How to make pie pastry crusts from scratch

Flaky and golden, a handmade pie crust pastry can make any pie extraordinary. Making pie crusts from scratch is admittedly a little tricky, but well worth the effort. A properly made pie pastry will earn you heartfelt compliments and connect you fully with traditional pie baking. Many of your foremothers baked pies every day, so you can certainly bake a pie with a crust from scratch once in a while. The difference between readymade crusts from the grocery store and a homemade pie pastry is very noticeable with the pastry made from scratch being quite superior in flakiness and flavor.

Need to know:

Pie pastry dough is made by cutting shortening, butter, or lard into a mixture of flour and salt. Cutting is achieved with a tool called a pastry cutter or you can use a hand mixer or food processor. The cutting process is done when the mixture looks like pea-sized crumbles.

Only add as much water to the dough as is needed to make it stick together. You do not want it too moist or too dry.

You do not want to overwork pie pastry dough when you are mixing it or rolling it. Flakiness is derived from the fat ingredient (shortening, lard, or butter) being distributed between the flour so as to break up the gluten. Overworking will stretch more gluten out of the flour and work the fat ingredient too intimately into the flour. To avoid a tough pie crust, make sure to only mix the ingredients with a fork until they are moist and doughy. Do not keep mixing once this is achieved. Also, DO NOT ROLL THE DOUGH MORE THAN ONCE. This means that if you roll a portion of dough and for some reason it does not work, do not wad it up and roll it out it again. The pie crust will turn out tough and terrible. Just throw out the dough and make a new batch.

Even a badly tattered circle of pie pastry dough can be repaired. Rolling the pie dough and then transferring it to the pie pan are the challenging elements of pie crust making. If rips and tears happen during this process, simply paste the edges together with dabs of water once the pastry is in the pie pan. You can salvage even badly tattered pastries this way and still get good tasting results. Keep in mind that repairs in a bottom crust will not even be visible once the pie is filled.

When attaching a top crust to a bottom crust, use some dabs of water around the edges to help seal the connection and be sure to roll the edges of the top crust over and under the edges of the bottom crust.

Make sure to cut slits or designs in the top crust to vent heat evenly during baking and avoid messy pie explosions.

Wrap the edges of pie crusts in aluminum foil during the majority of baking time to prevent dark or burnt crusts. Remove foil during last 10 or 15 minutes of baking time.

Basic pie pastry crust recipes

Single crust 9-inch pie

1/3 cup shortening or lard

1 cup all purpose flour

Dash of salt

2 to 3 Tablespoons ice cold water

Single crust 10-inch pie

1/2 cup shortening or lard

1-1/3 cups all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 to 4 Tablespoons ice cold water

Double crust 9-inch pie

2/3 cup shortening or lard

2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

4 to 5 Tablespoons ice cold water

Double crust 10-inch pie

1 cup shortening or lard

2-2/3 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

7 to 8 Tablespoons ice cold water

Stir together salt and flour in a large bowl. Add the shortening or lard and cut into the flour with a pastry cutter or electric hand mixer until the mixture is crumbly. Pieces should be about the size of peas.

Now start sprinkling the mixture with ice cold water one tablespoon at a time. Use a fork to stir and press water into the flour and fat. Continue adding water until dough comes together into a moist but not sticky mass.

For single crust pies, take the dough into your hands and shape it into a ball and then flatten it onto a floured surface. For double crusts pies you will divide the dough into two balls for the top and bottom crusts. Keeping your work surface and rolling pin well floured roll the dough by starting in the center and working toward all edges to create a circle. Be sure to ease off pressure as you reach the edge of dough so you don’t smash the edge too thin. Once dough circle is 2 inches bigger than pie pan, fold the dough in half and gently lift into pie pan.

Whether your pie is a single or double crust pie, you will need to trim and shape the pie edge by pressing it with a fork or pinching it with your fingers. Your goals are to make the edges attractive and keep them from being too thick and bulky.

Remember tears in the crust can be fixed by lightly moistening edges with water and gently sealing them back together. Even if your top crust does not come out looking perfect, it will still be flaky and delicious, and everybody who eats the pie will definitely appreciate your efforts.

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