home » Recipes » Pie Crust

    Pie Crust

    Published: Nov 20, 2019 · Modified: Apr 13, 2021 by Sula · This post may contain affiliate links · 2 Comments

    Jump to Recipe

    Tis the season for holiday baking! There’s a  good chance you’ll want to make a pie for either Thanksgiving or Christmas (In my case, both) For many years I used pie crust  from the refrigerated section of the grocery store. It was reliable, and while it wouldn’t win any awards, it was at least decent.

    Then, something changed. At first I thought maybe I got a bad batch. I bought some more, still it wasn’t right, something had changed with the texture, the look, even the smell was different. Every time I opened a package, I didn’t like what my nose was telling me.

    A quick web search showed I wasn’t alone: many have complained about whatever has changed with these crusts. So, I decided to make my own.

    Home made pie crust has a certain mystique, some think it’s part of folklore, handed down through the ages. Actually, it’s really very simple. I especially like the version on marthastewart.com that uses butter rather than lard, shortening or any other unpleasant oil. Pie crust is even easier to make if you have a food processor, or so I’ve heard LOL, but I will describe the old fashioned mixing method.

    To start, mix together the dry ingredients (flour, salt and sugar) just to combine.

    butter

    Then, cut a butter stick into small cubes.

    This is then added to the dry mix. In the absence of a food processor, I do feel that a pastry blender is essential. The pastry blender is a tool made of narrow strips of metal attached to a handle, used to mix by repeatedly cutting down into the butter and flour to chop up the butter and combine it with the dry flour mix.

    mix with blender

     The goal is to create a mix that resembles coarse meal, with pieces no larger than a pea. This took about 4-5 minutes to manually mix with the pastry blender.

    To this, add two tablespoons of ice water and mix in. I again employed the pastry blender for this, but eventually used my hands to ensure the dough is evenly mixed. The recipe calls for adding one or two more tablespoons of water to ensure you get the right consistency, and I usually add both these optional tablespoons, for a total of four.

    wrapped dough

    Place the dough on a piece of plastic wrap, shape into a disk, then wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour.

    To bake, unwrap the dough and place on a large piece of floured wax paper. Roll out the dough with a rolling pin to make a large circle, about 14 inches in diameter.

    crust rolling

    Then, use the edge of the wax paper to guide and roll the dough around the rolling pin, kind of like a roll-up window shade.

    crust transfer to pan

    The rolling pin becomes the mechanism to transfer the crust from the work surface to the pie plate. When ready, you’ll unroll the dough from the pin to go into your pie plate.

    crust ready to bake

    Trim and crimp the edges.

    The plate can now be refrigerated while the filling is prepared or filled right away and baked.

    The recipe can be doubled for a 2-crust pie but I prefer to make 2 batches of one crust each. Since I am mixing manually, I think a double recipe in one bowl would be difficult to work with. If I ever get a food processor, this approach might change. 😀

    This pie crust is easy, and you get huge bonus points for making it yourself!

    crust ready to bake
    5 from 1 vote
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    Pie Crust

    Classic
    Prep Time30 mins
    Refrigeration time1 hr
    Total Time1 hr 30 mins
    Course: Dessert
    Cuisine: American
    Servings: 8
    Calories: 172kcal
    Author: Sula

    Ingredients

    • 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour plus more for rolling
    • ½ teaspoon salt
    • ½ teaspoon sugar
    • 8 TB butter 1 stick, cold and unsalted
    • 2 or more TB ice water up to 4 TB

    Instructions

    • In a large bowl mix the flour, sugar and salt until combined.
    • Cut the butter into very small cubes, then add to the bowl. Using a pastry blender, mix the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse meal (Nothing larger than a pea-sized piece).
    • Sprinkle dough with ice water and mix until the dough is crumbly but holds together when squeezed with fingers (An additional 1-2 tablespoons of water can be added if needed).
    • Turn dough out onto a work surface and shape into a disk, about ¾ inch thick. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour.
    • Before baking, unwrap dough and place on a large piece of floured wax paper. Roll dough to a 14-inch round. Wrap the dough carefully onto the rolling pin and then transfer it to the pie plate by unrolling the dough over the plate. Trim excess dough to about one inch larger than the edge of the pie plate. Fold dough edge under itself and crimp the edge. Refrigerate until ready to fill and bake.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 172kcal | Carbohydrates: 15g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 30mg | Sodium: 246mg | Potassium: 21mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 350IU | Calcium: 6mg | Iron: 1mg

    Nutrition values are estimates only, using online calculators. Please verify using your own data.

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    Filed Under: Dessert, Recipes Tagged With: dessert, sweet treats

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Big Trouble

      November 22, 2019 at 8:17 am

      5 stars
      I know it's just pie crust, but pie crust is hella delicious!!! Thanks for posting this. I might try substituting Crisco Vegetable Shortening for the butter, as that's vegan.

      Reply
      • Sula

        November 24, 2019 at 5:04 pm

        I'm sure it will work with that substitution!

        Reply

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