Pie Crust

I long ago gave up trying to make pie crusts, and also biscuits.
Neither ever came out worth eating. Still wish I could master both
though. My question is why do these recipes always call for unsalted
butter? What difference does it make?

Ariane Jenkins said:

I don't do much baking, so I rarely make pies. When I do, it's usually the
Pillsbury frozen kind, pie crust isn't my strong suit. But this recipe for it
turned out pretty well, and I thought if it worked for me...well, it might
work for other pie crust newbies, too. ;P I used it for a pecan pie, it
turned out great--nice flaky crust, even though I added a wee bit too much
water and the pie crust was a little sticky and harder to handle.

I believe it was posted here previously by Barb Schaller. Thanks, Barb!

Ariane

The Best Pie Dough
Cooks Illustrated magazine, September/October 1994

For 8 or 9 inch single crust:

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. sugar
6 Tbsp. chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/4" pieces
4 Tbsp. chilled all-vegetable shortening
3-4 Tbsp. ice water, as needed

For single 10 inch regular or 9 inch deep dish crust:

1 1/2 cups
1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. sugar
8 Tbsp. chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/4" pieces
4 Tbsp. chilled all-vegetable shortening
3-4 Tbsp. ice water, as needed

For 8 or 9 inch double crust:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. sugar
11 Tbsp. chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/4" pieces
7 Tbsp. chilled all-vegetable shortening
4-5 Tbsp. ice water, as needed

For 10 inch or 9 inch deep dish double crust:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. sugar
13 Tbsp. chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/4" pieces
7 Tbsp. chilled all-vegetable shortening
4-5 Tbsp. ice water, as needed

Mix flour, salt and sugar in a food processor fitted with a steel blade.
Scatter butter pieces over flour mixture, tossing to coat butter with a little
of flour. Cut butter into flour with five 1-second pulses. Add shortening
and continue cutting until flour is pale yellow and resembles coarse cornmeal
with butter bits no larger than small peas, about four 1-second pulses. Turn
mixture into medium bowl.

Sprinkle 3 Tbsp. ice water over mixture. With blade of rubber spatula, use
folding motion to mix. Press dough down with blade of spatula until dough
sticks together, adding up to 1 Tbsp. more ice water if dough will not come
together. Shape dough into a ball with your hands, then flatten into a 4 inch
wide disc. Dust lightly with flour, wrap with plastic and refrigerate 30
minutes before rolling.

For double crust recipes, follow recipe appropriately, divide dough into two
balls, on slightly larger than the other before shaping into discs.

Notes: I threw butter and shortening in all at once, didn't seem to be a
problem. The food processor really worked great for this--super fast, and
distributed the butter evenly.

oldfart said:

I long ago gave up trying to make pie crusts, and also biscuits.
Neither ever came out worth eating. Still wish I could master both
though. My question is why do these recipes always call for unsalted
butter? What difference does it make?

The amount of butter in salted butter varies from batch to batch, brand to
brand. Most pastry recipes require the addition of more salt so you could
wind up with an overly salty crust or pastry if you don't use unsalted
butter.

Jill

Quoted message said:

Ariane Jenkins said:

I don't do much baking, so I rarely make pies. When I do, it's
usually the Pillsbury frozen kind, pie crust isn't my strong suit.
But this recipe for it turned out pretty well, and I thought if it
worked for me...well, it might work for other pie crust newbies,
too. ;P I used it for a pecan pie, it turned out great--nice flaky
crust, even though I added a wee bit too much water and the pie
crust was a little sticky and harder to handle.

I believe it was posted here previously by Barb Schaller. Thanks,
Barb!

Ariane

The Best Pie Dough
Cooks Illustrated magazine, September/October 1994

For 8 or 9 inch single crust:

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. sugar
6 Tbsp. chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/4" pieces
4 Tbsp. chilled all-vegetable shortening
3-4 Tbsp. ice water, as needed

For single 10 inch regular or 9 inch deep dish crust:

1 1/2 cups
1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. sugar
8 Tbsp. chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/4" pieces
4 Tbsp. chilled all-vegetable shortening
3-4 Tbsp. ice water, as needed

For 8 or 9 inch double crust:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. sugar
11 Tbsp. chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/4" pieces
7 Tbsp. chilled all-vegetable shortening
4-5 Tbsp. ice water, as needed

For 10 inch or 9 inch deep dish double crust:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. sugar
13 Tbsp. chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/4" pieces
7 Tbsp. chilled all-vegetable shortening
4-5 Tbsp. ice water, as needed

Mix flour, salt and sugar in a food processor fitted with a steel
blade. Scatter butter pieces over flour mixture, tossing to coat
butter with a little of flour. Cut butter into flour with five
1-second pulses. Add shortening and continue cutting until flour is
pale yellow and resembles coarse cornmeal with butter bits no larger
than small peas, about four 1-second pulses. Turn mixture into
medium bowl.

