New here! Pie crust question...

Hello!

I am new and working towards my Chef Talk mug, so this is my first post!

What is the best easy pie crust?? This has been driving me insane for a while.

I currently use an oil-based one when I'm pressed for time, and the one from "Pie and Pastry Bible" when I'm not. But I'd love an in-between recipe-- not overly complicated, not so basic.

If anyone has any ideas, I'd love to hear them! Thanks!

[Kimmie]

Hi DaisyMae and welcome to Cheftalk.

Here's an all-butter one for you, from Martha Stewart.

Pâte Brisée
Makes two 10-inch crusts

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 pound (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1. Place flour, salt, and sugar in the bowl of a food processor. Add butter, and process until mixture resembles coarse meal, about 10 seconds (if you don’t have a food processor, use a pastry cutter to cut in butter). With the machine running, add 1/2 cup ice water, drop by drop, just until the dough holds together but is not wet or sticky. (You may not need all the water. Do not overprocess.) Test dough by squeezing a small amount between your fingers. If it is still crumbly, add a bit more water.

2. Turn dough out onto a large piece of plastic wrap, and flatten into a circle. Wrap, and chill for at least 1 hour. You can refrigerate the dough up to three days or freeze up to one month. If freezing, roll out the dough, and store it right in the pie plate, wrapped in plastic.

[Isa]

Welcome to Chef Tlak DaisyMae!

I used different dough depending on the kind of pie I make. Here's a pretty standard one from Gourmet.

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into bits
2 tablespoons cold vegetable shortening
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 to 4 tablespoons ice water

In a bowl with a pastry blender or in a food processor blend or pulse together flour, butter, shortening, and salt until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add 2 tablespoons ice water and toss or pulse until incorporated. Add enough remaining ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, tossing with a fork or pulsing to incorporate, to begin to form a dough.

On a work surface smear dough in 3 or 4 forward motions with heel of hand to make dough easier to work with. Form dough into a ball and flatten to form a disk. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill 1 hour.

Makes enough dough for a single-crust 9- to 10-inch pie or an 11-inch tart.

[nancya]

Welcome to ChefTalk!

I make the absolutely worst pie crust - so no recipe from me. I have been reading "Cookwise" lately, however, and Shirley Corriher explains in detail what makes a pie crust tender versus flaky, etc. I may be inspired to try again. It makes interesting reading at any rate.

Looking forward to your posts!

[Mezzaluna]

Welcome to the Cafe, DaisyMae! Please tell us a bit about yourself.

Originally posted by Mezzaluna:
<STRONG>Welcome to the Cafe, DaisyMae! Please tell us a bit about yourself.</STRONG>

Thank you all for your suggestions and welcomes-- I am going to try all of the recipes given here, they were the kind I was looking for.

A little about me...
I live in PA and I am a stay-at-home mother to my baby. Before that, I worked in the tech industry, and now that I'm home, I have taken up cooking and baking (always loved baking, am definitely better at that than cooking!) and some other hobbies, including needlework.

I am very glad to have found this site! I have a feeling I'll be coming here a lot.

Thanks again to everyone who responded!

Thank you all for your suggestions and welcomes-- I am going to try all of the recipes given here, they were the kind I was looking for.

A little about me...
I live in PA and I am a stay-at-home mother to my baby. Before that, I worked in the tech industry, and now that I'm home, I have taken up cooking and baking (always loved baking, am definitely better at that than cooking!) and some other hobbies, including needlework.

I am very glad to have found this site! I have a feeling I'll be coming here a lot.

Thanks again to everyone who responded!

Welcome DaisyMae,

I thought I may offer some help with your request for pie paste, I do not need to you have been given some excellent recipes, which I intend to try out myself.

Regards

BigMal

(Smiling from the inside)