We on this continent should never forget that men first crossed the Atlantic not to find soil for their ploughs but to secure liberty for their souls. ~Robert J. McCracken
"I do not believe that the power and duty of the General Government ought to be extended to the relief of individual suffering...to the end that the lesson should be constantly enforced that, though the people support the Government, the Government should not support the people." Grover Cleveland
I'm not much of an expert but I will pass on what I have learned about crusts. Some people already know these things, but I had to learn it after annoying failures.
Flour - There are different kinds of flour depending on variety, where it is grown, what season, and a few other things. The main thing you are concerned with is protein content. Cake flour is the lowest, then all purpose flour, bread flour, and the highest is hard red winter wheat. You want a low protein flour for pie crusts, but not cake flour. So you use all purpose.
Salt - Anything made with flour needs salt or it will taste like cardboard. It doesn't take much but it takes some.
Fat - You can choose from lard, shortening, or butter, or mix them. Butter has the best flavor, lard makes the flakiest crust, and the only thing shortening has going for it is that it is a vegetable product. I have to make pies two at a time, one with lard and one with shortening, because my mother says the lard gives her "acid stomach". That's ok, that leaves one whole pie for me!
Cold - Yes, cold is an ingredient. You want the fat to be cold so it breaks into chunks instead of mixing with the flour. The chunks separate the flour into flakes when it is baked. You use a pastry cutter for the same reason, and when you add the water you stir with a fork instead of a spoon. You are supposed to use ice water, and it does make a small difference, but I just use cold tap water.
One pie crust
Do not double the recipe. Make two batches for a double crust pie.
1 1/4 cups AP flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup lard, shortening, or butter, or a mixture
3 Tbsp ice water
Mix the first three with a pastry cutter until you have a fine grained mixture. You can use a fork, but you'll wish you had a pastry cutter. Stir in the water with a fork. Gather the dough into a loose ball and refrigerate for a half hour or so. Put the cold ball on a floured surface and roll it with a shovel handle. Push on the sides to close the cracks and roll some more. As the crust gets thinner you will not be able to push the cracks together. Cut off a piece , moisten one side with water, and stick it over a crack. When you get the crust as thin as you want it, put your shovel handle at one side and roll it up. Then unroll it into the pie plate. (When I say shovel handle, I mean a stick about 18" long.)
Excellent tutorial, Saul Mine!
I can only add one thing, that you implied but did not explicitly say. Never use a machine to mix pie crust. It makes it tough. Use a fork or your fingers and don't overknead.
(I use half lard and half butter in all of mine - still flaky and a bit easier to work with.)
We on this continent should never forget that men first crossed the Atlantic not to find soil for their ploughs but to secure liberty for their souls. ~Robert J. McCracken
"I do not believe that the power and duty of the General Government ought to be extended to the relief of individual suffering...to the end that the lesson should be constantly enforced that, though the people support the Government, the Government should not support the people." Grover Cleveland
Yes, bake it only half way and make sure to poke a few holes in the bottom with a fork. Don't worry, your filling wont leak out, well just a tad. Only enough to seal the hole shut lol. But those little fork holes help a lot.
I don't use bought pie crusts but use the one my great granny, granny, and mom use. Here it is:
Mom's Pie Crust
6 cups flour (any will work fine)
1 tsp. salt
2 cups lard
2 beaten eggs
2 tsp. vinegar
2/3 cup cold water
Mix flour, salt and shortening. Mix liquids and then add to flour. Mix only enough to blend ingredients. Makes 2 double crust pies. Keeps in the fridge for one month and in the freezer 6 months.
Now...you can halve this and it will work just fine. for that you will need:
3 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup lard
1 beaten egg
1 tsp vinegar
6 TBS cold water
Mix as above.
You can use this for ANY pies.
She
We on this continent should never forget that men first crossed the Atlantic not to find soil for their ploughs but to secure liberty for their souls. ~Robert J. McCracken
"I do not believe that the power and duty of the General Government ought to be extended to the relief of individual suffering...to the end that the lesson should be constantly enforced that, though the people support the Government, the Government should not support the people." Grover Cleveland
momof23goats
Thanks everyone! I will be brave and try this soon, everyone has something they are not very good at, and with me its pie crust. My DH is always very nice about it, but they tend to look like lopsided, unhappy experiments. They usually taste good but sometimes the bottom crust just dissolves away. I'll try the fork idea, my mom always did that and she make excellent pie crusts.
expatriate Californian living in rural Ireland with husband, dogs, horses. garden and many, many cats
What about mincemeat for those without access to venison? My folks used to make some killer mincemeat when I grew up in Maine. But alas, I'm in florida now - and I want the meat, not just the mince.
Thanks.