Just take a moment and envision the perfect pie crust; it’s buttery, flaky, golden brown, melt-in-your-mouth delicious.
But why must such a delightful thing be so seemingly difficult to perfect? It’s just not fair is it? Well, you’re in luck- the holidays are about giving so we’re sharing our secrets on how to create the most perfect pie crust- and just in time for Thanksgiving!
First things first- the ingredients:
You will need:
- Sifted pastry flour. We like to use pastry flour in place of all-purpouse; it has a lower protein content which keeps the dough from forming gluten, making your crust flakier and less chewy.
- Salted butter (cut into small pieces)
- Vegetable shortening (cut into small pieces)
- Sugar
- Iced cold water
Second- the fat (the good stuff!):
There is a lot of debate about which makes a better crust- butter or shortening. Both have different properties that are essential to making the perfect crust. Using butter will create a rich, salty, buttery (duh) taste that you cannot get from shortening alone. Shortening will give you a light and flaky crust, creating lots of beautiful layers. So since we are soft-hearted liberals who celebrate diversity (and lovely crust), we like to use a combo of butter and shortening- about 1/3 butter to 2/3 shortening.
Next- the proper mixing technique:
There are a couple of different machines you can use to mix your dough: a food processor, or a mixer with a paddle attachment. The problem with both of these methods is that it is too easy to over mix your dough, making your crust tough. We like to do it the old fashioned way and use a pastry cutter.
Yes, it is more work, and your arm might get a little tired, but if you want the perfect crust you have to be willing to put in the time and effort. Trust us, it’s worth it!
Cut the butter and shortening into the flour until your mixture looks like coarse bread crumbs (you should see pea-sized pieces of butter and shortening). If you don’t cut your butter and shortening small enough, you might wind up with holes in your crust due to large chunks that melted while baking.
This is what your mixture should look like
Add your ice water in small increments and mix just until it forms a ball. It’s very important that you don’t over mix your dough, that’s what keeps it soft and flaky!
Finally- rolling and baking your crust:
After refrigerating your dough for several hours, lightly flour your work surface and begin to roll out your crust. After every couple of rolls, rotate your crust a quarter turn-this keeps the crust round. Continue rolling and turning your dough until it is 1/8” thick. Lay your pie pan face down on the crust and use a knife to cut 1 1/2 inches around the diameter of the pan.
Place your crust into the pan and roll the edges over like so:
This gives the edges a more polished look.
Once you’ve rolled your edges, you can style them any way you please. For a classic look, use two fingers to pinch the dough and another finger to press from the other side, making a little V shape.
Next, line your crust with a circle of wax paper and fill the crust with dried beans or pie weights- this will help your crust hold its shape. Then it’s back to the fridge for 30 minutes.
*Note: you only need to fill your shell with weights or beans if you are making a single crust pie, where the crust must be baked before the filling is added (i.e. a cream pie). If you are making a pie with a top crust, such as an apple pie, simply chill the crust one more time, add your filling, cover with top crust, finish off the edges, and bake.
After you have chilled your finished crust, you may follow your own delicious recipe.
Tadaaaah! Look at this baby!
Tips and Troubleshooting:
- It’s very important that all of your ingredients are very cold, especially the butter and shortening. After you have cut your butter and shortening into small pieces, place them back in the fridge to re-chill them. We even like to combine the dry ingredients and then set them in the fridge for at least an hour before cutting in the butter and shortening.
- If your crust is too tough, you probably over mixed or over-rolled your dough, used the wrong type of flour, or a combination of these things.
- If your pie crust sags over the edge during baking, you may have rolled the pie crust out too thick, resulting in too thick an edge on the crust (which then spills over off of the pie plate) OR the shell or pie wasn’t cold enough when it went into the oven to bake.
- To prevent over browning of your crust edges, you can cover the edges with tin foil or use a handy silicone ring during the last 10-15 minutes of baking.
- To make your crust that wonderful shade of golden brown, brush the top with an egg wash before baking (one egg yolk beaten with a splash of milk).
- The better your ingredients, the better your finished product will be. As someone wise once said, don’t cook with wine you wouldn’t drink! If you wouldn’t eat that apple pie filling straight out of the can, don’t use it in your pie!
Happy baking and we wish you all a wonderful, filling, and relaxing Thanksgiving!
all photographs taken by Julie Chagnon
2nd on 4th 