Tender, flaky, delicious whole wheat pie crust

Giddy Gabby's Single 9" Whole Wheat Pastry Shell Recipe
Copyright 2007. All rights reserved. No part of this recipe, or its accompanying image, may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the lensmaster.

Chill utensils and all ingredients.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Combine:
1 C sifted stone ground whole wheat flour
1/2 C sifted stone ground whole wheat pastry flour
2 t sugar
1/2 t salt

Sift again.

Cut in 1/2 C unsalted organic butter till largest pieces are pea-size.

Sprinkle 4-5 T cold milk over mixture, 1 T at a time, tossing with a fork after each addition, till moistened just enough to hold together. Add less or more as needed.

Quickly form into ball, working dough as little as possible.

Lightly sift flour onto large piece of flattened waxed paper or baking parchment.

Place ball in center of waxed paper or baking parchment and roll to 1/8" thick.

• Tip: Flatten the ball slightly by making three evenly-spaced, vertical indentations with the knife-edge of your hand. This will make it easier to roll. Roll from the center to the edge, turning the waxed paper 1/8 turn with each roll.

Gather pastry loosely onto floured rolling pin by gently rolling it up and peeling away waxed paper as you go.

Lay pin over pie plate and carefully unroll pastry.

Whole wheat pastry tends to split and break more than white flour pastry. You may have to do a little gentle patching. Don't worry, flute the edge nicely and no one will know.

Quickly pat into pie plate so the butter does not melt from the heat of your hands.

Trim edge, leaving about 1/2 inch overlapping pie plate. Tuck this flap under all the way round and crimp or flute.

• Tip: Some folks use the tines of a fork to crimp. Giddy, like her mother and grandmother, uses two fingers and the thumb on one hand to push the dough against her other thumb. This gives a nice old-fashioned scallop.

Prick bottom of crust with fork a few times to prevent bubbling.

Bake in 450 degree pre-heated oven for eight minutes. Remove, cool, fill, and bake according to pie-filling recipe.

Quick filling idea: See Giddy's Broccoli-Pepper Quiche recipe on this page.

Oven: 425 degrees, then 350

Image: Vegetables after sauteeing - Aren't they pretty? This is why cooking is so much fun.
Oh yes: Image and recipe all Copyright 2007 with all rights reserved.

Ingredients:

Giddy's Whole Wheat Pie Crust shell, in quiche or tart pan, ready to bake
Grey Poupon or other good mustard
3/4 lb Swiss cheese, shredded
3-4 T extra virgin olive oil
1 Med onion, chopped
1 Small red bell pepper or 1/2 large
1-3/4 C chopped broccoli florets
1/2 C well-chopped tender broccoli stems
3 eggs, large
1 C whole milk
1/2 t salt
Pepper & nutmeg to taste

Lightly brush bottom of unbaked pie shell with mustard, prick and bake in 425 degree oven for 8 minutes.

Prepare filling while crust cools.

Shred cheese and set aside.

Saute vegetables:
Heat the olive oil just enough that the onion sizzles when dropped in.
Cook onion halfway to transparent.
Add broccoli and cool until just beginning to turn bright green.
Add bell pepper and sautée till crunchy tender.

Prepare custard:
Beat eggs with salt and spices.
Add milk and beat again to combine.

Layer cheese and vegetables in pastry shell, ending with enough vegetables to show a little color after the custard sets.

Drizzle custard over all.

Bake in 350degree oven for 35-45 minutes, until fairly well set, maybe a bit soft in the middle. Top should be golden and puffed up.

Let cool, if you can bear to wait, 15-20 minutes before cutting. It's great cold if any left over.

For a deep-dish like this one, you'll need an extra egg, another 1/2 cup milk, and 3/4 lbs. cheese.

Image copyright 2007. All rights reserved.

Isn't it pretty? Yummy too.

Image copyright 2007. All rights reserved.