How Do You Make Pie Crust From Scratch

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How to Make Pie Crust From Scratch

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How To Blind Bake A Pie Crust

For those of you who are making a pie that features a no-bake filling, you will want to pre-bake your crust, or blind bake it. This is super easy, lets talk about how

  • You will follow all the steps in the recipe as stated.
  • Place one of the rolled out dough circles into a pie plate, pinching the edges to form a crust. Using a fork, poke holes evenly on the bottom of the crust to help prevent bubbles. Place the crust in the freezer for at least 30 minutes. This will prevent your crust from shrinking as its baked.
  • Preheat the oven to 375°F.
  • Cut a circle of parchment paper out as large as you rolled your crust, and place it into the frozen crust. Top the parchment paper with pie weights or dried beans.This mimics a filling of a pie as you bake it, holding it into place and preventing bubbles in your crust, along with the pricked holes you made with the fork.
  • Bake the crust for 15 minutes. Remove the crust from the oven and remove the weights and the parchment paper. Place the crust back in the oven for an additional 10- 15 minutes until the crust is golden. If the crust begins to brown too much, use a pie crust shield or aluminum foil to cover the crust and continue baking.
  • How To Make Pie Crust From Scratch

    Posted by Erika | Jan 19, 2021

    The secret to a great slice of pie is all in the crust! A buttery, flaky crust that holds its shape is key to pie perfection, and this step-by-step guide on how to make a pie crust will help show you how quick and easy it is to do!

    The best thing about this easy pie crust recipe is that it uses staple ingredients you probably have on hand already: flour, salt, fat and water. Thats it! With these basic ingredients, you can make a buttery, flaky crust you can use with pretty much any filling.

    Not only will we walk you through this easy homemade pie crust recipe, but well also share a few basic tips and tricks to help ensure you get great results every time. Weve also included a few of our favorite go-to pie recipes, perfect for trying out your new homemade pie crust!

    Recommended Reading: Mrs Budd Chicken Pot Pie

    My Buttery Flaky Pie Crust Recipe

    I wont pretend there is only one way to do this. There are many variations on fats, liquids, techniques that will all work! My mom actually used vegetable oil in her pie crust and swore by that method! But after a few solid years of testing different recipes and methods, this all butter crust recipe is the one that I stand by. Not only is it easy, it tastes delicious.

    How To Make Pie Crust Step By Step

    How to Make Pie Crust from Scratch

    We’re following the Best-Ever Pie Crust recipe:

    1. There are four ingredients in a standard piecrust: flour, fat, liquid, and salt. Flour forms the structure and bulk of the crust, fat adds flavor and creates a flaky texture, liquid binds the dough and keeps it pliable, and salt enhances the flavor and helps brown the crust. See below for more info about the four basic ingredients.

    2. Always chill the fat and liquid before you begin. This prevents the fat pieces from getting creamed into the flour.

    • Stir the flour, salt, and sugar together in a large bowl.
    • Cut the chilled butter or shortening into the dry mixture using a pastry cutter or by pinching the fat into the mixture with your hands.
    • You can also use a food processor: pulse the flour with half the shortening until it’s the texture of cornmeal. Add the remaining shortening or butter and pulse until it’s the size of small peas.
    • Turn the mixture into a bowl.

    3. Add the chilled water one tablespoon at a time, mixing gently with a fork after each addition. You should be able to gently press the dough into a ball. Handle the dough as little as possible overworking will make it tough.

    4. Split the dough in half. Pat the dough into balls, flattening them slightly, and wrap them in plastic wrap.

    5. Generously dust a clean, dry surface with flour remove and unwrap one of the discs of dough from the refrigerator.

    6. Working quickly, roll the dough into a circle ¼-inch thick or thinner.

    Don’t Miss: Campbells Chicken Pot Pie Recipe With Pie Crust

    How To Bake Pie Crust

    Baking pie crust correctly is one of the final steps to ensure a flaky, crisp pastry case for your favorite homemade pie.

