Pie Crust

I’ve avoided putting a recipe up for pie crust, because I KNEW it wasn’t going to be easy. It is difficult to explain how to make a pie crust, because so much of it involves tactile senses (I wanted to say “finger feel,” but that seems kind of vulgar). However, my friend Kate kept saying that it wasn’t fair of me to post recipes that involve pie crust and not include the pie crust recipe. Fine. This one’s for you, Kate.



Pie Crust

2 sticks of chilled butter
2 2/3 cups of flour
½ cup of chilled water
½ teaspoon of salt
pinch of sugar (optional)

Combine flour and salt in a large mixing bowl. Slice the chilled butter into the flour bowl, and using a pastry cutter, or your fingers, cut the butter into the flour, leaving some pea sized butter bits. When the butter and flour are incorporated, drizzle the water over the flour, tossing the ingredients together with a fork. Once you can form the dough into a ball, stop adding water. If the dough sticks to your fingers, and seems gummy, add a little bit of flour to the dough until it holds its form without being gooey. Once the dough is the right texture, divide it into two balls and flatten them into a disk about an inch and a half thick. Hopefully, there will still be bits of butter visible because these make the pastry flakey. If you are not in a rush, wrap the two disks in wax paper and refrigerate them for at least thirty minutes. Otherwise, sprinkle the rolling surface and the top of the pastry dough with a light layer of flour. Starting at the center of the disk working outwards, begin to roll out the dough. Continue rolling out the dough until it is about 1/8 of an inch thick, and then very carefully lay the crust in the pie plate. Cut away the excess dough on the sides, leaving only a ¾ inch overhang. If making a pre-baked crust, tuck the overhang under itself, and crimp the edges using a fork or thumb and forefinger. Poke the bottom and sides of the crust with a fork, place pie weights in the bottom of the plate, and bake the crust at 400f for about 20 minutes, or until golden brown. If making a pie with a top layer, do not tuck the overhanging dough yet. Instead, roll out the second disk of dough to the same thickness. Place pie filling into the plate, then very carefully put the top layer of crust onto the filling. Cut off excess crust, again leaving ¾ inch overhang. Fold the two overhangs together, tucking them as neatly as possible, and then crimp the edges. Using a sharp knife, cut vents into the top layer, to allow the steam to escape while cooking. Follow your pie baking instructions.

Makes two pre-baked shells, or one double crusted pie.