You never dreamed a homemade pie crust recipe could be this simple
Make a quiche celebrating farmers' market finds like asparagus, herbs and baby spring veggies. Or grab the first cherries in the stores now. This pie crust recipe is so easy. For quiche, I like to add some herbs to the flour. Sometimes I toss a little sugar in for a sweet pie.
Practice now and your Thanksgiving pie will be a winner! Use my pie crust recipe below and simply crush pecans and gingersnaps in a food processor or with your rolling pin. Press into the crust and halfway up the sides and you'll have a terrific pumpkin pie.
For other Thanksgiving tips, see my Ten Point Plan for Thanksgiving Procrastinators or my Turkey Trauma Blog post. I also share a list of "tips, tricks and cheats" here and here.
My Pie Story
When life (or lack of will power) gives you too many berries, make pie. Not a baker? Not a problem... read on to discover an easy pie crust for beginners. People who are cooks not bakers are usually completely afraid to try their hand at pies. I was a beginner too, but forged ahead, you can do it.
When I got laid off for the umpteenth time, I decided to learn to bake a pie. Yes, it is always about food with me. So here's the story of how it unfolded.
Cravings:
You know those cravings they say pregnant women have? When my mother was carrying me, our family story goes, blueberry pie was one of those hormonally driven cravings she had one night. At this point in time, my folks lived on Tachikawa Air Force Base, outside of Tokyo. This was (ahem) several years ago. Apparently, my father found an all night bakery somewhere in Tokyo and brought home a blueberry pie. I am convinced this story lies at the heart of my own incredible delight at blueberry pie.
Concrete Frisbees:
I'm not normally a baker (it's precise, it's science) more of a "little of this, little of that" kind of cook. I like to improvise. Give you my recipe? I usually only follow them the first time, then make them my own. I know my way around the kitchen, but pie crusts are something I had a hard time perfecting.
One friend's mom gave me her recipe which had you add warm water to thin the shortening. Another recipe offered required a food processor before I owned one. Some call for all butter - nice flavor, tricky to get the right texture. Others call for all shortening - not so great flavor. Whatever recipes or tricks I used, my attempts produced wildly different results. Tender, flakey, one time; concrete Frisbee, the next.
To the rescue:
My friend Elissa, not normally the first one to volunteer for the kitchen, proudly proclaimed that this very thing that had been vexing me for ages, was the one thing she could teach me in the kitchen. (Her emphasis, not mine.)
In anticipation of marrying Narayan, she asked future mother-in-law to teach her how to make his favorite: Lorraine's apple pie. Elissa, very much in love with Narayan, set aside kitchen fears and applied herself to the apple pie task with fierce determination. It was on par with the discipline I'd seen her exhibit in our law school study group. No wait a minute, I think she worked harder at the pie lessons. Then again, both endeavours often end with ice cream. Maybe that's the key.
Carried away at the market:
But focus back on me. You know how I love the Dewey Square market. With reckless disregard for an upcoming wedding which would take us away for a few days, we bought, and bought berries on Wednesday. And, we still had some left from our Diamond Organics order. What's a girl to do?
I'm happy to report the berries were all used up in a triumph of a pie. I'm talking lattice top, sprinkling of sugar, not - too - sweet, mixed berry beauty. And most important: a light flakey crust - many thanks to Elissa and Lorraine!
So here are my tips and, if it's not too cheeky after praising my mentors, some humble modifications.
Layoff Blueberry Pie Recipe
Perfect Pie Crust... Even for Beginners:
This dough should be made in two batches. It will not be as reliable if you simply double the amounts and then divide the dough in two. Don't ask me why, I have no idea. Remember, not a baker.
- 1 C flour (dip and scoop measuring cup and level off with flat knife)
- Mix with flour: 1 TBSP sugar Dash salt
- Cut into flour with pastry cutter or two butter knives: 4 TBSP cold butter cut into pieces 1.5 TBSP cold shortening (ask your butcher for leaf lard, you will thank me later!)
- Sprinkle with ~2 TBSP of ice water. Use your hand to gently scoop dough into a ball. You'll need to add more water, and using your hand will be the best way to tell how much more. As it begins to come together, dump it out of the bowl onto a lightly floured counter top. (My idol, Julia Child, had a slab of marble cut to fit inside her fridge, just to keep her work surface chilly when making puff pastry, pies, and such.)
- Push the dough together, and gently smear the mass with the heel of your hand. I find a metal scraper works well to gather the mass. Turn and smear. It's similar to kneading bread dough but much more gentle.
- This smearing action will help distribute the butter/shortening into the flour, giving you nice light, flakey layers. When it just is able to be formed into a smooth flat disk, wrap it in plastic wrap. Refrigerate.
- Start the second dough.
- When you've got two nice slightly flattened dough disks, put them in the fridge and go do something else. This is critical! Working the dough will begin to develop the gluten in the flour. If you tried to use it immediately, you'll have a piecrust about the same texture as the pan it's baked in. Trust me on this one.
- Give it at least two hours, preferably, eight.
For the filling:
- 4 - 5 Cups mixed berries (or blueberries alone - I like to use a bit more, but this will depend somewhat on the size and depth of your pie plate.
- 2 TBSP cornstarch mixed with ¼ C water or juice. You may also use instant tapioca in place of the cornstarch.
- I like to use a bit of framboise, a bit of key lime juice.
- 1/3 - 2/3 Cups of sugar. Sweeten the mixture to taste. The sweetness of your berries, along with what you choose as your liquid, will determine how much sugar to use. When the berries have been sitting for 15 minutes or so, check the sweetness and decide whether/how much sugar to add.
- Roll out the first dough. You can transfer it to the pie plate in one of two ways: gently roll it over your rolling pin or fold in quarters then position in pie plate and unfold. Try not to work the dough, or stretch it too much as this will begin to develop the gluten again.
- If your kitchen is warm, keep the second dough in the fridge while you work the first.
- I like to roll it out between sheets of waxed paper to further reduce the amount of flour it might otherwise pick up.
- Pour your sweetened berry mixture into the pie crust. Zest a bit of fresh lemon zest over it. Dot with butter.
For the top crust:
- You can fold it in quarters and place it on top. Be sure to cut some vents (easiest in the folded stage) or do a lattice top, which I love.
- Brush with an egg wash (one whole egg, beaten with a bit of water); Sprinkle of turbinado sugar on top (it doesn't melt - leaving a visible and visceral bite to the top crust).
- Bake @ 450 for ten minutes,
- Then reduce heat and bake@ 350 for 30-40 more until nice golden brown.
If you have a pizza stone, it's a great to throw a piece of foil on it, and then bake the pie on it. It will produce a crisper bottom crust.
You may also want to shield the crust's outer rim with foil or another store bought product as it will often brown quicker than the rest of the pie.
There you go, a perfect pie...!
If you're getting in the mood for fall: check out Devy's Apple pie recipe!
Jacqueline Church - Award-winning writer, speaker, teacher on topics at the intersection of gourmet and sustainable food issues.
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