Pie Crust Recipe Made To Perfection

Pies are my second favorite dessert only after ice-cream. Also, pie with ice-cream… need I say more. Pies are especially popular desserts for the holiday, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Forth of July, birthdays, Mothers Day… they are a great center piece to every special occasion. Not only is pie delicious, homemade pie crust is a lot of fun to make. Some people get intimidated by it but there is a great feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment when you make a homemade pie all from scratch, including the crust. This recipe makes it easy to accomplish a great pie crust every time.

5 Tips You Don’t Want to Skip

(Especially number 4)

Tip # 1: Cold butter.

The colder the butter the better. I freeze my butter for pie crust. Often I cut the butter in cubes and then freeze before adding to my flour. Keeping the butter cold keeps the water that’s in the butter from absorbing into the flour too soon. We want the steam from the water in the butter to make lots of air pockets in order to create glorious flakes in our crust. If you let the butter get warm the flour will absorb the water and you will get a dense crust.

Tip # 2: Cold Apple Cider Vinegar

The acids in apple cider vinegar slow down the gluten production and keep the dough from becoming elastic like. If your dough is worked too much the gluten molecules will activate and your dough will become tough. Apple cider vinegar will slow this down to insure a tender, flaky pie crust. Don’t worry, your crust will not taste like vinegar. Remember to use COLD apple cider vinegar, if your liquid is cold your butter will also stay cold.

Tip # 3. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

By now I hope you realize we want things to stay cold. After you mix all the ingredients making your dough but before you roll it out make sure you refrigerate for at least one hour. This will help solidify the butter again after it is worked into the flour. Don’t let your dough sit on the counter for too long, always put it back in the refrigerator.  Once I’ve rolled out my pie crust and placed it in the pie pan I always put them back in the refrigerator until I’m ready to put the filling in. If the is filling the crust and the oven is not preheated yet, I put it all back in the refrigerator. Keep it cold.

Tip # 4: Do Not Overwork.

I believe this is the number one reason people have tough, dense pie crusts. When you overwork your dough the butter melts and the gluten actives. So if you remember anything from this post, remember this. Do No Overwork The Dough! This often happens when we try to make the fancy, pretty crust we see on Pinterest. But don’t worry, you can still make the pretty crust, I have a tip for that as well.

Tip # 5. Freeze Your Decorative Pie Crust

When making a fun decorative top for your pie we often work it too much, melting the butter and activating the gluten molecules resulting in a tough, dense pie crust. Follow these steps. Mix your dough according to the recipe, refrigerate the dough for 1 hour, roll out the dough on wax or parchment paper for easy transporting. Freeze for 10 minutes. Cut out your pretty shapes and place them back in the freezer till you are ready to assemble them on your pie.

If you have scraps from the cut outs that you want to use place them in the freezer as well for 10 minutes before working them again. Don’t combined them into a ball to roll out again but instead try to layer them on top of each other then roll out. Again, don’t overwork. The shapes you make with the scraps wont turn out as well as the first set. They have been worked more, so that is just how it is.

If you like Raspberry Pie…. Check our my Raspberry Pie Recipe Recipe here.

How To Make A Perfect Pie Crust

First you will need a food processor. I’ve personally never made pie crust without one and I do not know what I’d do without it. The food processor combines the butter and flour quickly with out overworking or melting the butter. You will also need a rolling pin, but that will come later.

Ingredients & Directions

• Flour
• Sugar
• Salt
• Cold Butter
• Apple Cider Vinegar
• Water
• & An Ice Cube

1. First combine the water, apple cider and the ice cube in a small bowl. You want to use cold ingredients to make your pie crust. If you don’t have an ice cube you can simple combine and place the bowl in the freezer for a few minutes till it is cold.
2. Add flour, sugar and salt to your food processor. Pulse to mix together.
3. Cut your cold or frozen butter in cubes and add to food processor. It can be hard to cut frozen butter so sometimes I cut the butter then place in the freezer for 10-20 minutes before adding to the flour mixture. I want the butter to be as cold as possible before this step because this is when it is most worked. Pulse a few time until it it starts to combine with the flour mixture.
4. Add the cold water/cider mixture 1 tablespoon at a time while continuing pulsing
   the food processor till you dough starts to look like little beads. Don’t overwork.
5. Place the crumbly dough on floured surface and bring together into a disc. Again, don’t overwork. do not knead the dough. Just simply combine together and form into a disc.
6. Wrap dough in plastic wrap or a zip-lock bag and place in the refrigerator for at least an hour. I have also used a Pyrex glass container to store my dough but the zip-lock bag is my favorite to use. I often make my dough the day before I plan on making my pies. You can leave your dough in the refrigerator for up to a week and it will stay good. You can also place it in the freezer for up to 6 months.
7. When you are ready to make your pie roll out the dough on a floured surface and place in pie pan. Follow your pie recipes for baking instructions. If you are making a decorative top for you pie don’t forget to remember the tips for decorative pie crust above.

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