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I consider myself a pretty good cook. More than pretty good. EXCEPT I simply cannot make pie crust.
I have tried...oh, how I have tried, for years. My own mom, who was a terrible cook, made pies that could make the angels sing. I have her recipe, but not her touch.
My crusts either crumble to bits when I roll them out (the recipes always warn so strictly against too much water), I keep everything chilled to the max, I use exact measurements, let it rest in the fridge, etc. I still cannot produce a decent crust. They are either tough (too much handling?) or they are dry and crumble or they just dont taste good.
The holidays are approaching and I am already getting jumpy about making the pies. Any help or suggestions would be gratefully appreciated.
The Pioneer Woman has a pretty good recipe she says is perfect every time. You might check that one out at Food Network/Pioneer Woman.
However, an avid cook and awesome baker friend of mine recently told me that the refrigerated pie crusts are so good now, there's no reason to struggle with making your own. She just uses the refrigerated crust, and takes it from there. Why not save yourself a step, and end the "crust" anxiety?
When I used lard, I felt that the crust had a taste that was more suited to a savory pie than a fruit pie. I have nothing against lard, but I am of the Crisco era, so that is what I use.
The trick is to use as little water as possible, and add it very slowly. If the recipe calls for one tsp water, don't just dump one tsp in all at once. Add a tiny bit, I use an eyedropper, or sometimes a salt shaker. Keep adding just until the dough forms, then STOP. Also, I discovered, by accident, that letting the dough sit for awhile helps. I got interrupted while making pie, put the dough in a dish covered with a wet towel in the fridge, I was gone about an hour. It came out perfectly!
It's supposed to "rest" for a while before you roll it out. Pie Crust 101
Instead of water, use a 50/50 mix of water and vodka, which ends up being only 75% water. The alcohol doesn't devlop gluten, so you can add enough to make a nicely coherent dough.
In order to work the dough as little as possible, add the liquid all at once.
I also use the food processor. Works well for my all-butter crusts (don't like the flavour of shortening).
Surprising how many methods we can come up with. My MIL swore by a recipe that called for a small amount of white vinegar, another ingredient that will help prevent the formation of gluten to produce a flaky crust. I hadn't heard of using vodka for this purpose before.
And if you are making a one-crust pie you can always fall back on the pat-in-the-pan recipes if you are concerned about rolling out dough. Some of them are good.
Surprising how many methods we can come up with. My MIL swore by a recipe that called for a small amount of white vinegar, another ingredient that will help prevent the formation of gluten to produce a flaky crust. I hadn't heard of using vodka for this purpose before.
And if you are making a one-crust pie you can always fall back on the pat-in-the-pan recipes if you are concerned about rolling out dough. Some of them are good.
I think that's why I like using a bit of orange juice in mine. It seems the acid does something good to the texture.
Instead of water, use a 50/50 mix of water and vodka, which ends up being only 75% water. The alcohol doesn't devlop gluten, so you can add enough to make a nicely coherent dough.
In order to work the dough as little as possible, add the liquid all at once.
I also use the food processor. Works well for my all-butter crusts (don't like the flavour of shortening).
Only successful crust I ever made was with vodka and lard. And you didn't taste either the vodka or lard in the end product either. If I were to make it again, I would do it that way.
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