[kokopuffs]

Hi. I am on the hunt for improved pie crusts (i.e., nothing can possibly go wrong). I found something interesting in my voluminous box of recipes which mentions to "rub the pie crust with egg white [before prebaking for a pumpkin pie]".

What would be the purpose of this? We are to prebake the crust at 450 degrees for 5 minutes, then put the custard mixture in and bake the whole thing.

Thanks for your help!

Get yourself a copy of the book entitled RATIO by Ruhlman. Then, do a search on my name to learn how to prebake a crust. Pm me if you need to.

 

[kokopuffs]

My favorite piecrust recipe is one that I have used for over 40 years. I've modified it some, but it's my perfect pie crust every time. Like the others who have posted, I prefer to work the pastry dough by hand.

6 cups flour (I like to use cake and pastry flour)

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 pound of vegetable shortening

1 egg

2 tbsp vinegar

water

Mix the dry ingredients together

Cut the shortening into small chunks

Using a pastry blender work the shortening into the flour mixture slowly until it is all mixed and the shortening is 'pea sized'. You will be able to take a handful and squeeze it - it should stick together.

Beat the egg is a one cup measuring cup, add the vinegar and fill the cup with water........

Why vinegar? this is the first time I've encountered it in making pie dough.

 

[kokopuffs]

For my pate brisees I use exclusively White Lily AP flour.  It's a soft wheat flour where the main national brands are hard wheat.  Makes a real difference.  Should you have access to only hard wheat flours, then make yourself a 50-50 blend of hard wheat and pastry/cake flour like Swan's Down.  The blend will lighten your results.

 

[kokopuffs]

Simple answer:..................... Too much protein denaturation too quickly results in a tough and chewy crust

I'll just continue on with my pate brisee methode. Where you from in Nor Cal???

 

[kokopuffs]

kokopuffs, I live in the epicenter of both wine and food country--the Napa Valley. Just outside St. Helena. Ironically, I live surrounded by vineyards, but rarely drink. But I sure love to eat and the food in this region is nothing short of amazing.

Me, I lived in El Cerrito and Berkeley's Gourmet Ghetto areas from 1975 thru 1989, when the food revolution was just beginning its ascent and before Napa became highly gentrified. Onward and upward! 8)

 

[kokopuffs]

I know Kokopuffs has great success with Ruhlmans pie crust ratio but I find it too loose and greasy.

Loose???? Greasy???

for six ounces of flour Ruhlman calls for 4 oz fat. Since american butter is 80% fat, then 5 oz instead of 4 oz of american butter needs to be added to the dry ingredients. The crust will roll out much smoother.

And also, my pate brisee is a three-day process as I've mentioned previously.

1. Day one make the dough and flatten into a disk. Wrap in plastic. Allow to rest at room temp for an hour and refrigerate overnight or even for several days.
2. Day two roll the dough and line the mold. Uncovered, allow the dough to rest at room temp for an hour and refrigerate overnight uncovered for drying.
3. Blind bake for 45 minutes, remove weights and bake for 10 minutes more then brush a wash onto the crust and bake for another 10 minutes or so.

I've mentioned all of this in previous threads and my method has evolved into what's shown in The Art of French Pastry by Jacquy Pfeiffer.

 

[kokopuffs]

My go-to recipe:

1 1/2 c AP flour

10 T unsalted butter

big pinch salt

big pinch sugar

5 T ice water
......... If there are a couple of things that seem to make a difference, I would offer these:
Resting/chilling the dough after mixing in the fridge.

Resting/chilling the dough after rolling/plating

LOTS and LOTS of beans or pie weights, whatever you use to blind bake

The biggest secret for me is if I'm going to make one recipe, I make 6, and freeze the rest..........

Resting and chilling along all stages relaxes the gluten as you already know. It would therefore seem to me that resting/chilling eliminates the need to add vinegar to the mix unless the dough is made, mixed and baked all in the same day.

 

[kokopuffs]

Pate brisee, BTW, is basically just "pie crust" in French.

NO! Here it's a question of semantics. In France a tart is all about the crust; here in America concerning pie, it's the filling. In France the pate brise is made using a high fat butter like Kerrygold whereas in America shortening and/or lard is used which results in a huge difference in flavor profile.

 

[kokopuffs]

French flour is a soft wheat flour like White Lily AP flour that's produced in the southern states.

 

[kokopuffs]

................I use a premium brand flour; same flour brand used by bakeries like Tartine, Acme, and Josey Baker. The pastry flour is soft wheat. Protein is 10%; Ash is 0.52--higher than the average French pastry flour. Higher protein effects dough elasticity; higher ash effect texture (higher ash, more coarse the crumb).

What's the name of the flour that you use?

 

[kokopuffs]

After reading and reading all these comments, I decided to make some raisin tarts. For the pastry, I used 3/4 pastry flour + 1/4 allpurpose (my idea). These flours were from a bulk store and I don't know who the mfr is.

I've never used pastry flour before, since most recipes tell you to use A.P., plus telling you that pastry flour is more difficult and you have to be more experienced at pastry making etc............

A suggestion: if you're not already doing so please weigh all of your ingredients. It's much faster and more accurate.

I've never read that pastry flour is more difficult to use. Bee ess. I contains less gluten than AP and BF.

Which fat did you use for your pastry doughs????? This ingredient, we'd all like to know.

 

[kokopuffs]

...........................Weighing ingredients is far more accurate that volume measurements. When you use a measuring cup you can easily pack substantially more or less into the cup, depending on the way you fill the cup. If you dip the cup into flour, then level, you end up with a lot more than 4.25 oz/200 g. If you use the spoon fill, then level method you can get less than the 4.25 oz/200 g.............

...and if you fluff then scoop the flour with a scoop without compressing it and gently dispense into a one cup measure, then level it, the amout of flour will weigh even less. That's the reason to weigh ingredients, it's more accurate and consistent.

 

[kokopuffs]

.................... I do sometimes weigh things because I do have a few old recipes on hand that were given to me. I should weigh all the ingredients, I guess. Except for ordinary cooking.

Again, weighing ingredients is much much faster and more accurate therefore consistent. Just think how much easier it is to make typical bread dough using baker's percentages than converting cup measures chen changing the amount of dough that you're gonna' make.

 

[kokopuffs]

Butter matters. Higher fat butters work best. But don't use a pliable brand like kerrygold. It's too soft and makes a greasy crust. I prefer Pulgra.

Cultured butters will work well, but some brands like Vermont Creamery with 86% butterfat can be greasy. I like Trader Joe's cultured butter, but it's salted, so reduce the amount of salt if you try it..........................

I'm noticing that my pate brisees made with Kerrygold seem greasier, that the butter softens more readily during rolling out.

 

[kokopuffs]

I'm finding that dough using Kerrygold is more easliy rolled out and splits less. The dough will taste and feel a bit butteryier.