STARTING FROM SCRATCH: PIE CRUSTS – THE FIRST PIECE – PASTRY CRUSTS

STARTING FROM SCRATCH:  PIE CRUSTS – THE FIRST PIECE – PASTRY CRUSTS

When most of us think of pie, we think of the idyllic images conjured of a lovely, golden brown crust or lattice topped pie of some fruit variety.  This kind of crust is known as a pastry crust, and can be done as a single or double crust pie.  The “chemistry” and technique of these pie crusts has either been the treasure or tragedy of a great many cooks, due to the sometimes finicky nature of it.  They take patience, practice, and a smidge of precision.  All in all, they’re completely do-able, and you too, can make one to fill and impress your friends, delight your tablemates, and hopefully do some aging maternal-esque family member proud.

Pastry pie crusts are commonly used with a variety of fillings due to the durability of the pastry dough.  It’s pliable enough to withstand the stretching and forming into most all pie plates, as well as sturdy enough hold its shape when filled with a large quantity of any number of ingredients for your pie.  They also refrigerate and freeze well for future usage, which is a great bonus for those moments when you’re pinched for time.

Let me state for the record that there are hundreds of thousands versions and variations of recipes for pastry pie crusts.  Where I’m a firm advocate of the “to each their own” mentality for bakers, for those who may not have the experience in pie crusts, the recipes I’ve chosen to use for this particular entry are ones I’ve not only used, but have proven to be easy to use and usually have very good results.  For those who bake pies somewhat regularly, or have learned from various sources, we all have our “fool-proof” recipes as well as ones that have been time honored and treasured by those who may have passed them down after decades, if not generations of use.  The hope here is to give at least a decent “starter tool kit” with the recipes suggested.  As with all baking, we develop with time the ones that work best for us.  Here’s hoping this one can get you started on your exploration.

As pie plates usually come in a few different sizes, your ingredients should be measured to accommodate the plate or desired number of crusts you may need.  For suggested plate and ingredient dimensions, I usually follow those given by The Betty Crocker Cookbook (20^th Edition, 1973), which has a great suggestion for standard, and my favorite pie pastry, for multiple sizes plates and can be adapted for additional aspects like crust edge decorations, lattice top crusts, etc.

8 or 9 Inch One-Crust Pies:

·         1 Cup all-purpose flour

·         ½ tsp. Salt

·         ½ Cup + 1 Tbs. Shortening  (Substitutes:  1/3 Cup Lard, Margarine, or Butter)

·         2 – 3 Tbs. of cold water

10 Inch One-Crust Pies:

·         1 1/3 Cups all-purpose flour

·         ½ tsp. Salt

·         ½ Cup Shortening (Substitutes:  ¼ Cup + 1 Tbs. of Lard, Margarine, or Butter)

·         3 – 4 Tbs. of cold water

In the event that you should wish to do a double or two-crust pie for fruit pies, for example, the following will work as well:

8 or 9 Inch Two-Crust Pies:

·         2 Cups all-purpose flour

·         1 tsp. Salt

·         2/3 Cup + 1 Tbs. Shortening  (Substitutes:  2/3 Cup Lard, Margarine, or Butter)

·         4 – 5 Tbs. of cold water

10 Inch Two-Crust Pies:

·         2 2/3 Cups all-purpose flour

·         1 tsp. Salt

·         1 Cup Shortenting  (Substitutes:  ¾ + 1 Tbs. Lard, Margarine, or Butter)

·         7 – 8 Tbs. cold water

As to the instructions on how to mix your pie crust pastry, I’m going to try and give a decent, more condensed version of 3-pages worth of step-by-step instructions into a hopefully more fluid, and understandable version:

Instructions for Mixing Pie Crust Pastry:

·         In a large mixing bowl, measure and combine your flour and salt.  With a fork, whisk  these ingredients together so the mixture is evenly blended.

·         Add your shortening (or equivalent) to the dry ingredients.  With two table knives, use a back & forth cross-cutting method to “cut in” your shortening.  Continue to do this until the shortening is fully coated, and about pea-sized.

·         Sprinkle your water a bit at a time until all flour is moistened dough begins to stick slightly to the sides or bottom of the bowl.  More water can be added – a teaspoon at a time – if needed.

·         Use your hands to gather your dough into a ball form,  rolling in your hands to compact, and making sure your dough is more solid.  **IF MAKING A TWO-CRUST PIE, OR REQUIRE DOUGH TO BE SET ASIDE FOR LATTICE CRUST TOP, CUT DOUGH BALL IN HALF, AND FORM 2 BALLS.

·         Sprinkle a fine layer of flour on a flat surface (counter top, cutting or pastry board, baking sheet, etc.).  Take a rolling pin and run a handful of flour on that as well.  (If you do not own a rolling pin, you can use an empty beer or wine bottle with the label removed.  A tall drinking glass will work as well).

·         Place your dough ball in the center of the floured area, and press down with your rolling pin to flatten.  Roll your dough into an evenly flattened circle.  Be careful NOT to roll your pie crust to thin, as it will then be difficult to remove from the flat surface to the pie plate.

·         Occasionally measure your rolled pastry dough to the size of your pie plate to ensure you have rolled it out enough.  Your crust dough circle should be about 2 inches larger than your pie plate.

Following me so far?  Sound a little less daunting, I hope?  Now, you’ve gone from ingredients to dough ball, dough ball to flat circle.  Let’s go from flat circle to pie plate, and then finish the crust.

Placing Pie Crust Pastry in Pie Plates:

·         Once determined to be the right size, carefully sprinkle a light dusting of flour (if needed) on your dough circle. 

·         Place your pie plate face down on your floured dough.  Measure about 2 inches out, marking your measurement with the point of a table knife.

