Pie Crust Recipe
Equipment
- Oven
- Medium-sized mixing bowl
- Fork
- Pastry blender
- Rolling Pin
- Spatula
- Refrigerator
Materials
- 2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup cold butter (You can also use shortening or lard. Shortening crusts are actually the easiest to make and are perfect for beginners, but chill the shortening before using.)
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, using a fork, combine the flour and the salt.
- Using a pastry blender or a fork, chop and cut the butter into the flour mixture.
- The fat will be shredded into tiny bits.
- When you have combined them enough, the mixture will resemble cornmeal.
- Slowly drizzle the water into the flour, keeping the ice out of the mixture.
- Start with 1/4 cup and then give it a little stir.
- Add a few more splashes, stirring a bit after each addition. Only add enough water to make the dough start sticking together in large blobs.
- Don't beat or whip the dough. Just give it a few stirs with the fork; overbeating the dough makes for a tough pie crust.
- Once the pie crust starts coming together in a ball, use your hands to gather it up and gently squash it into a ball. There should be no dry areas left, but it shouldn't be sticky and gummy either.
- The texture of playdough is about what you want. If the butter feels melty and soft, put it in the fridge for ten minutes or so.
- Divide the ball into two halves on a clean, lightly floured surface.
- Using a lightly floured rolling pin, gently roll the dough out into a 12-inch circle.
- If you are worried about the dough sticking to the counter, use a spatula to kind of scrape underneath the pie dough round as you roll it out a little at a time.
- You can flip it over after you have it rolled out about a third of the way, making sure that the surface underneath the pie dough is floured and not sticking.
- Once you have the dough rolled out completely, dust the top of it with flour and then gently fold it into quarters. This will help you to more easily move the pie crust to the pan.
- Unfold the quarters of the dough into the pie pan, centering it as best you can.
- Create a decorative edging if you are going to blind bake the pie.
- If you are making a traditional baked pie, put the filling in the pie crust, roll out the other piece of pie dough and top the pie with the top crust.
- Create a decorative edging, pressing together the rims, and cut some vents in the pie to keep it from bubbling over in baking.
- If you are blind baking the pie crust, refrigerate it for 30 minutes and then prick it all over and put the pie weights or dried beans in the crust.
- Bake it at 475 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes.
- If you are creating a traditionally baked, filled pie, follow the baking instructions for your recipe.
Notes
April Freeman enjoys creating all kinds of recipes for her friends and family from her country kitchen in Middle Tennessee. She and her family raise beef cattle, chickens, and all sorts of fruits and veggies on their farm, and she specializes in featuring farm-fresh foods in the recipes that she creates and serves. April says that her slogan is “Are you hungry?” and she feels that one way of showing love and connecting with others is to serve delicious favorite foods to others. Her favorite thing to cook is pies of all kinds.