Pastry for Pies and Tarts

Store bought pie dough just doesn't compare to homemade dough. Homemade dough becomes flaky and buttery after baking, unlike store dough which gets crumbly. This might take a lot more time and effort, but it is well worth it in my opinion. 

And Crisco, by the way...do you know of this stuff? It can be used to get gum out of your hair (I may or may not have prior experience with this), fix a squeaky door hinge, and makes the best fried chicken ever (according to Minny in The Help). Well, it also makes amazing pie dough. If you get it on your hands, it's a pain in the butt to get off, but I think that's what helps make this dough so desirable. The oily/buttery/sticky texture of it does wonders. Enjoy!

Mix the dough until the particles are the size of small peas.

Add water, a little at a time, until the dough sticks together and begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl.

Form into a ball...

or divide into two balls if creating a two-crust pie.

Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 45 minutes.

Roll out the dough...

Fold or roll up the dough and then unroll it onto the pie plate. (If doing a two-crust pie, you will fill the pie crust, fill it, and then roll out the other piece of dough on top.)

Printable Recipe

Ingredients


One-Crust Pie (9-inch):

• 1 cup all-purpose or unbleached flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/3 cup plus 1 tbsp. shortening
• 2-3 tbsp cold water

Two-Crust Pie (9-inch):

• 2 cups all-purpose or unbleached flour
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2/3 cup plus 2 tbsp. shortening
• 4-6 tbsp. cold water

In a medium bowl, mix flour and salt. Cut in shortening using a pastry blender (or pulling 2 table knives through ingredients in opposite directions), until particles are size of small peas. Sprinkle with cold water, 1 tbsp. at a time, tossing with fork until all the flour is moistened and pastry almost leaves side of bowl (1 to 2 tsp. more water can be added if necessary).

Gather pastry into a ball. Shape into flattened round on lightly floured surface (for Two-Crust Pie, divide pastry in half and shape into 2 rounds). Wrap flattened round of pastry in plastic wrap and refrigerate about 45 minutes or until dough is firm and cold, yet pliable. This allows the shortening to become slightly firm, which helps make the baked pastry more flaky. If refrigerated longer, let pastry soften slightly before rolling.

Roll pastry on lightly floured surface, using floured rolling pin, into circle 2 inches larger than upside-down 9-inch pie place or 3 inches longer than 10- or 11-inch tart pan. Fold pastry into fourths and place in pie plate; or roll pastry loosely around rolling pin and transfer to pie plate. Unfold or unroll pastry and ease into plate, pressing firmly against bottom and side and being careful not to stretch pastry, which will cause it to shrink when baked.

From here, prepare dough as directed on pie or tart directions. You may need to partially bake or fully bake before adding the filling. For Two-Crust pie, fold top pastry over top of filled pie and cut slits so steam can escape. Press rim to seal.

Bake as directed on pie or tart recipe.


Source: Betty Crocker Bonus Edition Cookbook