Sprinkle 3 Tbsp. ice water over mixture. With blade of rubber
spatula, use folding motion to mix. Press dough down with blade of
spatula until dough sticks together, adding up to 1 Tbsp. more ice
water if dough will not come together. Shape dough into a ball with
your hands, then flatten into a 4 inch wide disc. Dust lightly with
flour, wrap with plastic and refrigerate 30 minutes before rolling.

For double crust recipes, follow recipe appropriately, divide dough
into two balls, on slightly larger than the other before shaping
into discs.

Notes: I threw butter and shortening in all at once, didn't seem to
be a problem. The food processor really worked great for
this--super fast, and distributed the butter evenly.

oldfart wrote on 11 Jun 2005 in rec.food.cooking

Quoted message said:

I long ago gave up trying to make pie crusts, and also biscuits.
Neither ever came out worth eating. Still wish I could master
both though. My question is why do these recipes always call for
unsalted butter? What difference does it make?

If you don't use salted butter, You can control the salt in the recipe.
The amount of salt in salted butter isn't constant...varies producer to
producer. By using unsalted butter you can control the amount of salt
used. If salt intake doesn't matter to you...or you can't taste the
difference use salted butter by all means.

--
It's not a question of where he grips it!
It's a simple question of weight ratios!

A five ounce bird could not carry a one pound coconut.

Are you suggesting coconuts migrate?

oldfart said:

I long ago gave up trying to make pie crusts, and also biscuits.
Neither ever came out worth eating. Still wish I could master both
though. My question is why do these recipes always call for unsalted
butter? What difference does it make?

My pie and biscuit recipes call for Crisco vegetable shortening. I have very good
luck with pie dough and biscuits always turn out well. The biggest mistakes most
people make is cutting the shortening too fine and working the dough too much. BTW
there is an amazing change in texture of biscuits if they are touching during
cooking or separated so they cannot touch. The biscuits that are touching while
baking are softer.

In article <[email hidden]>, Ariane Jenkins

Quoted message said:

I don't do much baking, so I rarely make pies. When I do, it's
usually the Pillsbury frozen kind, pie crust isn't my strong suit.
But this recipe for it turned out pretty well, and I thought if it
worked for me...well, it might work for other pie crust newbies, too.

Quoted message said:

I believe it was posted here previously by Barb Schaller. Thanks, Barb!

Quoted message said:

Ariane

Quoted message said:

The Best Pie Dough
Cooks Illustrated magazine, September/October 1994

(recipes snipped - Google ifyou want them)

Oh, yeah! It's become my crust recipe of choice.
--
-Barb, <http://www.jamlady.eboard.com> 6/6/05 Sam I Am!
June 25, 1945: Me and Carly Simon. I wonder if she makes jam.
(It's not too early to shop -- good chocolate and cheap gin.
Or is it cheap chocolate and good gin? I never
remember. No jam--coal to Newcastle and all that. "-)

oldfart said:

I long ago gave up trying to make pie crusts, and also biscuits.
Neither ever came out worth eating. Still wish I could master both
though. My question is why do these recipes always call for unsalted
butter? What difference does it make?

The "Chefs" today say use unsalted butter because you can't control the
amount of salt, but I always use salted butter. I have never had a problem
- of course I'm not selling my baked goods for $8.95 a slice! <g>.

My grandmother used salted butter (and she made it herself), so I don't
worry about it. Her stuff was never too salty and I never had any
complaints.

The "chefs" today say all kinds of things that I choose not to follow,
I still don't salt red meat (or pork) before cooking and I don't drench
everything in olive oil. (...and I don't call polenta "grits" <wink!> )

Elaine

On Sat, 11 Jun 2005 22:57:11 -0500, Melba's Jammin' <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Oh, yeah! It's become my crust recipe of choice.

I think it'll be mine, too. I've tried other recipes previously (before
giving up and buying Pillsbury) but the results weren't nearly as nice. My
baking skills haven't improved THAT much, so I'm crediting the recipe. 😉

Ariane

I've tried a similiar recipe with mixed results. Then I read about not
working the flour in with the fat too much, so I kept mine like little
peas as much as possible.

The same place (don't remember where) also recommended using waxed
paper on top and bottom to roll the dough. I will never go back to
rolling on a lightly floured surface with lightly floured rolling pin
again! In addition to it rolling out much easier (and a bit more
circular), it was easier to transfer to the pie dish.

Here's some hints I've noticed made it easier:

When pulling the top paper off, start with a corner and hold it as
close to itself as possible, instead of pulling upwards.

After the top paper is removed, pick up the bottom paper from two
corners, then place it in the approximate center, readjusting if
needed. Then lift the edges of the waxed paper to be able to coax the
dough into the pie dish.

Once the dough is situated in the dish, pull the paper off like you did
earlier.

Repeat with top dough if double-crusted, but without the coaxing step.

The place I read about this technique also recommended sprinkling a few
drops of water under the bottom paper so that the paper doesn't slip
while rolling. But I put too much water and the paper got soggy. So
the next time I didn't use any water and it didn't slip. So I guess it
depends on what type of surface you're rolling on. But if you do slip,
only use a few drops so your paper won't get soggy (my dough stuck to
the soggy areas more, and even the pulling back the paper trick didn't
help prevent tearing).