    How to bake a filled pie crust

    Baking a filled pie crust is easy and foolproof if you follow these steps:

    1 Preheat the oven:

    For the optimum result, preheat your oven well. Start it at least 15 minutes before you want to bake your pie.

    2 Place a baking sheet in the oven:

    Place a baking sheet in the oven as it preheats.

    Placing your pie on the baking sheet thats already blazing hot will flash-cook it from the bottom, reducing the risk of a soggy bottom crust.

    Pro-Tip: Place your baking sheet in the lower half of your oven pies need more heat from the bottom than the top.

    3 Fill your pie right before baking

    Filling the pie right before baking will ensure your pastry is still cold from the fridge AND it will keep the filling from softening the bottom crust before it can begin baking.

    Make sure you get your filled pie into the oven as soon as it is ready for the best homemade pie.

    4 Bake your pieHOT at first

    Most pie recipes will have you bake your pie at a hotter setting for the first 15 or so minutes.

    This helps to quickly set the crust, yielding a flakier and crisper result.

    Turn down the temperature as stated in your recipe after 10-15 minutes. Do not open the oven to do this!

    5 Watch your pie closely as it bakes

    Baking pie isnt a set-it-and-forget-it kind of deal. Start monitoring your pie after 20-30 minutes in the oven.

    Pro-Tip: Pie Weights

    Homemade Pie Crust Recipe

    An easy tutorial on how to make your own homemade pie crust! This recipe uses just a few simple ingredients and turns out perfect every single time. This post also includes several different ways that you can use this pie crust recipe!

    Making your own pie crust should never be intimidating. In fact, if you have a good recipe and instructions its actually pretty easy.

    If youve been following me for a while youve probably seen this pie crust recipe at some point. But today I wanted to share this simple recipe with you again because its one that I use all of the time! Youll absolutely love this recipe because its:

    • Super flaky
    • Uses simple pantry staples you likely have on hand
    • Tastes better than anything that you can buy at the store

    Trust me when I say that youll never go back to buying store-bought pie crust again once you learn how to make your own!

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    Tips For Making Pie Crust

  • Let the dough rest. I never advise making dough the same day you plan to bake it. Its essential for the dough to hydrate properly so it needs an overnight rest. If you absolutely need to, you can make the dough and bake it all in the same day, but you must let it rest at least 2 hours before you roll it out. Dough that is made the same day its rolled out and baked can be more difficult to handle and possibly deform in the oven because the butter hasnt chilled enough and the gluten hasnt had time to relax. It will still taste good, though.
  • Weigh your ingredients! An electronic kitchen scale is not a huge investment. You can get one for around $25. I cant recommend enough that if you want to get good at baking, get a scale.
  • Use high-quality butter and flour. Both of these ingredients can vary wildly in quality. Poor quality butter is going to have a high water content. Low-quality flour can vary in the protein structure and that can effect your final pie crust. In the end, Id still choose a homemade pie crust made with cheap butter and flour over anything store-bought, but if you are looking for a really amazing pie crust buying quality ingredients will help.
  • The bigger the butter chunks, the flakier your pie will be. If you love the look of super flaky dough, that almost looks like puff pastry, leave at least some of your butter chunks as big as possible. The biggest pieces of butter can be about the size of a marble.
  • How To Make A Pie Crust

    How to Make a Pie Crust from Scratch

    To start, youll whisk together the all-purpose flour, salt, and sugar. Then add the cold cubed butter and cold vegetable shortening and cut it into the dry ingredients with a pastry cutter. If you dont have a pastry cutter you can also use a fork to cut the fat into the flour mixture.

    If you want to make this step even easier, feel free to use a food processor. If you do use a food processor, I recommend just pulsing the mixture. You want to see pea-sized pieces of fat, but a few larger pieces are fine too.

    Next, youll slowly mix in your ice water. One tablespoon at a time is the perfect amount, so you dont end up with too much water in your dough and a sticky mess. The recipe calls for 1/2 cup of ice water, but you may not need the full amount. Just use enough ice water to get the dough to come together.

