Simple Pie Crust Recipe – Love and Lemons

Learn to make pie crust with this straightforward pie dough recipe! It yields a flaky, buttery crust that is excellent for utilizing in your favourite selfmade pies.

If the prospect of creating selfmade pie dough intimidates you, you must do that straightforward pie crust recipe. As a lover of principally each form of pie, I’ve experimented with a wide range of strategies for making pie dough through the years. I’ve had my justifiable share of successes, close to successes, and all-out failures. However since I’ve began making this pie crust recipe, it’s labored like a attraction each time. Made in a meals processor utilizing a way that J. Kenji López-Alt pioneered for Prepare dinner’s Illustrated in 2007, it’s way more pliable than a conventional pie dough, which makes it a lot simpler to roll out. It’s additionally made with 100% butter, which supplies it an AMAZING taste and fantastic flaky texture. What extra may you need in a selfmade pie crust?

Pie Crust Recipe Components

Right here’s what you’ll must make this straightforward pie crust recipe:

• All-purpose flour – I exploit 2 2/3 cups to make two crusts, sufficient for one 9- or 9.5-inch double crust pie or two single crust pies. Spoon and stage your flour to keep away from packing an excessive amount of into your measuring cup!
• Chilly butter – Pie crust recipes typically name for a mixture of butter and shortening (and even lard), however I want to make an all-butter pie crust. The flavour is much richer, and the crust has a beautiful flaky texture.
• Ice water – It helps the dough come collectively, and it aids important gluten improvement in a number of the flour.
• Apple cider vinegar – It makes the dough slightly extra flavorful, and in the event you occur to overwork the dough, the vinegar will stop it from getting too powerful.
• And sea salt – To convey out the crust’s wealthy, buttery taste.

Discover the whole recipe with measurements under.

The right way to Make Pie Dough

In a conventional pie dough recipe, you’d reduce the fats into the flour by hand or with a pastry cutter after which step by step add water till the dough comes collectively. Although you may make nice pie crusts with this methodology, it’s much less foolproof than the one we use right here. It’s straightforward so as to add an excessive amount of or too little water or to overwork the dough in order that it turns into powerful.

On this methodology, which J. Kenji López-Alt developed at Prepare dinner’s Illustrated, you’ll use a meals processor to totally mix the butter with a number of the flour. Then, you’ll pulse in the remainder of the flour till the dough turns into crumbly. At that time, you’ll switch the dough to a bowl and add the liquid. The massive advantages of this methodology are that, as a result of the butter is totally blended with a part of the flour, the dough is pliable and simple to roll out. It additionally stays tender, because the gluten develops in solely the second addition of flour.

Right here’s the way it goes:

First, pulse the butter into a part of the flour. Place 1 2/3 cups of the flour and the salt in a meals processor and pulse to mix. Unfold the butter on high.

Pulse till the butter is totally included with the flour and the dough begins to type clumps.

The combination pictured above is nearly at that time, however not fairly. It wants just a few extra pulses within the meals processor. Earlier than you progress on to the following step, there must be no dry flour remaining.

Then, add the remaining flour. Unfold the flour/butter combination evenly within the meals processor and sprinkle the remaining flour on high.

Briefly pulse till the dough turns into crumbly.

Subsequent, add the liquid. Switch the dough to a big bowl and sprinkle within the water and vinegar. Use a spatula to fold and press the dough till it comes collectively right into a ball.

Lastly, chill the dough. Divide it in half and flatten every half right into a disk. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for no less than 2 hours or as much as 2 days.

Rolling Out The Dough

As soon as the dough has chilled, you may roll it out and assemble your pie!

Place one of many disks of dough on a frivolously floured floor. Mud the highest of the dough with flour, and roll it out into a big circle about 1/8-inch thick.

As you’re employed, rotate the dough 1 / 4 flip each few rolls. Until you’re rolling out the dough on parchment paper, rotating it as you roll is important. It helps you create a extra even circle, however, extra importantly, it prevents the dough from sticking irretrievably to your work floor. I additionally prefer to mud the highest of the dough with flour and flip it over just a few instances as I roll it out.

Roll out the dough till it’s about 1/8-inch thick. If you happen to invert your pie pan over the dough, the dough must be 1 inch bigger than the pan on all sides.

Lastly, switch the dough to your pie plate. Gently roll it over your rolling pin. Then, unroll it over the pie dish and press it firmly into the underside and up the edges.

If you happen to’re making a single crust pie, use a pointy knife or kitchen scissors to trim any extra dough, leaving a 1/2-inch overhang on all sides of the pie plate. Roll the dough underneath itself in order that the perimeters are consistent with the perimeters of the pie plate. Crimp along with your fingers or a fork, and comply with your pie recipe to bake. (Use the remaining dough to make a second pie, or retailer it within the freezer it for as much as 3 months!)

If you happen to’re making a double crust pie, roll out the second disk of pie dough to make the highest crust. Assemble and bake in accordance with your required pie recipe!

