All-Butter Flaky Pie Crust – 101 Cookbooks

For a very long time I used a distinct methodology for making pie dough than the one I’m going to share at present. The method was all by hand, there was a variety of smearing and folding, and it was nice – lovely pie crust each time. This was in San Francisco the place my kitchen tended to remain fairly chilly. Summer time temperatures not often cracked 60°F. It was a pie makers dream – chilly marble counter tops 12 months spherical. I’ve needed to swap up my sport since residing in Los Angeles. My kitchen is all the time too heat, and in terms of pies, I used to be struggling a bit. I’ve since realized the much less I contact the pie dough within the course of of constructing it, the higher. So, right here we’re. That is my go-to pie crust nowadays. It’s a sizzling mash up of every little thing I’ve realized about pie dough over time and delivers a fantastically golden, tremendous flaky, all-butter pie crust. It’s straightforward to make, I exploit my electrical mixer with the paddle attachment to smear butter into flour shortly, and it makes much less of a multitude than doing all of it on a countertop (which I nonetheless like to do now and again).

Pie Dough: Particulars & Inspiration

My purpose on this put up is to give you route that may end in you feeling extra assured making pie dough and exquisite pie crusts. Or, when you already really feel assured, maybe you’ll study a brand new approach. Each cook dinner wants an important go-to pie dough recipe, one you’re keen on and may use throughout a variety of pies in your life. For a very long time, and whereas residing in San Francisco I usually used Pim’s One Pie Dough To Rule Them All, impressed by Judy Rodgers and the The Zuni Cafe cookbook. I nonetheless love this dough. For a few years, I used it as a leaping off level, usually taking part in round with various kinds of flour ratios, introducing rye flour, or farro flour, or semolina. If you wish to make a lovely pie crust 100% by hand and have a little bit of time for the fold and chill sequence – this recipe and approach will do you proper. It disappears from the web at times, however appears to be right here fairly reliably.

Once I got here to Los Angeles, I met Nicole Rucker. She’s a pressure. She’s queen of the pie scene (and a lot extra!) and her pies are every little thing I would like – technicolor taste, juicy and bubbly, with shatteringly flaky, rustic, butter crusts. And so golden. The colour of her crusts are swoon-worthy. She wrote a e book in 2019 (Dappled: Baking Recipes for Fruit Lovers) and her strategy to pie crusts caught my consideration. There have been two methods that Nicole used that had been uncommon. She added a little bit of vinegar to her pie dough. She additionally diluted her sugar right into a sizzling water and vinegar answer, chilled it, and proceeded with the dough from there. Right here’s what she says:”the addition of vinegar provides a layer of tenderizing magic that shortens the manufacturing of gluten strands.” And by incorporating the vinegar into the recent sugar combination, you’re making a syrup that totally permeates the dough. Double win.

In Dappled, Nicole has you make her pie dough on a counter prime. It tends to be so heat the place I’m, and we not often use air-conditioning, so I’ve been incorporating Nicole’s moist sugar and vinegar transfer, however use my electrical mixer with the paddle attachment to make fast work of issues. To be sincere, I haven’t seemed again. The paddle attachment does a fantastic job of smearing the chunks of butter into the facet of the bowl. I drizzle simply sufficient icy liquid into the flour and butter, because the mixer is working, and every little thing shortly comes collectively. Then only a fast form, wrap, and chill earlier than it’s all set to roll out and assemble the pie. The recipe and approach included under is my present gold normal. It’s unfussy, comprises the kitchen mess to 1 bowl, and delivers a banger of a pie crust. I’ll break it down into fundamentals.

Electrical Mixer vs. Meals Processor for Pie Crusts

Lots of people use a meals processor to chop the butter into the flour of their pie dough. It really does an important job of this. That stated, I like to make use of the stand mixer higher. I really feel like it’s gentler and higher mimics the motions of constructing pie dough by hand. The electrical stand mixer smears and tumbles the flour and butter, it isn’t reducing and slashing the way in which a meals processor does. And due to this it appears to go away extra lengthy skinny pockets of butter within the dough as you roll it out leading to a young, shard-y crust that crackles as you slice into it.

Primary Pie Crust Steps

1. Combine sugar, vinegar, and salt into sizzling water and chill.
   
2. Smear butter cubes into flour utilizing electrical mixer with paddle attachment.
   
   
3. Slowly drizzle chilled water combination into dough till it comes collectively.
   
   
4. Mildew pie dough into ball.
   
5. Reduce in half. This recipe yield two 9-inch crusts.
   
6. Flatten into discs and wrap in plastic wrap.
7. Chill for two hours earlier than utilizing.

What sort of vinegar to make use of in pie crust?

The quick reply is: one which tastes good.  I’m together with an inventory of vinegars I have a tendency to achieve for after I’m making crusts like this. Most frequently it’s an important tasting white wine vinegar, however I wish to mess around.

• Apple cider vinegar: Reliably good, apple cider vinegar is one thing lots of people preserve readily available, and it really works nicely in pie dough.
• Katz Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc Vinegar (agro-dolce) 5.5% acidity: first alternative for pie crust associated vinegar in my kitchen.
• Camino Pink Wine Vinegar: I don’t all the time seize this one for pie crusts, however I’ve, and it’s best to seize a bottle when you can. It’s great, and makes every little thing it touches extra great. It’s best to simply learn about it on the whole.
• TART Lavender Vinegar: For a whisper of lavender in your crust that is the way in which to go. Or to bolster lavender notes in your filling. For instance, I baked a Shaker lemon pie utilizing TART Lavender Vinegar within the crust, whereas additionally permitting the lemons to macerate alongside a little bit of lavender. Simply lengthy sufficient for the flavour to develop properly. Eliminated the lavender spring and baked.
• Brightland Parasol: I really like the citrus notes on this one. It’s a vinegar fermented with chardonnay grapes and Valencia and Navel oranges, 5% acidity.

How To Roll Out Pie Dough

Let’s simply stroll it although right here step-by-step. After the pie dough has chilled for 2 hours, it’s time to roll it out. Evenly flour the your counter, rolling pin, and your fingers. If at any level within the course of the dough is sticking, mud with extra flour. Begin from the middle of the dough and roll out in all instructions, turning the dough often as you go. Roll the dough a pair inches bigger than your pie dish. I’ve discovered that when you begin having cracks and fissures on the edges of your dough as you are rolling, you may usually use the rolling pin across the perimeter (such as you had been going round a curler skating rink) and that closes the gaps properly. It may also assist to let it heat up for an additional couple of minutes in case it’s too chilly.

In case you’re new to pie-making, you may wish to roll out the pie dough on a big piece of calmly floured parchment paper. This lets you simply switch the dough to the fridge if you’ll want to chill it a bit mid-roll. Chill for 7-10 minutes and proceed. 

I’m certain you may inform, this recipe and my approach will seemingly proceed to evolve little by little over time. That’s half of what’s nice about cooking and baking. And wherever you land on pie making, I encourage you to make your personal crust. It’s evening and day from most store-bought doughs. I hope you’re keen on this pie dough as a lot as I do!

My Favourite Pie Recipe

This Shaker lemon pie is my go-to pie most of the time. Particularly when Meyer lemons are round, and in Southern California that’s usually.