Butter Pie Crust

A good flaky butter  pie crust  can make you famous. Maybe not famous like Oprah, but you’ll be a star among your friends and family.

Pie crusts require but four ingredients: all-purpose flour, salt, cold fat and ice water. That’s it! Only a few ingredients but you do have decisions to make regarding the type of flour and fat you prefer. The only brand of flour I use is White Lily, a soft winter wheat flour. The lower protein and gluten content results in tender, flaky baked goods.  Who doesn’t want tender and flaky when you’re talking baked goods??  Next, you  need fat. Lard and Crisco make tender flaky crusts. However, butter makes tender flaky crusts AND it gives the dough a wonderful buttery flavor. Butter flavored Crisco tastes artificial because it is artificially flavored. Stick to the real thing. If you’re opposed to butter, substitute an equal amount of cold lard or regular Crisco.

A food processor makes quick work of the most difficult part of pie crust baking: incorporating the fat without overworking the dough. If my food processor breaks and they stop making new ones, I will be relying on Mrs. Smith for all my pie crust needs. Mrs. Smith makes pie crusts that are very good. So does Pillsbury and a few others. The difference is that it’s hard to find a commercially prepared all butter crust.

For berry and fruit pies I would rather the filling be sweetened up to the maximum and leave the sugar out of the pie crust dough. For pies that aren’t quite as sweet such as pumpkin, egg custard or buttermilk, I add a tablespoon of sugar to the dough. It’s just all owing to your tastebuds, Shug.

I don’t have a warm and endearing story about my grandmother and pie crusts because Granny didn’t make homemade crust. She’d buy those things from Mr. Lovell Brook’s store, the Piggly Wiggly or the IGA. She’d buy the cheapest ones she could find. I suppose Granny’s idea was that a pie crust was simply a vehicle for the good stuff. Well, it is a vehicle. But’s let it a tasty vehicle.

Y’all come see us!

Double-crust Butter Pie Crust

yield: top and bottom crust for a 9-inch pie OR two 9-inch bottom crusts.

2 1/2 cups all-purpose soft winter wheat flour

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 tablespoon granulated sugar (optional)

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cubed and chilled

1/2 cup ice water

Place flour, salt and sugar (if using) in the bowl of a food processor.  Add cubed butter on top. Turn on food processor and let it run just  until the butter disappears. STOP!

Add water and pulse until the dough begins to clump together. Don’t keep pulsing and whirring until it turns into a ball in the food processor.

Turn the dough out into a large bowl. Gently work it into a ball.  If it’s too dry and not holding together, lightly sprinkle with some ice water and work it in..

Divide the ball of dough in half.

If you’re making two pies, roll out each piece to 12 inches in diameter. Place them in 9-inch pie plates.  Trim the dough and crimp the edges. Cover lightly with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before using.

For a double-crust pie, wrap one ball of dough in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator. Roll out the second half to 12 inches and place in a 9 inch pie plate. Trim the overhang, lightly cover the pie crust with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before baking.

When ready to use the double-crust, remove both ball of dough and pie plate. Add filling to pie plate. Roll out remaining dough to 11 inches. Fold in quarters and transfer to pie plate. Unfold and spread over filling. Trim the overhang to  one inch. Fold overhang under bottom crust and crimp. Cut vents in top crust and bake pie according to directions. If the edges of the crust start to darken before the pie is ready, cover with aluminum foil.

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Double-crust Butter Pie Crust

Author: Jackie Garvin

Ingredients

• Double-crust Butter Pie Crust
• yield: top and bottom crust for a 9-inch pie OR two 9-inch bottom crusts.
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose soft winter wheat flour
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar optional
• 1 cup 2 sticks unsalted butter, cubed and chilled
• 1/2 cup ice water

Instructions

• Place flour, salt and sugar (if using) in the bowl of a food processor. Add cubed butter on top. Turn on food processor and let it run just until the butter disappears. STOP!
• Add water and pulse until the dough begins to clump together. Don't keep pulsing and whirring until it turns into a ball in the food processor.
• Turn the dough out into a large bowl. Gently work it into a ball. If it's too dry and not holding together, lightly sprinkle with some ice water and work it in..
• Divide the ball of dough in half.
• If you're making two pies, roll out each piece to 12 inches in diameter. Place them in 9-inch pie plates. Trim the dough and crimp the edges. Cover lightly with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before using.
• For a double-crust pie, wrap one ball of dough in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator. Roll out the second half to 12 inches and place in a 9 inch pie plate. Trim the overhang, lightly cover the pie crust with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before baking.
• When ready to use the double-crust, remove both ball of dough and pie plate. Add filling to pie plate. Roll out remaining dough to 11 inches. Fold in quarters and transfer to pie plate. Unfold and spread over filling. Trim the overhang to one inch. Fold overhang under bottom crust and crimp. Cut vents in top crust and bake pie according to directions. If the edges of the crust start to darken before the pie is ready, cover with aluminum foil.

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Single Butter Pie Crust

I believe the trick to making flaky, tender pie crust is to use  a food processor.    Working  quickly enough to keep the fat ice-cold will deliver the flakiest pie crust.  The other trick is to have the butter freezing cold.  In fact, that’s what I do….I cube the butter up and freeze it as soon as I get a notion to make a pie crust.

For a single 9 inch crust:

1 1/4 cup flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp sugar (optional)

1 stick of butter, cubed and frozen

4 – 6 tbsp  ice water

Add flour, salt and sugar (if using) to food processor.  Pulse a few times until mixed well.

Here’s the frozen butter!

Add to the flour mixture in the food processor.  Pulse 6 to 8 times or until the mixture resembles cornmeal and the butter is roughly pea size.  DON’T OVER PROCESS.

Here’s the ice water!

Add one tablespoon at a time the food processor and pulse 2 to 3 times after each addition.   As soon as you can pinch up some of the dough as shown below, stop processing.

Here’s a closer picture.  You can see the butter peas in the dough.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface or a Silpat non-stick mat.  Form into a disk.  Cover with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator for at least an hour before you begin roll the dough.

Remove the plastic wrap  and place the dough disk on a well-floured surface and roll the dough from the center out.   Make sure the dough isn’t sticking while you are rolling.   You want a circle of dough that is about 2 to 3 inches larger than your pie dish.

Trim the dough to make it even.

Roll the dough onto your rolling pin to make the transport to the pie dish easier.    Unroll the pie crust onto you pie pan.

Fit it into your dish and trim the excess.

Crimp the edges with a fork dipped in flour.

For a pre-baked pie crust, prick with a fork several times all over the pie crust.   Bake at 450 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes or until nicely browned. For unbaked crust, place back in the refrigerator while you make your pie filling.

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