    Once you add enough water, the mixture will start to look like the picture above and when you squeeze it in your hand it will hold together. Just try not to use your hands too much when making the dough because your hands are warm and can quickly melt the fat in your dough.

    Once the dough comes together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and gently pack it into a ball. Cut the dough in half and flatten it out into two discs. Wrap each disc of dough tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate them for at least one hour. You may also store these in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. If its too hard to roll, just let it sit at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes.

    Read Also: Navy Bean Pie Recipe

    How To Bake The Perfect Pie Crust

    Whether you buy pie dough or make homemade dough, you will need to bake the pie shell. This takes 20 to 30 minutes.

    Start by rolling out some pie dough and placing into a pie dish .

    Next, use a fork to prick the bottom of the pie shell this helps to prevent the dough from bubbling up when baking. Add some aluminum foil or parchment paper to the bottom then weigh it down with rice, dried beans or pie weights. Bake until golden then remove the foil or parchment and brush the entire shell with egg wash and bake a little longer. The egg wash helps make the pie shell shiny and golden, but it also seals the bottom of the pie shell and prevents the strawberry filling from making the crust soggy. Cool the pie shell then fill.

    Easy Pie Crust Recipe

    This homemade pie crust recipe yields a flaky tender crust with rich buttery flavor. It has simple, natural ingredients and uses only butter . Also, learn how to form a fluted pie rim and blind bake or pre-bake pie crust.

    This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.

    This pie dough recipe yields 2 single crusts or 1 double crust. Homemade pies are irresistibly delicious. Ive never been satisfied with a store-bought pie the same way. The taste and texture of an all-butter pie crust cant be beat and knowing what went into it will make you feel like Martha Stewart ). Watch the VIDEO tutorial below and you will be a pro in no time!

    We included Amazon affiliate links below to our favorite tools for making pie dough!

    Recommended Reading: Damgoode Pies Cantrell

    How Do You Make Gluten Free Pie Crust From Scratch

    • First, use good-quality, European style butter , which has a higher fat content and will make rolling and working the dough much easier . Cut the butter into about ½-inch sized pieces and put it in the fridge. Cold butter is key.
    • In a food processor, add the flour , salt and sugar. Pulse to combine. You can also make pie dough using your hands or a pastry cutter – whisk the dry ingredients to combine.
    • Sprinkle the cold butter cubes over the flour and pulse just until the mixture is somewhat crumbly and there are still pea-sized chunks of butter . Dont over-mix the flour and butter, because those chunks equal a flaky crust.
    • Next, drizzle a bit of apple cider vinegar over top . Put the lid back on, start the machine, and immediately start to drizzle in cold water. You want to add just enough water so that the dough sticks together when pinchedit should still look shaggy and a bit floury.
    • Finally, transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface, and use your hands to form it into a ball. Divide the ball in half, then press the dough into two disks. Cover the disks with plastic wrap, and refrigerate them for at least 30 minutes.

    Mix The Flour And Fat

    Five Tips For The Best All

    The first step of putting together a pie crust is integrating the fat and flour. Our Classic Pie Dough Recipe from Culinary Director-at-Large Justin Chapple makes a tender dough that produces enough for one double-crust pie. We’re going to use two sticks butter, cut up and chilled, and two-and-a-half cups of flour, plus a tablespoon of granulated sugar, and a teaspoon of kosher salt. Chapple recommends using the food processor to make pie dough, a great method, particularly if you’re just starting out or if mixing by hand is difficult for you. Put the ingredients in the bowl of the food processor and pulse the mixture in one-second bursts until it looks like coarse meal.

    If you don’t have a food processor, or you’d rather do it by hand, no problem. Combine the flour, butter, sugar, and salt in a large mixing bowl, and use your hands, a fork, or a pastry blender to cut the butter into the flour. You can use your fingers to rub the larger clumps of butter into the flour until they are all the size of a pea or smaller.

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