Blind Baking Pie Crust

Blind baking merely refers to pre-baking pie crust, and it’s a useful method for avoiding a dreaded soggy backside crust. It’s not essential in all pie recipes (I don’t blind bake my crust for this cherry pie, for instance), however you’ll typically see it utilized in recipes for custardy pies like pumpkin, whose crusts are particularly liable to sogginess. Right here’s the way to blind bake this selfmade pie crust recipe:

1. Roll out the underside crust, switch it to your pie plate, and crimp the perimeters as desired. Loosely tent with plastic wrap and refrigerate whilst you preheat the oven to 425°F. Chilling the dough at this stage will assist it maintain its form within the oven.
2. Fill it with pie weights. When the oven is sizzling, take away the plastic from the crust and prick the underside throughout with a fork. Line the crust with parchment paper or aluminum foil, and add sufficient dried beans or pie weights to succeed in the highest of the pie plate. With out the weights, the crust will shrink away from the edges of the pan because it bakes, so be sure that to fill the pan all the best way.
3. Bake the crust with the pie weights. Switch the pie plate to the oven and bake for quarter-hour, till the perimeters of the pie crust are set.
4. Bake the crust with out the pie weights. Take the crust out of the oven and thoroughly take away the beans or pie weights and parchment or aluminum. Return the crust to the oven and bake for an additional 5 to eight minutes, or till the underside of the crust is starting to set and switch mild golden brown.
5. Let it cool to room temperature earlier than including your required filling and baking your pie. That’s it!

Simple Pie Crust Recipe Suggestions

• Maintain the whole lot chilly. Making pie crust with butter has enormous advantages, particularly when it comes to taste. However the draw back of working with butter is that it melts simply. In an effort to make a light-weight and flaky crust, you need the butter to soften in the oven, not whilst you’re making the dough or assembling the pie. My finest tip for guaranteeing this occurs is simply conserving your substances chilly. I prefer to take butter straight from the fridge, reduce it into pats, and stick it again within the fridge whereas I collect the remainder of the substances. I additionally use chilly vinegar and ice water within the dough. As well as, it’s necessary that you just don’t reduce the chilling time brief. Ensure that to refrigerate the pie dough for no less than 2 hours earlier than you roll it out!
• Fold within the water utilizing a spatula. I discover that once I add it within the meals processor it will get caught underneath the blade, so it doesn’t evenly hydrate the dough. Folding the dough with the spatula helps create good layers, too.
• Don’t let it scare you. With this straightforward pie crust recipe, you’ll be capable of make nice selfmade pie crust in your first strive. It removes plenty of the guesswork that you just’d discover in a conventional pie crust recipe, and it yields a dough that’s pliable and simple to work with. Don’t be afraid to strive it! I hope you like the outcomes, and like anything, the extra you follow making excellent pie crust, the better it will get.

Searching for pie recipes? Use this selfmade pie dough to make my Bitter Cherry Pie or this Crumble Apple Pie.

Simple Pie Crust

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Chilling Time: 2 hrs

Complete Time: 2 hrs 20 minutes

Serves 8

Learn to make excellent flaky pie crust! This straightforward recipe works nicely with nearly any sort of pie. Just a few ideas: Ensure that to maintain your substances chilly, including chilly water and butter to the dough to forestall the butter from melting. Additionally, do not be tempted to chop the chilling time brief. Completely chilling the dough is important for making excellent pie crust. Discover extra ideas within the submit above! This recipe makes one 9- or 9½-inch double-crust pie or two single-crust pies.

• 2⅔ cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
• ¾ teaspoon sea salt
• 20 tablespoons chilly unsalted butter, 2½ sticks, reduce into ¼-inch pats
• 6 tablespoons ice water
• 1 teaspoon chilly apple cider vinegar

• In a meals processor, place 1⅔ cups of the flour and the salt. Pulse to mix. Unfold the butter pats evenly on high of the flour combination. Pulse till the butter is nicely mixed with the flour and the dough begins to type clumps. There must be no dry flour remaining.

• Unfold the combination evenly within the bowl of the meals processor and sprinkle the remaining 1 cup flour on high. Briefly pulse till the dough turns into crumbly.

• Switch the dough to a big bowl and sprinkle the water and vinegar on high. Use a spatula to fold and press the dough till it comes collectively right into a ball. Divide the ball in half and type every half right into a 1-inch-thick disk. Wrap every disk tightly in plastic wrap and chill for no less than 2 hours or as much as 2 days.

• To roll out the dough: Place 1 disk of the chilled dough on a frivolously floured floor. Mud the highest with flour and use a rolling pin to roll it out into a big circle about ⅛-inch thick. If you happen to invert your pie plate over the dough, the circle must be 1 inch bigger than the sting of the pie plate on all sides. As you’re employed, rotate the dough 1 / 4 flip each few rolls to forestall it from sticking to your work floor. I additionally prefer to mud the highest of the dough with flour and flip it over just a few instances throughout the rolling course of.

• To switch the rolled-out dough to your pie plate, roll the dough over the rolling pin and unroll it over the pie plate. Use your fingers to press it firmly into the underside and up the edges of the plate. Trim the perimeters of the dough so that there’s a ½-inch overhang on all sides of the pie plate. Loosely cowl the dough with plastic wrap and chill whilst you roll out the highest crust.

• Repeat the rolling course of with the remaining dough disk, rolling it out into a big, ⅛-inch-thick circle.

• Assemble and bake in accordance with your required pie recipe.