But many times, pie crust leaves a lot to be desired, even those sold in cafes and restaurants.
Lots of times, piecrust resembles a tasteless cardboard cookie.
Yet a good pie just isn't the same without a really good piecrust.
Over the years, I've experimented with different tips for handmade good piecrust.
But honestly?
I think the one of the consistently best ways is to dump the ingredients into your food processor, then press "Pulse" until your pie dough achieves that mealy bunch-of-peas look.
The pie crust turns out well with very little effort on your part.
But my food processor broke down a couple of years ago, so for us, it's either handmade piecrust or nothing.
(Since then, I got a new one only a few months ago.)
But for a really light, flakey pie crust, folding and re-folding the pie crust works best.
So here's what I've found so far...
Tips for Piecrust Techniques
- For the best kind of light, flaky piecrust, you really do need to use white flour. But using whole wheat pastry flour (70%-80%) with the techniques below can at least produce the best possible whole wheat piecrust.
- It doesn't matter so much whether you use oil or margarine/butter (as long as the margarine/butter is very cold).
- To add butter/margarine, you don't need a pastry cutter or 2 knives or any other implement. Just keep rubbing the fat & flour between your finger until you achieve that mealy bunch-of-peas look.
Interestingly, the process of rubbing the fat and dough between your fingers lends a good effect to the dough (can't remember the exact chemistry, but it's a helpful one).
- You should mix the flour & fat as little as possible — just enough until it will cling together for shaping.
- For flaky layers within the crust, the secret is to fold, re-roll it out, re-fold, re-roll it out — 3 times in all.
It's hard to explain the folding in words, but after you roll out your dough into a circle or square shape (uneven is fine), you start folding like how an envelope is created:
- You fold down the top of the rolled-out dough to the halfway mark, then you fold the bottom part over that.
- Then you take the right side and fold it all the way over to the left, as if you were closing a book. (Some like to add more of the fat just before this fold.)
- Then you roll it all out in a circle (or square) again, and go through the process twice more.
- When you roll it out the final time, you can go ahead and place it in your pie pan, including shaping the edges (if you want), and the refrigerate it for 2 hours before using.
- Refrigeration does good things for the gluten in the pie, which is why this is a popular tip.
Some like to keep it in a ball for the refrigeration time, then roll it out and place it in the pan.
I think shaping it in the pan then refrigerating it is easier and makes more sense.
- It's okay if your piecrust falls apart as you lay it in its pan. Just patch all the pieces of dough in place to cover all holes and fill up the edges of the pan so you can shape the edge. Once baked, it should both look and taste fine.
Tips for Ingredients
- You really don't need to things like add an egg yolk, or whatever.
- Salt, cold fat, flour, and an ice-cold liquid are all you really need for a successful pie crust.
- I've tried schmaltz (rendered chicken fat) when making a chicken pie, oil, butter, and margarine. I achieved the best pie crust when using either the schmaltz or the oil, interestingly enough.
- Some like to add a tablespoon of sugar or powdered sugar to achieve a golden color, but that amount won't sweeten your piecrust or affect its taste or texture.
- Exchanging 1 tablespoon of the liquid for 1 tablespoon ice-cold vodka (doesn't have to be best-quality) is also a good idea. And no, you don't taste it at all in the pie.
I made a mistake with this vodka tip.
The first time, I used half vodka and half water.
But the second time, I thought to try all vodka, no water. So I added 2 tablespoons of vodka, but the dough didn't come together. So I added a third tablespoon, and it still didn't come together.
Finally, I realized that I needed regular liquid instead of alcohol, so I added a tablespoon of ice water, and it was almost to wet now, but still workable.
I also regretted my focus on vodka because 3 tablespoons in only a little more than a cup of flour would likely not taste good.
I needed to bake the piecrust before filling it, which calls for a very high heat for 8-10 minutes.
When the piecrust was almost ready, something forced my oven door open with a WHOOSH! sound and I saw a glow of blue-yellow fire whoosh out for a split second, then go out.
I quickly turned off the oven and closed the oven door, racking my brains to figure out what happened and how I was supposed to make challahs if my pareve oven was emitting fire?
Was old baking paper stuck in there? Or oil?
Finally, I realized that the vodka probably omitted alcohol fumes, which probably caught on fire, forcing open the oven and emitting that glow of fire (which, with the predominant blue color, is what flaming alcohol looks like).
I was grateful to Hashem for taking care of the vodka-taste worry by burning the alcohol out of the pie.
That just goes to show how important it is to say l'kavod Shabbat when cooking & baking for Shabbat — Hashem really helps you perfect that pie!
The oven continued to work fine ever since, by the way.
And the piecrust had no alcohol taste.
- But based on this experience, I advise you to stick with 1 tablespoon of vodka and the rest water.
You can use whatever piecrust recipe you have on hand, and apply the above tips for a piecrust worth eating.
Hatzlacha rabbah!