From: "Jake Trexel" >
Subject: needed help with pie crust
When I try to roll out my pie crust, it becomes crumbly even though I use
Flour on the board and rolling pin. The recipe I use is for a one crust 8"
Pie and uses 1 cup of flour, 1/3 cup plus one tablespoon of shortening and
1/2 tsp. Salt and 2 to 3 tablespoons cold water. It has a good flavor when
Baked, but it is next to impossible to roll out.
Any suggestions?

Making the Perfect Pie Crust

Once you get the hang of it, it's as easy as, uh, pie!
By Jean Sutherland
With Lynn Siprelle

All of the anal-retentive suggestions you have ever heard about pie crust
are true, because pie dough is a very special kind of dough. It isn't hard
to achieve, once you know what you're going for and why, but pie crust can
still intimidate a lot of people.
When I first got back into pie making I bought the Pillsbury crusts in the
refrigerator section at the store. They aren't bad, it fooled some people
and gave me a chance to ease into it without having to pull off the whole
thing at once (sometimes I'm such a baby). But once I learned how easy
crust
making is, I never bought the premade kind again.

What Makes Pie Crust Different
What makes a pie crust good and flaky is making sure you only coat the fat
with flour, not blend them, as you would with a cookie dough. This is much
easier to do if the fat is very cold. When adding liquid (and it could be
water, egg, even a little vinegar) you don't want it to mix in, so much as
collect all the flour-coated fat particles together and make them stick to
one another.
That's why less is better than more, and cold is better than warm. Colder
and quicker are the watchwords with pie crust.

The Equipment
I don't own a food processor, but if I did, I would use it to make pie
dough
Why? Because the faster you mix the cold ingredients and the less you work
it the better. Before electric appliances, butter was cut in using
fingers,
knives or a lovely little device called a pastry cutter, my previous tool
of
choice.
A food processor is ideal for mixing fast, as long as you don't work it
too
much--then it gets warm. Try pulsing, not just letting it run. I use my
KitchenAid blender because Julia Child gave me the idea in a cookbook that
was published in the '70's, before food processors were everywhere. It is
a
little faster than by hand, which has helped make my dough much more
consistent.

The Recipe


My recipe is Martha Stewart's. It uses butter, not shortening. I'm very
lazy
and getting two sticks of butter out of the refrigerator is easier for me
than fussing with measuring shortening. I use it for tarts and quiches, as
well. But you could use any recipe. My mother used one that had an egg and
a
teaspoon of vinegar which also made a very tasty crust. It also used only
shortening, but we've pretty much moved away from hydrogenated oils.
This recipe is from The Joy of Cooking and is nearly identical to Martha's
but for the extra 1/4 cup of shortening (added after you've cut the butter
in). Butter makes a tasty dough. Shortening makes an especially flaky
dough.
A combination is always good. [Technically, in Foo-Foo kitchen terms, this
kind of butter pie dough is called pate brisee, which means "broken dough"
in French--broken because of the way you cut the butter in, and the way it
flakes. So now you have a new term to impress people with.--Ed.]

Deluxe Butter Double Pie Crust

2 1/2 cups flour1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar1 cup cold butter, cut in small pieces
1/4 cup shortening6 to 8 tablespoons ice cold water

Chill your fat and water! This is essential.
Cut your fat into small pieces and add to your measured flour and salt
(and
sugar, if you use it). There is usually a little over twice as much flour
as
fat (by volume). Cut the fat in quickly, either with two knives, a pastry
cutter or by pulsing in a food processor or blender. Your mixture should
resemble coarse meal. Bigger lumps of fat are just fine; aim for pea-sized
at biggest. (If you're using the The Joy of Cooking recipe above, cut in
the
butter first, then cut in the shortening.)
Slowly add the water--just drizzle it in--and watch closely as you work it
in with the edge of a spatula or continue pulsing. It should still look
dry.
Grab some with your hand and squeeze. Did it hold together? Than you have
enough water. If it didn't, or you're not sure, add a little more and mix
quickly. Test again.
Divide the dough in half to make single crust amounts. Wrap the dough up
by
placing a portion of it on a piece of plastic wrap. Using the wrap,
instead
of your hands, push the dough into a flat disk. Refrigerate this for an
hour
or more.
By making a flat disk at this point you make it a little easier to roll
out.
A round ball would be harder to get into a nice flat piece of rolled out
pastry.
Even this amount of activity has activated the gluten in the wheat (great
if
you're making bread, not so great when you're making pie crust). And you
want it to relax before you roll it out. It is even recommended that you
let
rolled-out dough relax before you bake it. I do this when I have time, or
am
prebaking a pie shell.
Sometimes dough gets too hard in the refrigerator. If this happens to you,
let it warm up a little (15 or 20 minutes) on the counter before you roll
it
out.

Roll Out!
Rolling out the dough between two sheets of wax paper
This is the part that just plain takes practice. I use a lightly floured
board. I add little bits of flour as I go and turn the dough frequently
and
I work fast. Over time you learn how much pressure to apply and when to
apply it. I have also heard that putting the dough between waxed paper or
plastic wrap will help avoid the sticking problem but I think this
requires
a certain amount of practice, too, and haven't bothered to learn it since
I
was successful otherwise. [Note that Your Demonstrator uses the wax paper
technique since she's just been flat-out unsuccessful otherwise.--Ed.]
Begin by rolling from the middle of the disk up. Turn the dough one
quarter
and repeat. Always roll in one direction and turn the dough often. This
also
helps you avoid overworking the dough, you know, the old gluten thing
again.
That would create a tough pastry.
If the dough splits, just push it back together. It doesn't need to be
perfectly round, just large enough to fit your pan. The recipe I have
makes
a generous amount and you don't need to worry about the edges, they just
get
cut off. In fact, the double crust recipe will make an additional single
crust if I save all the scraps, which I have done on occasion.
Into the Pan

Fitting the dough into the pan
Now that you have your crust rolled out, bring your pie plate near your
work
surface, carefully fold the dough in half, pick it up and lay across the
plate. [If you're using the wax paper method, carefully remove the top
layer
of paper, lie the dough on the pie plate and carefully remove the bottom
layer of paper.--Ed.]
Open the dough up and gently work it into the plate. If it tears or
splits,
just pinch it together again, or use scraps to repair any holes. I
probably
still roll my dough out a little on the thick side because I want to
prevent
too much leakage with the fruit pies (it makes such a mess) and it is
easier
to crimp the edge if I have something to hold onto. Fortunately this crust
is so tasty that even thick edges are delicious. Also, because it really
is
just my husband and I, the pie is apt to be around for a few days and I
don
t want the crust to get too soggy, something a very thin crust would do
pretty quickly.




Crimp the edges either with a fork or by pinching around the edge with
your
fingers; your recipe may tell you to wait until you add the top crust for
this step. If you're making a two-crust pie, roll out the second disk of
dough in the same way and follow the recipe for your particular pie.
If I know I have some special pie baking experience ahead of me, I might
make the dough the day before; then all I have to deal with is rolling out
and filling the pie. This can reduce the panic, but I think I'm past that
phase now. Happy pie baking!

At this point, follow your specific pie recipe for filling and baking
directions. The pie Lynn made for this demonstration was a double-crust
fresh peach pie--and the first pie she's ever made that actually turned
out!
Boy, was it good! Since these photos were taken she's made several using
Jean's instructions and several different recipes from The Joy of Cooking,
and the results have been no less than spectacular every time--it's
literally just a matter of practice, practice, practice.



Linda in Tennessee
http://lindatn37932.tripod.com/


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