Bakers: I need some input/advise about pie crust

[MissMillie]

I'd like to make a quiche for dinner tonight. It occurs to me that I could make pie crust for a fraction of the cost of buying it.

I've never made pie crust, and I confess I didn't pay much attention to my mom when she used to make her own (all those years ago).

There's a recipe on the bag of flour, that would make 2 crusts. I only need one, and the recipe could very easily be halved. If I do make the full recipe, can I freeze the dough? Is there anything I need to know about working with dough that has been frozen and then thawed?

Next, this recipe calls for shortening. I do have some, but I'm always hearing about a "buttery, flaky crust." I guess I always thought that the "flaky" comes from using cold fat and cold water and from not over-working the dough. If I want it "buttery" I assume I would want to use butter. If I swap out the shortening in favor of butter, do I use the same amount?

I don't have a pastry cutter. Do I need one?

Does the dough have to rest at all before rolling it out for use?

Thanks in advance!

[janterry]

1. I use butter

Yes, you can freeze it.

I use my food processor to 'cut' the butter into the flour
and no, it doesn't need to rest, but if you put it in the fridge, it will be easier to work with.

I make a little more than is called for so I can 'flute' the edges easily (my rolling skills aren't as good as some .

[no_hypocrisy]

2. Shortening: use 50/50% of butter and Crisco (or Nutiva Shortening*)

* https://store.nutiva.com/products/organic-shortening?variant=8734812209212 (vegan)

You can freeze the other portion of pie crust dough.

You can use two ordinary kitchen knives to cut in the shortening/butter with the dry ingredients.

Use only ice-cold water.

Cheers!

[defacto7]

5. That's exactly my method for 50 years.

I learned it from grandmothers when I was 10. They had done this for their lifetimes. Of course lard was a favorite instead of crisco but who uses that anymore.

[Kali]

3. yes you can use just butter (lard is better than crisco)

yes you can freeze (or just make half portion), you can also make another shell and freeze it to be ready for next time.

the two knife method of cutting the fat into the flour works fine, you can also just use your hands check out you tube for demonstrations
as mentioned if you have a food processor or good mixer, you can use them as well

the nice thing about learning to make pie crust is ... pie ... nobody ever complains about pie.

[Major Nikon]

4. Better to make the pie crust first, then freeze it

That way you can use it right out of the freezer. If you freeze the dough you'll need to thaw it in the refrigerator.

You can use butter, lard, or crisco interchangeably. I like to use equal parts butter and lard.

The secret to making pie crusts is to not let the fat melt. The more you work it, the more likely it is to melt. You also want everything cold before you start. Cut fat into cubes, then refrigerate for 20 minutes or so. Put the pie tins in the freezer until ready for use.

I will make the dough, put it in the refrigerator for an hour or so, before rolling it out. You can use a food processor for making the dough, but be careful because processing generates heat which will melt the fat. So just pulse it enough times to just break up the fat. Should be no more than 10 times and less if you can get away with it.

[spinbaby]

6. Here's how I do it

One cup of all-purpose flour and a teaspoon of salt go into the food processor. Cut up one stick of cold butter and throw it in. Process for 30 seconds or so until there are no more chunks of butter. Dribble in about 2 tablespoons of cold water, processing a second at a time until it just starts to come together. Dump onto plastic wrap, push it into a disk shape, wrap, and refrigerate for at least half an hour.

[jpak]

7. My Mom's recipe

2 cups flour (all purpose)

1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons Crisco

1 teaspoon salt

7-8 tablespoons ice cold water

I use my hands to mash the Crisco into the flour - put it in the freezer until it's "cold" - then add the water.

Makes a top and bottom crust - you can freeze it.

[2naSalit]

8. I will add this to the mix

I go old fashioned and use a recipe from a cookbook printed in the early 1940s. I have been making "killer pies" that people ask me to make for sale because of the crust, which I recommend for quiche.

I have experimented with all forms of fat and find that any combo that uses half butter or butter alone work best. This is the down & dirty method I now use rather than follow the exact recipe method I started with.

As mentioned above, everything should be cold; butter, water and bowl, best to use glass bowl.

For two 9" crusts:

2 cups all purpose flour, unsifted

1 cup butter/lard/Crisco whatever

1/2 tsp salt stirred in to the flour

about 1/8 cup ice cold water, you might not need it all but best to have enough handy.

