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The Perfect Pie
Submitted by DIYbrarian on Sat, 12/20/2008 - 11:56am
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The perfect pie may start with a great crust. With several holidays approaching, I know it is time to pull out my pie plates and pastry blender so that I can get busy making my pies. Grocery store pie just doesn’t cut it and while frozen pie crust is passable, nothing replaces the flaky, tender glory of a good home-made pastry crust. The finer points of a good crust are a matter of debate in my family. My mother, who taught me the art of making pie crust, prefers the softer crust made from vegetable shortening. I like a crispy, flakey crust that results from the combination of lard and butter I use. My brother-in-law consumes either with equal gusto so we are both happy in the end.
Many people I talk to find the idea of making pie crust intimidating, but it need not be. A basic pie crust is very simple to make but there are a few tricks to keep in mind.
· Keep your fats cold. I pull my lard and butter or shortening right from the refrigerator, cut it into smallish pieces and toss into a large bowl with my flour. I also have a cup of water with ice cubes in it ready to go.
· Don’t overwork your crust. I use a sturdy pastry blender to cut my fats into my flour. The point is to have lots of little lumps of fat mixed with your flour. The mixture should look like coarse crumbs.
· Add enough cold water just to hold the crust together—mostly. When I turn the crust out to roll it, it is usually still pretty crumbly. I will pat it together on my board, dust the surface with just a little bit of flour and start rolling. This step is the only time I will touch the crust with my hands.
It takes a bit of practice. If you are a beginner, using shortening will help as it does result in a crust mixture that is less crumbly and easier to roll out. For convenience, you can mix your flour and fats ahead of time and store it either in the refrigerator or the freezer. The right amount for a single crust will fit nicely in a small ziplock freezer bag. Pull it out when you want to bake, let it warm up a bit, add your water and roll. Within minutes, you will have a crust-lined pan ready for your filling and be well on your way to the perfect pie.
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