Need tips on making pie dough at home?

Question

I made a pie but somehow the crust din't taste right, it wasn't as crusty as is with the store-bought ones. some tips please.

Answer 1

Here's a reliable recipe:

Sweet Pie Crust

2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 cup solid vegetable shortening
1/2 cup ice water

For the crust: In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, salt and sugar. Add the shortening and work it through with your hands until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the water, 1 tablespoon at a time, and work it in with your hands until you have a smooth ball of dough. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and place it on a lightly floured surface. This recipe will make two pie crusts.

For the individual crust: Divide the dough into fourths. Roll out the dough on the floured surface into a circle about 5 inches in diameter and 1/8-thick.

For the whole pie crust: Roll out the dough on the floured surface into a circle about 14 inches in diameter and 1/8 inch thick. Gently fold the circles of dough in half and then in half again so that you can lift it without tearing it, and unfold into a 9-inch pie pan.

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Answer 2

I'm not going to bother with copy & pasting somebody else's recipe, because pie/pastry crusts are all essentially the same: flour, some kind of shortening (butter or otherwise), and perhaps a little water. Some call for a tiny bit of salt, too.

There are two big secrets to successful pastry dough. One, everything must be cold-cold-cold. The idea is to work the shortening (again, whatever it is) into the flour, but only until the shortening is coated with flour. If the shortening actually ABSORBS into the flour, before baking, the dough will turn out rubbery and kind of chewy.

If the shortening is quite cold (and cut up into small pieces), it will form little "pebbles" as the flour clings to the shortening. This is what you want. A bunch of little pockets of shortening surrounded by flour. Then, as the dough bakes, the moisture inside the shortening evaporates, and the shortening has a chance to melt, and be absorbed into the flour. What's left behind is thousands of tiny air pockets, which gives the crust its "puff" and flakiness.

Secret number two actually relates to secret number one: don't handle the raw dough any more than necessary. The more you manipulate the raw dough, the more the shortening absorbs into the flour---which is exactly what you don't want. The reason for this, mostly, is that your hands are warm enough to melt the shortening!

Answer 3

I tried baking at home for years, I never got it right. I can cook anything but baking is something the professionals do (even at the grocer) so much better than I ever will that I just don't see the point in creating such a mess for something that tastes so much better when someone else makes it. Not to mention that pies cost about 4 bucks, about half of what it costs to make them from scratch in your own kitchen, which will be completely trashed after any baking experience.

By the way, the secret to flaky light crusts is butter, cold butter, cut into the dough, and then very chilled dough rolled out. You have to chill the dough several time during the whole process to get the right crust. And, ice water not tap water.

And, the right oven temp, the right open oven door time, the right chill time and on and on and on.

By a four dollar pie at the grocer, thank the people for their time and effort, then put it in one of your own pie plates and take the credit for having the good sense to spare yourself the pain.

Answer 4

This is a terrific pie crust - the ice water is the key, plus the chilled butter...outstanding crust!

1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons bleached all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces and chilled
2 tablespoons vegetable shortening
5 tablespoons ice water, or as needed

Sift the flour, sugar and salt into a large bowl. Add the butter and shortening. Rub the fats between your fingertips and thumbs, or use a pastry blender, until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. One tablespoon at a time, work in enough ice water just until the dough comes together, being careful not to over mix.

Shape into a smooth ball of dough, flatten into a disk, and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, and up to two days.

Answer 5

Pie Dough Recipe

8 ounces all-purpose flour, about 1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons
1 tablespoon sugar (if making sweet pie dough)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
2 tablespoons solid vegetable shortening
3 tablespoons ice water

Sift the flour, sugar, and salt into a large bowl. Using your fingers, work in the butter and shortening until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add 2 tablespoons of ice water and work with your fingers until the water is incorporated and the dough comes together. Add more water as needed to make a smooth dough, being careful not to over mix. Form the dough into a disk, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before using.

Answer 6

If you overwork your dough, or get it too warm when making pie crust, it can make your crust tough, and not "crusty". Be sure to keep your fat cold when making pie crust - everywhere there is a pocket of cold fat, there will be a flake. Work the dough as little as possible, because kneading it builds up gluten with wheat flour, and gluten means tough crust. You generally want to use as little moisture as possible, and work the dough only enough to get it smooth enough to roll out.

Answer 7

It's a matter of evenly dispersing the fat (butter, shortening, lard) within the crust in small pieces not blended, and using as little water as possible to hold it all together. The fat then creates small pockets, which creates the flaky texture. Here's a good link for an easy method.

Answer 8

Use lard (instead of butter or vegetable shortening) in your pie crust. (And all you people out there who are rolling your eyes at me right now--shaddup!) It will definitely make for a very tender, flaky crust.

Also, make sure your fat is refrigerated, and use ice water. Don't over-work your dough (will turn out tough and dry). Separate it into two disks, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 20 minutes before you roll it out.

Answer 9

Open the can by pealing off the paper first and then pop the tube on the counter. Unroll the dough in a pie pan.

Answer 10

Make sure to keep the dough cold when you work with it, use a recipe that calls for shortening.