The whole pie thing got me wondering if anyone has a good pie crust recipe?
I have tried a few different ones but I dont seem to care for them much..and
is there a trick to it..I always seem to roll it out to thick..does it rise
a little when its cooked? Any ideas would be great!!

Mary Jo Oliver wrote:

> The whole pie thing got me wondering if anyone has a good pie crust recipe?
> I have tried a few different ones but I dont seem to care for them much..and
> is there a trick to it..I always seem to roll it out to thick..does it rise
> a little when its cooked? Any ideas would be great!!

I use Crisco and the recipe on the box. I don't know what I do different from
other people, but they rave about my crusts. There are a few basic rules. Don't
work the pastry too much. Mix the dry ingredients and then use a pastry cutter
or large fork to cut the shortening into the flour. There should still be small
chunks of shortening visible. Mix an egg, a Tblsp. of vinegar and 2 Tblsp. of
*cold* water, add the liquid to the flour/shortening and stir just until it is
all mixed together and forms a ball. Cut the ball in half and form a small
ball with each half. Lay each ball on a sheet of wax paper and press it down
into a disk, wrap them up in the wax paper and toss them in the fridge for at
least 15 minutes.

The next step is to roll out the cooled dough. Use enough flour on the board or
cloth to stop the dough from sticking. Toss a little extra flour on top of the
dough and on the rolling pin. Roll the dough out into the desired shape. This
is the tricky part for most people. The trick is to roll out from the centre,
without pushing too hard, and rotating the pin to keep the pastry round. It has
to work the first time because if you mess it up and roll it a second time it is
likely not to be as flaky.

Pie Crust

You can double or half the recipe without any problem.
This is a simple recipe. It will be very
flaky. Prep Time: approx. 20 Minutes. Ready in: approx. 20
Minutes. Makes 2 pie crusts (16 servings).

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup shortening
1/2 cup water

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine flour and salt. Cut in
shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in water
until mixture forms a ball. Divide dough in half, and shape
into balls. Wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.
2. Roll out dough on a floured counter. Don't over work
it. Use as directed in pie recipe.

Note:
If necessary, use a little less water than called for in recipe.
__________________________________________________ __________________________
_____

Mom's Pie Crust The perfect crust for any pie.

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cold LAND O LAKES® Butter
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
3 tablespoons cold water
1 large egg, beaten
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar or white distilled vinegar

Combine flour and salt in large bowl; cut in butter and shortening until
mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Combine cold water, egg and vinegar in small bowl. Add egg mixture to flour
mixture; mix, with fork, just until flour is moistened. Divide dough in
half; shape each half into a ball. Flatten slightly; wrap each ball of dough
in plastic food wrap. Refrigerate at least 1 hour.

For 1-crust pie, roll out 1 ball of dough on lightly floured surface into
12-inch circle. Fold into quarters. Place dough into 9-inch pie pan; unfold
dough, pressing firmly against bottom and sides. Trim crust to 1/2 inch from
edge of pan. Crimp or flute edge. Fill and bake according to pie recipe
directions
..
For 2-crust pie, roll out remaining ball of dough on lightly floured surface
to 12-inch circle. Fold into quarters. Place dough over filling; unfold.
Trim, seal and crimp or flute edge. Cut 5 or 6 large slits in crust. Bake
according to pie recipe directions.
For baked unfilled pie shell; prepare crust as directed above for 1-crust
pie. Prick crust all over with fork before baking. Bake at 475°F for 10 to
12 minutes or until lightly browned.

Makes Pastry for 1 (2-crust) pie or 2 pie shells.
__________________________________________________ __________________________
________________
Enjoy
Chef R. W. Miller
Marriott Resorts & Hotels
"Mary Jo Oliver" > wrote in message
. ..
> The whole pie thing got me wondering if anyone has a good pie crust
recipe?
> I have tried a few different ones but I dont seem to care for them
much..and
> is there a trick to it..I always seem to roll it out to thick..does it
rise
> a little when its cooked? Any ideas would be great!!
>
>
>

Pie Crust

You can double or half the recipe without any problem.
This is a simple recipe. It will be very
flaky. Prep Time: approx. 20 Minutes. Ready in: approx. 20
Minutes. Makes 2 pie crusts (16 servings).

