When making a pie the most challenging aspect will likely be the pie crust. Many people have a difficult time creating a crust that is both flaky and tasty. The trick to making a good pie crust is using the right proportion of fat to flour and also being mindful not to overwork your mixture. A good pie crust recipe combined with the right method will, almost always, produce a delicious pie. There are a number of variations to the conventional pie crust recipe. You may use oil, butter or shortening in combination with all purpose flour to create your dough. However shortening is preferable because it produces a flakier crust. Here is a simple recipe which can be used to create a double crust pie.
Extra Flaky Pie Crust Recipe
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup shortening
- 1/2 cup water
Directions
- Measure the flour in a large mixing bowl.
- Add salt to the flour and whisk or stir with a wooden spoon to ensure even distribution.
- Add shortening to the dry ingredients and cut with floured fingers or a pastry blender until it looks crumbly. Do not spend too much time cutting the shortening into the mixture as this may produce a less flaky pie crust.
- Add cold water little by little until the mixture can be molded into a ball.
- Cut the dough in half for two separate balls.
- Wrap them in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes if you are making your pie quickly. Otherwise, refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight. A longer cooling time will make it easier to roll out and will also produce a flakier crust.
- Once the dough has been chilled adequately, place on a floured surface and roll evenly until flat and circular. You may also roll the dough between two pieces of plastic wrap. This makes it easier to roll out and less likely to become hardened because of excess flour.
- Spread a layer in your pie dish then put in your filling. Then roll your top layer to cover the filling and create decorative edges.
- Put in an oven preheated to 350?F and bake for 30- 40 minutes or until slightly browned.
Useful Tips
- You may create a lattice layer on top of the pie by rolling out your pie crust and cutting it in long strips. Place these sections over the filling horizontally and vertically.
- You may use a rolling pin with a cheese cloth attached to roll your dough. You may also use a separate piece of cheese cloth on the surface to avoid using flour. The problem often associated with flour is that you may need to re-roll and could end up adding too much flour to the surface thereby changing the proportion of fat to flour in your pie crust recipe, which leads to a less flaky, hardened crust.
- Avoid substituting butter for the shortening. You may add a few teaspoons of butter to improve the overall flavor. However, a crust made with only butter is not as soft or flaky.
- A pastry blender can cut the shortening into the flour yielding the same results much more quickly.
