Pie Crust

This pie crust is so delicious, flaky, buttery, and best of all easy to make! with very few ingredients you will have a pie crust ready for your sweet treats and savory dishes alike.

Pie crust was always something I though I would never be able to pull off as a new baker. the thought of making something that didn’t end up flaky and delicious was something I was scared of trying. Now I never look back

Ingredients you will need

• Flour – I use all purpose flour because it is what I have on hand more often than not but you could use pastry flour for a lighter texture.
• Salt – always salt your dishes, sweet or savory. salt will bring out the flavor of all the other ingredients used.
• Butter – for me nothing is better than butter when it comes to pastry, of course if you have a dietary restriction there are many vegetable based products that work just as well.
• Egg yolks – the egg yolk in this recipe helps to create that snap we all love about a good pie crust.
• Ice water- very important that it is iced, keeping your mixture cold while making it will help keep the butter cold and make sure you end with a very flaky crust.

How to make Pie Crust

1. flour and salt

In a medium-sized bowl add flour and a pinch of salt, give it a quick mix to disperse the salt.

2. Add the butter

Cut butter into small cubes and drop it into the bowl of flour, pinch the cubes of flour using only the tips of your fingers until there are no more chunks and the mixture comes together in a ball when squeezed.

Try not to use your hands too much as the heat from your palms will melt the butter too much and you will end up with a less flaky crust. Sometimes if my hands are warm before I start I will run them under cold water then dry them that way my fingers are cold.

3. Egg yolks and Ice water

In a separate bowl mix, the egg yolks and ice water then pour into the flour and butter mixture. to make sure my water is as cold as it can be, before I start making the dough at all i will put the ice in a bowl with some cold water then leave it in the freezer until I’m ready to use it. the colder the water is the less likely your butter will melt. leaving chunks of butter that becomes a flaky crust.

4. Stir and Shape

Stir using a fork and as you feel it coming together then pour it out onto a clean dry surface. fold and squish it into a disk by hand trying not to handle it too much. the dough will be dry. Try to resist the urge to work with it too much or add any more liquid. If you feel it is necessary to add any liquid you can add cold water but only 1 tsp at a time.

5.Rest and Chill

Wrap in plastic wrap and place it in the fridge for 1 hour or over night. the dough will come together during this process. if you decide to make it and leave it over night you might want to take it out of the fridge about 10 min before you roll it out since the butter will solidify a lot and rolling will be a bit more difficult.

6. Roll

When you are ready to roll out the dough, dust your countertop with flour and place the disk of dough on it. sprinkle the top with some more flour and also coat your rolling pin with flour.

roll the dough out a little at a time. use very little pressure and keep the dough moving so that it does not stick to your counter. roll in all directions until you have a piece that is big enough to fit over your pie plate and is about ¼” thick.

7. Move the Dough

Use the rolling pin to lift the dough off the counter by rolling it up like a rug on the rolling pin and then unrolling it onto the pie pan.

8. Shape the crust

Press the dough into the bottom of the pan while lifting the edges being careful not to rip the dough.

9. Make it pretty

Edge the dough however you want depending on the pie you will be using it for. In this case, I cut off the excess leaving a slight overhang then tucked it all under. Then using my knuckle on one hand and my thumb and pointer finger on the other I pinched the sides to give the crimped look.

10. Bake

Depending on the pie you are making you will either blind bake the crust or bake it with the pie. follow the directions on your pie and do what is recommended.

With this recipe, if you are going to par-bake the crust I highly suggest using pie weights. first ball up some parchment paper to make it less stiff then flatten it out. poke holes in the crust with a fork to prevent too many bubbles. the lay the parchment paper in the crust and fill with pie weights. Bake in a 400°f oven for 15-20 min until crust is no longer shiny and lightly browned on the edges.