On Jun 14, 11:01*pm, (Judy Haffner) wrote:
> How many prefer to make their own pie crust, and if so, do you have a
> perfect recipe, or method?
>
> It seems like a difficult thing to do for some, and no matter what they
> do, the crust is "tough", or just not worthy of the "Good Housekeeping
> Seal Of Approval."
> My one grandmother could bake awesome cakes, but her pies left a lot to
> be desired, because she never could master making a good flaky light
> crust, so would buy some kind of sticks in a box, but I never thought
> they were so great. I don't even know if you can buy a pie crust mix in
> a box anymore?
>
> When my hubby makes pie at his cabin, he likes the Pillsbury
> refrigerated crusts, but I find them too "lardy" tasting. The only crust
> I have discovered that was even close to home made was Marie Callender's
> frozen pie crusts, and if I'm going to make a single pie, and don't want
> the fuss and bother of messing the kitchen up for one crust, I will use
> that brand of frozen. Today I made a chocolate cream pie using a Marie
> Callender crust, and it's quite tasty.
>
> I learned to make crust from my mother, but even mine have never been
> quite as good as hers, but I do get compliments on them. My cousin once
> told me, I don't care about the filling, I just want to eat the crust!
> :-)
>
> So would your pie win a blue ribbon at a local fair?
>
> Judy

The trouble most people have with homemade pie crust is they don't
know when to leave it alone. First, they cut the shortening in too
much so the crust comes out mealy rather than flaky. If you want a
flaky crust you need to leave large chunks of shortening. Second,
people tend to over mix the dough. If it's not coming together and
seems dry, don't be afraid to add a few more drops of water. Once
the dough comes together, knead it lightly maybe 5 or 6 times so it
stays together, wrap it up, and refrigerate it for at least 30
minutes. The third mistake people make is they try to roll out the
crust as soon as they take it out of the refrigerator. Let it warm up
5 - 10 minutes. You'll be able to roll it out without overstretching
it. One trick I always do is roll the dough out on waxed paper. That
way I can pick up the waxed paper with the rolled out crust on it,
flip it over into the pie pan, and then simply peel it off.