[isaac]

Hello all!

So I decided to get into the wonderful world of pies. See, my family likes to eat pies but hates making the pie dough but for some reason, I love making the pie dough (or any dough for that matter) but can't stand eating traditional pie dough.

For some reason I think that traditional pie dough is very bland tasting. How I think of it is that pie dough should or could be a great medium for flavor.

So my question... Does anyone have a kicken pie dough recipe that offers great taste and flavor without the blandness of the traditional pie dough?

[momoreg]

I'm not quite sure if you're asking for a flavored dough, or something neutral, but with more flavor than usual. I find that the best flavor shines when all butter is used, and quite a bit of salt as well. It enhances the butter flavor, and isn't bland at all.

[brie]

Some people swear by lard - they say it increases the flakiness and improves the texture of the crust.

[isaac]

I do use butter but I just dislike the traditional taste of pie dough. I am looking for something that has more flavor.

[kthull]

I'm a big fan of pie crusts that use sour cream in the dough.

[isaac]

kthull:

That sounds interesting. Do you have a recipe for it?

[Anneke]

Try using ground nuts in your dough, or a bit of lemon zest. Of course this works better with a shortcrust.

[Jock]

Instead of regular APF, try using a more flavorful flour. Arrowhead Mills makes a great pastry flour that is naturally full of flavor.

You know when you look at the ingredient list on a bag of flour it has lots of chemicals added. I asked one of the bakers at work about that and he said that during the milling process, something like 33 natural chemical components are lost from the flour. Those handfull that you see on the list are some of what they put back. On the Arrowhead Mills bag, the ingredient list has only one line - "Flour"

Jock

[kthull]

Here you go Isaac. Even though it's "pastry dough" I've used it for pies too. Has a bit of tang to it from the sour cream. I got this from a recipe on foodtv.com for pumpkin pastries...delicious.

Sour Cream Pastry Dough
Recipe courtesy of Flo Braker

2 cups unsifted all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into 1/4- inch slices
1/2 cup sour cream

Put the flour and salt in a 3 quart bowl and stir to blend. Scatter the butter slices over the flour, and cut in with a pastry blender until the mixture consists of particles that vary in size from small peas to bread crumbs. Stir in the sour cream with a fork. The pastry will appear dry because the sour cream is thick and does not disperse easily. With your hands, manipulate dough into a ball. Divide dough as recipe directs. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate until cold and firm, at least 4 hours and up to 3 days. The dough can be frozen for up to 1 month.

[amira]

180 gr cold butter - cut to small cubes
225 gr' plain flower
50 gr' almond flower
50 gr' sugar powder
1 egg yolk
2 Tb. very cold water

In a foodprocessor combine the butter+flowers+ sugar powder use the pulse button untill you get small crumbs. Add the yolk and the water and continue working JUST till u get a ball.
Take it out wrape it and let it rest in the fridge at least an hour, before using it.

[amira]

You can add -of course - a vanilla bean or lemon zest.

[thebighat]

Did he say kicken or kuchen?

[dlcantrell]

This one took a bit to get used to but it's all I use when making fruit pies.

Other things I use when making a pie is cheese and/or nuts (someone else mentioned this one) depending on the type of fruit pie being baked.

There was a good point about flour above that i'm going to try in the next few days.

Enjoy!!

David


8" or 9" One-Crust pie
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
1/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 to 3 tablespoons cold water

8" or 9" Two-Crust pie
1 1/4 flour
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3 to 4 tablespoons cold water

[amira]

flour, flour , flour (of course).
Nevertheless, I still recommend to try it.

[Headless Chicken]

Originally posted by brie
Some people swear by lard - they say it increases the flakiness and improves the texture of the crust.

I've used it and it does however here in Canada, due to our multi-cultrual community, I tend to stay away from it. Butter instead of shortening is good for flavor but it does make it pricier (not good for selling). Additional seasonings like salt will help but you should try flavoring/enhancing it with other flavors like lemon zest for a lemon meringue pie, rosemarry for a beef pot pie, nutmeg and cinnamon for apple pie. Pair the flavorings according to what the filling will be.