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup shortening
1/2 cup water

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine flour and salt. Cut in
shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in water
until mixture forms a ball. Divide dough in half, and shape
into balls. Wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.
2. Roll out dough on a floured counter. Don't over work
it. Use as directed in pie recipe.

Note:
If necessary, use a little less water than called for in recipe.
__________________________________________________ __________________________
_____

Mom's Pie Crust The perfect crust for any pie.

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cold LAND O LAKES® Butter
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
3 tablespoons cold water
1 large egg, beaten
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar or white distilled vinegar

Combine flour and salt in large bowl; cut in butter and shortening until
mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Combine cold water, egg and vinegar in small bowl. Add egg mixture to flour
mixture; mix, with fork, just until flour is moistened. Divide dough in
half; shape each half into a ball. Flatten slightly; wrap each ball of dough
in plastic food wrap. Refrigerate at least 1 hour.

For 1-crust pie, roll out 1 ball of dough on lightly floured surface into
12-inch circle. Fold into quarters. Place dough into 9-inch pie pan; unfold
dough, pressing firmly against bottom and sides. Trim crust to 1/2 inch from
edge of pan. Crimp or flute edge. Fill and bake according to pie recipe
directions
..
For 2-crust pie, roll out remaining ball of dough on lightly floured surface
to 12-inch circle. Fold into quarters. Place dough over filling; unfold.
Trim, seal and crimp or flute edge. Cut 5 or 6 large slits in crust. Bake
according to pie recipe directions.
For baked unfilled pie shell; prepare crust as directed above for 1-crust
pie. Prick crust all over with fork before baking. Bake at 475°F for 10 to
12 minutes or until lightly browned.

Makes Pastry for 1 (2-crust) pie or 2 pie shells.
__________________________________________________ __________________________
________________
Enjoy
Chef R. W. Miller
Marriott Resorts & Hotels
"Mary Jo Oliver" > wrote in message
. ..
> The whole pie thing got me wondering if anyone has a good pie crust
recipe?
> I have tried a few different ones but I dont seem to care for them
much..and
> is there a trick to it..I always seem to roll it out to thick..does it
rise
> a little when its cooked? Any ideas would be great!!
>
>
>

at Tue, 27 Jul 2004 16:35:14 GMT in
>,
(Mary Jo Oliver) wrote :

>The whole pie thing got me wondering if anyone has a good pie crust
>recipe? I have tried a few different ones but I dont seem to care for
>them much..and is there a trick to it..I always seem to roll it out to
>thick..does it rise a little when its cooked? Any ideas would be great!!

My "standard" recipe for fruit pies uses half butter and half lard for the
fat, at a volume ratio of 2:5 (weight ratio 4:5). Thus if you were using 2
1/2 cups flour, you'd use 1/2 cup butter, 1/2 cup lard. Also add about 1/2
tsp salt per 2 cups flour. If you can find a butcher who can supply you
with fresh leaf lard, this will be much better than the commercial products
available. Pastry flour is better than all-purpose, although cake flour is
a little too light. Pastry flour is somewhat lighter and lower-protein than
AP, slightly higher protein than cake flour.

My standard recipe for nut or cream pies uses all butter, at a volume ratio
of 1:2 (weight ratio 1:1). You can also use this for meat pies. I like to
add a small amount of egg to a meat pie crust, so that it's slightly more
sturdy - you only need a little, perhaps 1 egg per 5 cups flour.

You cut the fat in using a pastry cutter or 2 knives (the 2 knives actually
seem to work better, until it looks like a mixture of very coarse meal and
pea- to- kidney-bean-sized lumps. The key here is to be *very* gentle, not
working the dough roughly. Then you add only just enough water that the
crust will *barely* hold together if pressed lightly, and I mean barely. It
should look pretty improbable that it will stay held together, and in fact
as you transfer it to your board to roll out a few lumps should fall out.