I use a long tined fork to cut the fat into the flour /salt mixture. I do this until the largest pieces of the fat are about the size of a small pea, then I start adding water and mixing until there is no dry flour stuff in the bottom of the bowl. This can be done quickly without melting the fat. It's best to put it in the fridge while you prepare the rolling operation. I separate the dough into two separate spheres before I cool it. That way you can wrap half and freeze it.

I have learned to use a rolling cloth, it makes the whole thing go so much more smoothly. I flour the cloth and the rolling pin, use plenty of flour on the cloth and keep some flour handy to add to the surface of the cloth and the dough periodically when it shows signs of sticking to anything.

Take the ball of dough and sort of flatten it a bit so you can start to roll out the dough into a flat disk. You can spin the cloth around for easier access to all directions as you roll it out. If the dough isn't too cold it should work out easily. You want the sheet of dough to be about 1/8 inch for a quiche.

The blessing of using the cloth is the crucial transfer point into the baking dish. Once the dough is a couple inches larger than the dish, make sure there's extra beyond that, you can fold the cloth in half, with the dough lightly laying over, pull the top half of the cloth back, slide the whole thing over the dish and lay it perfectly into the dish, remove the cloth and flip the half of the dough into place. Lightly press the dough into the crevices and add filling. It is recommended that you start with high heat (400F) for the first ten minutes to "set" the crust then reduce it to the cooking temp for the filling, especially for two crust pies.

Which ever recipe you choose, enjoy!

[Warpy]

9. You don't need a pastry cutter

Shortening can be butter, lard, or that solid "vegetable shortening" that clogs your arteries.

Measure it, cut it into pieces and dump it into your flour. You can use a couple of forks or a potato masher to cut the shortening finely and get it coated with flour. If you have a food processor, those are ideal for the job, but the labor intensive way works, also. Just make sure all the flour is incorporated, it's the forgotten stuff at the bottom of the bowl that can mess up a pie crust.

Add the cold water slowly. The dough will be crumbly and not hold together all that well and that's OK. Push it together, wrap it up, and stick it into the fridge for at least half an hour. This is not to relax the gluten, as some say, it's to make sure the starch absorbs all the water. When you take it out to roll, it will be far less crumbly.

I've never bought piecrust, I've always made my own, mostly because there wasn't such a thing as premade piecrust when I was learning how to cook. Some have been less successful (didn't have enough butter), but all have been edible.

Some pie crusts were even made to be relatively inedible. Back in the old days when people had one soup pot and that was it, a tough and rigid pie crust was used to corral foods for baking, like a casserole today. While the crust wasn't eaten by people, the chickens, geese, and pigs enjoyed it.

[northoftheborder]

10. I've used butter and shortening both over the years

A new trick I've learned recently which really adds to the flakiness is to include a couple of teaspoons of plain vinegar in with the water. I don't know why this works! Magic.

[dem in texas]

11. Ina Garten's Recipe from Food network

This has been my favorite recipe for the last 4 or 5 years, never let me down - makes a flakey, tender crust.

Ina Garten's Easy pie Crust - makes 2 crusts

INGREDIENTS
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) very cold unsalted butter
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/3 cup very cold vegetable shortening, such as Crisco
1/2 cup ice water

INSTRUCTIONS
Cut the butter in 1/2-inch dice and return it to the refrigerator while you prepare the flour mixture. Place the flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse a few times to mix. Add the butter and shortening. Pulse 8 to 12 times, until the butter is the size of peas. With the machine running, pour the ice water down the feed tube and pulse the machine until the dough begins to form a ball. Dump out onto a floured board and roll into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Cut the dough in half. Roll each piece on a well-floured board into a circle at least 1 inch larger than the pie pan, rolling from the center to the edge, turning and flouring the dough so it doesnt stick to the board. (You should see bits of butter in the dough.) Fold the dough in half, ease it into the pie pan without stretching at all, and unfold to fit the pan. With a small sharp paring knife, cut the dough 1 inch larger around than the pan. Fold the edge under and crimp the edge with either your fingers or the tines of a fork

[Lugnut]

12. Look up "No Fail Pie Crust"

Use the recipe you find. Perfect pie crust every time.