Making Pie Crust
Making pie crust from scratch isn’t as difficult as it seems. And who doesn’t love pie? Here are 2 recipes for making your own pie crust. Oh my! Now I’m getting hungry.
Basic Pie Crust
My basic pie crust recipe comes from my old Betty Crocker cookbook.
Pie Crust 9" from Betty Crocker Cookbook 1972 version
Ingredients
- 1 cup flour all-purpose
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup Crisco shortening
- 2-3 Tablespoons hot water
Instructions
- Combine flour, salt, and shortening. Cut in shortening thoroughly with a fork or pastry blender.
- Add the 3 tablespoons of HOT water. Stir until it becomes a dough and leaves the sides of the bowl. Another tablespoon of water might be needed.
- Roll the dough into a ball.
- Place ball of dough on a floured surface. Using a rolling pin, roll dough to desired size. To make a round crust, roll first one direction and then another. Be sure the crust doesn't stick to the counter during rolling.
- Fold the finished crust in half and fit in pie pan.
The recipe comes from Betty Crocker but the method comes from Cameron’s mom and it is a little unique.
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Making Pie Crust-The Method
Mix the shortening into the flour and salt mixture with a fork, until crumbly.
Add hot water until dough forms a ball.
Using a rolling pin, roll the ball into a thin circle, on a floured surface.
Continue rolling out the pie crust dough until it is slightly larger than the dish, so the crust can go up the sides of the dish.
When the crust is the right size, fold it in half to make it easier to move into the pie dish. It might rip. That’s ok. Mine did. I fixed it once I got it in the dish
Carefully lift the folded pie crust into the dish, the fold in the middle of the dish. Unfold it carefully and shift it to fit the dish with some crust hanging over the edge. If the pie was to have a top crust, the filling would go in this shell and the instructions would be followed up to this point for the second crust. It would lay on top.
Ok-here is how you make the scalloped edge on the top. This edge is more than decorative, it keeps the pie filling from bubbling out of the pie while it is in the oven. Cut off or fold under the excess crust from around the top of the dish.
Squeeze the pie crust between the thumb and forefinger of one hand and the forefinger of the other hand. Continue all the way around the edge of the pie dish.
Use a fork to poke holes (just little ones) in the base of the pie and around the sides.. This is still raw dough. A pie that has a no-bake filling needs a finished pie crust. So at this point the crust would go into the oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 minutes to bake. A pie chain can be placed in the crust before going in the oven to prevent the crust from bubbling up.
Blind Baking
Blind baking is baking a crust without any filling in it. This is an important step in a pie filling that isn’t baked like Banana Cream or French Silk. Even with the holes poked in it, sometimes the crust bubbles up while baking and then breaks after baking. Since the purpose of the crust is to keep the filling from sliding all over, this is a problem.
Hundreds of years of baking pies, has taught bakers to use some sort of weight to hold the crust down in the middle while it’s baking. Dried beans or rice can be used as weights or you might like to try these ceramic pie weights or chain. Clicking on these links will take you to shop for pie weights and chains.
Bake pie crusts at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 minutes. And that’s it! You are off and running with your own pie crusts. Less preservatives. Takes less time than running to the store to get the frozen kind.
Personalize Your Pies
Don’t you just love this pumpkin pie baked by Jessica for her family’s Thanksgiving dinner?
There are several ways to get artistic with your pie crusts. Pie dough can be cut with a cookie cutter or knife into whatever shapes suit you. Those shapes can either be attached to the top crust or baked on a cookie sheet at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for approximately 10 minutes. Watch them that they don’t burn. The finished shapes are then placed on the finished pie.
You also might get creative by coloring the pie crust dough with food coloring before building your top crust masterpiece. Once you know the basics, your pies are only limited by your imagination.
Bonus Pie Crust Recipe
Sweet Pastry (Pate Sucre)
Ingredients
- 1 cup flour all purpose
- 1/4 cup sugar granulated
- 4 tablespoons cold butter cut in pieces
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 or 2 teaspoons cream heavy
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Using a mixer with the paddle attachment, mix flour and sugar.
- Add butter and mix until sandy.
- Add yolk, 1 teaspoon of cream and vanilla. Mix just until combined.
- If needed, add 1 more teaspoon of cream.
- Form into a disc. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour.
This is our favorite crust for French Silk Pie.
This one is just a little trickier because it likes to be worked cold so it gets a little crumbly. I still roll it out on a floured surface but you might try rolling it between 2 pieces of parchment paper. Another thing that helps is to spray the pie dish with pan spray before putting the crust in.
Have fun making pie crusts and filling them. Because the world needs more pie!
A piece of French Silk Pie served with a pie server from Cam’s Etsy shop.
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I use the pie crust made with oil that’s in the Betty Crocker cookbook. I use ice water as ice discovered during the years that the colder the water is, the flakier your crust is. Also, the less you handle a pie crust, the better it is. I roll between two pieces of parchment paper, and have nearly perfect pie crust every time.
Thanks Alana for the comment. There are so many recipes for pie crust because there are so many bakers. So folks, which methods work best for you? Oil or shortening? Ice water or warm water? We would love to hear your comments.
I use ice water and shortening. And I roll my crust on a lightly-floured tea towel as I can never make it “behave” between sheets of wax or parchment paper. I’ve been using the same tea towel now for 40 years (washed each time, of course). But I think I’ll try this hot water method next time – I’m always up for a new technique!
My mom was such a good baker but she was never satisfied with her pie crusts. We tried every recipe anyone gave us, using oil, lard, butter, ice water…she was so excited to find a method that worked for me. I am so glad to hear from pie makers. Thank you Shea for the comment.