Roll, again, very gently. Don't apply any force to the pin whatsoever - the
weight of the pin alone should be enough to roll it out. Because the crust
will be pretty delicate, you have to transfer it carefully to the pie
plate. The easiest way is to hold the dish level with the countertop, then
slide the crust from the rolling board onto the dish. If you're making a
double-crust pie, refrigerate the bottom before rolling out the top - and
refrigerate the top dough ball while rolling out the bottom. Indeed, all
your ingredients should be chilled - flour, fats, water, fillings (except
for custard fillings, but these work best with a blind-baked crust anyway)
and even bowl, knives, etc. A marble board makes rolling easiest and is the
easiest to slide the crust off, but it's a convenience, not a necessity.

--
Alex Rast

(remove d., .7, not, and .NOSPAM to reply)

at Tue, 27 Jul 2004 16:35:14 GMT in
>,
(Mary Jo Oliver) wrote :

>The whole pie thing got me wondering if anyone has a good pie crust
>recipe? I have tried a few different ones but I dont seem to care for
>them much..and is there a trick to it..I always seem to roll it out to
>thick..does it rise a little when its cooked? Any ideas would be great!!

My "standard" recipe for fruit pies uses half butter and half lard for the
fat, at a volume ratio of 2:5 (weight ratio 4:5). Thus if you were using 2
1/2 cups flour, you'd use 1/2 cup butter, 1/2 cup lard. Also add about 1/2
tsp salt per 2 cups flour. If you can find a butcher who can supply you
with fresh leaf lard, this will be much better than the commercial products
available. Pastry flour is better than all-purpose, although cake flour is
a little too light. Pastry flour is somewhat lighter and lower-protein than
AP, slightly higher protein than cake flour.

My standard recipe for nut or cream pies uses all butter, at a volume ratio
of 1:2 (weight ratio 1:1). You can also use this for meat pies. I like to
add a small amount of egg to a meat pie crust, so that it's slightly more
sturdy - you only need a little, perhaps 1 egg per 5 cups flour.

You cut the fat in using a pastry cutter or 2 knives (the 2 knives actually
seem to work better, until it looks like a mixture of very coarse meal and
pea- to- kidney-bean-sized lumps. The key here is to be *very* gentle, not
working the dough roughly. Then you add only just enough water that the
crust will *barely* hold together if pressed lightly, and I mean barely. It
should look pretty improbable that it will stay held together, and in fact
as you transfer it to your board to roll out a few lumps should fall out.

Roll, again, very gently. Don't apply any force to the pin whatsoever - the
weight of the pin alone should be enough to roll it out. Because the crust
will be pretty delicate, you have to transfer it carefully to the pie
plate. The easiest way is to hold the dish level with the countertop, then
slide the crust from the rolling board onto the dish. If you're making a
double-crust pie, refrigerate the bottom before rolling out the top - and
refrigerate the top dough ball while rolling out the bottom. Indeed, all
your ingredients should be chilled - flour, fats, water, fillings (except
for custard fillings, but these work best with a blind-baked crust anyway)
and even bowl, knives, etc. A marble board makes rolling easiest and is the
easiest to slide the crust off, but it's a convenience, not a necessity.

--
Alex Rast

(remove d., .7, not, and .NOSPAM to reply)

(Alex Rast) wrote in
:

> My "standard" recipe for fruit pies uses half butter and half lard for
> the fat, at a volume ratio of 2:5 (weight ratio 4:5). Thus if you were
> using 2
>

Alex, I tried your "standard" recipe for fruit pies. It was wonderful!

--
Wayne in Phoenix

If there's a nit to pick, some nitwit will pick it.

(Alex Rast) wrote in
:

> My "standard" recipe for fruit pies uses half butter and half lard for
> the fat, at a volume ratio of 2:5 (weight ratio 4:5). Thus if you were
> using 2
>

Alex, I tried your "standard" recipe for fruit pies. It was wonderful!

--
Wayne in Phoenix

If there's a nit to pick, some nitwit will pick it.