·         Remove your pie plate, and play “connect-the-dots” to connect your circle measured.

·         With cooking spray or additional shortening (ok to use a little lard, butter, or margarine), coat the inside of your pie plate to avoid the crust sticking.

·         Carefully fold your newly cut circle in half for easier transfer to the pie plate or, if to be used for a top crust or lattice crust top strips.

·         With a table knife or spatula, carefully run the blade under the dough still on your flat surface, gently lifting to transfer to your pie plate.

·         Place your half-circle folded edge close to the center of the pie plate.  Pull back the folded edge to the opposite edge of your pie plate so the entire plate has been filled with pastry.

·         With your fingertips, gently adjust your pie crust evenly to the inside and edge of your pie plate until an even shell has been formed.

·         With a sharper kitchen knife, trim your outer edge of your pie plate of any overhanging pastry.

Finishing Techniques for Pastry in Pie Plates:

If a One-Crust Pie:

·         Pierce sides and bottom with a fork to allow crust for ventilation.

·         Crimp edge with a fork, flute upward with your fingertip, or decorative finish crust edge.  Where possible, hook crust edge slightly over pie plate edge to prevent from shrinking and keep its shape.

If a Two-Crust Pie:

·         Fill your pie pastry with your desired filling.  Slightly dampen the edge of your pie pastry with a slight bit of water until it is slightly sticky.

·         Roll out the second crust, prepared in the same manner of your pastry used to line your pie plate, and cover your filling.  Trim any excess pastry from the edge.

·         Press top crust lightly against your bottom crust to seal the two.  Crimp the two together with a fork or pinch/flute with your fingertips the two crusts to form a seal.

If Covering With a Lattice Crust Top:

·         Roll out your remaining pie pastry in the same manner you have done for the dough that lines your pie plate.  Once rolled out into your larger circle, use a table or kitchen knife to cut the dough into strips.  (If you own or can find a pastry wheel, this works well, too!)

·         Place a long strip across vertically across the center of your pie plate.  Taking 5 – 7 additional strip across your pie, weaving in cross-strips until lattice effect is complete, or just laid across your filling.  Trim your strip ends along the pie plate edge.

·         Either twist your strip ends under the edge of your pie crust bottom pastry, or roll the bottom crust edge over them to seal.

·         Another method is to reserve some strips of dough to form an edging.  Gently wet the outer edge of your pie pastry & strips until slightly sticky.  Take your remaining pastry strips and press down gently around the edge of your pie, pressing down with a fork to seal the edge strips to the edge.

So, with the basics in hand for a hopefully successful pie crust pastry, let’s ask a question:  What do I do if I want a pie pastry shell that I’m filling with a non-bakeable filling, like a cream pie, or a frozen filling?

Excellent Question!  You can definitely do this, and fairly easily.  Refer back to the directions on how to prepare a One-Crust pastry pie shell.  Follow all the directions from dough creation, rolling-out, pie plate filling, and also the piercing and edge finishing.  Once you’ve done all of this, you’ve got one additional step to do:  “Blind Baking”.

“Blind Baking” is a technique in which you’re basically baking an empty, non-filled pie crust for future use.  Pastry shells are usually advised to be baked in at 475’ for 8-10 minutes, and cooled completely before using with your desired filling. 

Now, some words of wisdom imparted on Blind Baking.  It is highly recommended to NOT simply bake a pie unfilled.  In my experience in Blind Baking, I’ve found that in simply rolling out a pie crust into the plate and baking it, not only does it bake unevenly, but your crust puffs at the bottom, and has a tendency to shrink in size from the plate edge.  To remedy this, I consulted a number of different cookbooks and the best suggestion actually came from The American Woman’s Cook Book (1947 Edition):

“To decrease and prevent shrinkage of pastry when baking an unfilled pie shell, line the inside of your pastry shell with waxed paper and partially fill with dry, uncooked rice or beans.  Bake with these in place for the first 10 minutes.  Remove for duration of baking time.”

I’ve tried this on a number of different pies, and 90% of the time, this has been a perfect solution.  I definitely suggest giving it a try.  Another method in replacement of the waxed paper would be to place another pie plate on top of the pastry when baking.  That also seems to do the same effect in keeping your edges from shrinking.

As we’re on a bit of “helpful hints”, I’ll also pass on one additional one regarding your pie crust edges.  Depending on the  baking time of your recipe, a little extra insurance for your edges is to cover them with tin foil for the greater portion of baking, removing it for the last 10 minutes in your oven.  That way, you don’t run the risk of over browning or burning your crust edges.

In the event that you should wish to still make a pastry pie crust, but want to try your hand at something not requiring the work in cutting in shortening, I’ve used a similar pastry, but using vegetable oil instead.

Oil Pie Pastry Crust:

For 8 – 9 Inch One Crust Pie:

·         1 Cup + 2 Tbs. all-purpose Flour

·         ½ tsp. Salt

·         ½ Cup Vegetable Oil

·         2 – 3 Tbs. cold water

For 10 Inch One Crust Pie (or 8 – 9 Inch Two Crust Pie):

·         1 ¾ Cups all-purpose flour

·         1 tsp. Salt

·         ½ Cup Vegetable Oil

·         3 – 4 Tbs. cold water

For 10 Inch Two Crust Pie:

·         2 2/3 Cups all-purpose flour

·         1 ½ tsp. Salt

·         ¾ Cup Vegetable Oil

·         4 – 5 Tbs. Cold Water

The Method for working with this recipe is nearly identical to working out a pie crust recipe using lard, shortening, etc.  The only change for the method of rolling out and laying into your pie plate, is instead of using a floured flat surface, you can easily roll your pastry out between two layers of waxed paper instead.