Making Basic Pie Crust
A proper crust should be sturdy enough to hold a filling but thin enough to shatter under a fork. Once you stop overworking the dough, the streaks of butter will remain intact, turning into steam pockets that create the structure you want.
Temperature is your only real variable.
If the butter melts into the flour before it hits the oven, you will get a dense, greasy cookie-like texture instead of a crisp, layered pastry. Keep everything cold, including your hands.
- Large mixing bowl
- Pastry cutter or two table knives
- Rolling pin
- Plastic wrap
What goes in.
- 2 1/2 cupsall-purpose flour
- 1 tspkosher salt
- 1 cupunsalted butter, frozen for 15 minutes then cubed
- 4-8 tbspice water
Maintaining the streak
When cutting the butter into the flour, stop when you still have pea-sized chunks remaining. These visible, cold butter streaks are exactly what you need to create the layers.
The method.
Mix dry ingredients
Whisk the flour and salt together in a wide bowl to ensure even distribution.
Cut in the fat
Add the cubed, frozen butter to the flour. Use a pastry cutter or two knives to work the fat into the flour until the mixture looks like coarse, uneven sand with visible lumps.
Hydrate the dough
Add 4 tablespoons of ice water. Toss with a fork. Keep adding water one tablespoon at a time until the dough begins to clump when squeezed. Stop immediately.
Form and chill
Divide the dough into two discs, wrap tightly in plastic, and refrigerate for at least one hour. This relaxes the gluten so the crust doesn't shrink in the oven.
Roll
Lightly flour a surface. Roll from the center outward, turning the dough a quarter-turn between strokes to ensure an even circle.
Other turns to take.
Lard crust
Replace half the butter with chilled lard for a more tender, less structured crust.
Sugar-crust
Add 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar to the flour for a base intended for fruit fillings.
When it doesn't go to plan.
If the dough feels sticky or starts to pull back while rolling, put it back in the fridge for ten minutes.
Use a marble or granite surface if you have one, as it stays cool and prevents the butter from softening during the rolling process.
Avoid using the palms of your hands to mix; the heat from your skin will melt the butter.
The ones that keep coming up.
Why did my crust shrink in the oven?
The dough was likely overworked, causing the gluten to tighten. Chilling the dough thoroughly before rolling prevents this.
Can I use a food processor?
You can, but use short pulses. It is very easy to over-process the butter into a paste, which will result in a tough crust.
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