Make These Pies With This Pie Crust!
Easy Chocolate Cream Pie Fresh Strawberry Pie Old Fashioned Pumpkin Pie Lemon Meringue Pie Coconut Banana Cream Pie
I go back and forth on whether to use 8 tablespoons or 10 tablespoons of butter. If you are blind baking the crust (for example for a quiche), I recommend using 8 tablespoons of butter. The higher flour to fat ratio will help the crust keep its form when you pre-bake it. If you are not pre-baking the crust I recommend using 10 tablespoons of butter, the higher fat to flour ratio will give you a flakier crust, and it will be easier to roll out. You should have a mixture that resembles a coarse meal, with many butter pieces the size of peas.
Then add more ice water, slowly, a teaspoon at a time, pulsing several times after each addition, until the mixture just barely begins to clump together. If you pinch some of the crumbly dough and it holds together, it’s ready, if not, add a little more water and pulse again. Try to keep the water to a minimum. Too much water will make your crust tough. If you want an extra flaky crust, you can press the heel of your palm into the crumbly mixture, pressing down and shmooshing the mixture into the table top. This is a French technique, called “fraisage”. Do this a few times, maybe 4 to 6 times, and it will help your crust be extra flaky. You should be able to see little bits of butter, speckling the dough. When these bits of butter melt as the crust cooks, the butter will help separate the dough into flaky layers. So, visible pieces of butter are a good thing, what you are aiming for, in the dough. Sprinkle the disc with a little flour on all sides. Wrap the disc in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour. While the dough disk is still wrapped in plastic, warm the edges with your hands. If there are any cracks in the dough, massage them to close them. If the dough is a bit stiff, use your rolling pin to press down on the center a few times. No need to be gentle at this point. You’re trying to shock the chilled butter in the dough to loosen up a bit. Roll out the dough to a 12-inch circle, to a thickness of about 1/8-inch thick. As you roll out the dough, check if the dough is sticking to the surface below. Add a few sprinkles of flour if necessary to keep the dough from sticking. With a pair of kitchen scissors or a knife, trim the overhanging dough to about 1/2 inch. Fold the overhang under along the edge of the pie dish. Crimp the edge of the pie crust, using your fingers in a pinching motion, or the tines of a fork. Freeze until ready to bake. To cook the pie crust, follow the directions for the pie you are making. If you would like to pre-bake the crust, see our directions on how to blind-bake a pie crust.
