The Secret to Perfect Pie Crust

You'll need:

Flour. 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, not self-rising. Unbleached flour is okay, if you prefer not to have the chemical taste of bleached flour. Have a little extra on hand to spread on the countertop and on the rolling pin.

Fat. 1/2 cup butter or shortening, cut into cubes and frozen for at least an hour. I prefer butter because it gives a richer, more flavorful crust, although it isn't quite as flaky as one made with shortening. Some people use 1/4 cup butter and 1/4 cup shortening.

Ice water. 3 or 4 tablespoons.

Salt. 1/4 teaspoon. Not strictly necessary, but it helps the flavor.

Rolling pin. For obvious purposes.

Pastry blender. Unless you're using the special trick shown below.

For a tasty extra touch, add a pinch of sugar, cinnamon, or nutmeg to your flour before you cut in the butter. But only if it complements the taste of whatever type of pie you are making.

Be creative! Experiment!
This is your chance to express yourself.

Let's take a minute to talk about what kind of pie you're hungry for.

My favorites are pecan pie and Key lime pie, from a recipe book that has never been published. As I flip through its yellowed and well-worn pages, I read hand-written notes in the margin, like "I made this for George for breakfast the first day after we were married," or "I picked up this recipe for Key Lime Pie when we lived in the Keys in the 30s." That recipe for real Key Lime Pie, made by Keys natives in the days before electric refrigerators were common, is nothing like the refrigerated stuff you find in restaurants today.

What makes this recipe book so special is that those notes were hand-written by my grandmother, my aunts, my mother, my great-grandmother, by women from four generations of our family, with some of those recipes having been handed down by their mothers before them. My aunt compiled them about twenty-five years ago, copied the pages, bound them in three-ring binders. There is no label on the cover, no table of contents, no ISBN number and no pre-printed price, but I know that that book is more valuable than any other cookbook on my shelves.

So what are you going to make?

Back to the crust preparation. Whisk the salt and other dry goods (if you're using them) into the flour.

Using the pastry blender, cut the butter or shortening cubes into the flour until you have pea-size pieces.

Add the ice water, a tablespoon at a time, and toss with a fork until the dough just begins to stick together. Be careful not to work the dough any more than necessary, because the more you handle it, the more gluten forms. The gluten makes the crust tough.

(Photo credit Evan-Amos, via Wikimedia Commons)

Pausing, with my chin on my hand as I think about this ...

Okay, I'll be honest: I have made crusts this way, and it works well for biscuits, but I have trouble getting tender, flaky pie crusts with a pastry blender. Maybe Martha Stewart can do it, but we've already agreed that I'm not Martha Stewart.

For an easier method, read on.

I love my Cuisinart!

1. If your food processor has a pastry blade, attach it. Otherwise attach the chopping blade.


2. Put the flour, salt, and other dry goods (if you're using them) into the bowl and pulse for a second or two, just enough to mix the ingredients.


3. Add the butter or shortening cubes


4. Push "Pulse" for about a second. Repeat a few times until you have pea-size pieces. (try not to make the pieces too small, as that will make the crust less flaky.)


5. Add ice water through the top feeder, a tablespoon at a time. Pulse for another second. Repeat with another tablespoon and another pulse, until the mixture begins to resemble dough.
   

That's it!

Put the dough in the refrigerator for fifteen minutes or so. Meanwhile, spread a little flour on your countertop or rolling mat, and a little more on your hands and rolling pin. Not a lot, because you don't want to add flour to your dough; but just enough to keep the dough from sticking.

Pour the chilled dough out on the counter or rolling mat. Gently work it into a circular shape.

Now start rolling. Always start in the center and roll toward the edge. Rotate it so that you keep the dough roughly in a circle.

Don't worry if you have a few rips and tears. Just tear a little dough off from the edge, patch up the tear, and roll it smooth.

Roll it until the dough is about 1/8 inch thick, and is in a circle about 2 to 3 inches wider than your pie plate.

(Photo by Alcinoe, via Wikimedia Commons)

If you don't have a rolling mat, try rolling your dough on waxed paper. When you're finished, turn the pie plate upside down over the dough, flip it over, and peel off the waxed paper.

Here's one of the most important secrets to a successful pie:

Use the right kind of pie plate! You can do all the preceding steps to perfection, but if you use the wrong plate, it won't cook the way you want.

• Glass. My favorite. Pyrex.


• Stoneware. Other people love stoneware. Try it and see if it works for you.


• Aluminum? You wouldn't cook a pie in a hubcap, would you? Of course not! So why would you use a metal pie plate?

Now carefully lift your rolled crust into the plate. Don't stretch it, as that can cause the crust to shrink while cooking.

If you rolled it out on a rolling mat or on waxed paper, this job is easy. Just put the pie plate upside down on the dough, slide your other hand underneath the mat or waxed paper, flip plate and dough over, and peel off the mat or waxed paper.

If you didn't use a mat or waxed paper and you're having trouble transferring it without stretching or tearing your crust, try this. Lift one half of the crust, resting it on the rolling pin, and then lift the other half. Gently place that half in the pie plate, and then unroll the other half from the rolling pin.

(Photo by Kellen, via Wikimedia Commons)

Wait, you're not afraid of messing it up, are you? What's the worst that could happen? You burn one? So what. Go ahead, burn one. Get it over with.

Like getting the first dent in a new car. Once it's done, you can quit worrying about it.

Try not to work the dough any more than necessary. When you turn it with a fork, the water and flour form gluten, which is what makes bread stiff.

The edges burn when they are overcooked while the pie filling is not yet done. If your edges are burning, try covering the edges until the last 15 minutes or so of cooking.

Cut a square of aluminum foil large enough to cover your pie. Cut a hole in the center large enough to expose the pie, but still cover the edges. Remove the foil about 15 minutes before the pie is finished.

Or, try one of these super-cool pie crust shields. (I love mine.)