Flaky pie crust needs a proper
balance of flour, shortening and liquid so the first important
step is to measure your ingredients accurately. When you're
ready to begin, follow these steps to make a perfect pastry.
1. Mixing: Combine
the flour and salt in a mixing bowl. Then cut the shortening
with a pastry pro blender until the moisture forms coarse crumbs.
Be sure that the shortening is
distributed evenly throughout the flour--this is what produces a
flaky crust. Do not over handle the dough at this stage, because
the particles of shortening may melt and blend with the flour
into a solid mass, making the baked crust hard and tough.
2. Adding Water: Always use iced water because it helps to keep the
shortening cold. Sprinkle the water over the crumb mixture a
tablespoon at a time, tossing quickly with a fork. Mix lightly;
a strong stirring or mixing motion will blend the shortening and
the flour into a solid mass.
For a softer pie crust, add sour cream to your pie crust dough. The acid in
the sour cream inhibits the formation of gluten which toughens
the dough. Use approximately 6 tablespoons of sour cream to 2 1/2
cups flour and 1 cup of butter/shortening blend.
Push the moistened portion to one
side of the bowl before adding more water. You'll need to add a
little more or a little less water to the flour mixture,
depending upon the humidity; on a humid day, the flour will
absorb moisture from the air as it's mixed, so you'll need to
add less water than usual. Too much water will make the baked
crust brittle; if you add too little water, the dough will crack
at the edges as you roll it out.
When the mixture still looks
crumbly, but is moist enough to hold together under slight
pressure, stop tossing. Too much handling of the dough after the
water has been added will produce a tough crust with a very
pale, smooth surface. Gently gather the dough together with your
hands and shape it into a ball.
If you feel that you've added too
much or too little water at this stage, it's too late to remedy
the mistake. Just throw away the dough and start over.
3. Rolling:
To prevent sticking, place the ball of dough on a lightly
floured surface; a pastry cloth
rubbed with flour. Try to use as little flour as possible since
the less flour on the surface, the flakier the pastry will be.
Flatten the ball of dough with
your hands. roll out the dough from center to edge, using light,
even strokes with a stockinet-covered rolling pin.
As the rolling pin approaches the edge of the dough on each stroke,
lift up instead of rolling over the edge to keep the edge from
becoming too thin. Try to keep the dough in the shape of a
circle as you roll it out.
If the dough sticks to the pastry
cloth, lift up the dough with a metal spatula and sprinkle a
little flour on the spot. The dough should be lifted frequently
during rolling, but it should never be turned over. If bits of
dough gather on the rolling pin, remove them immediately so they
won't tear holes in the dough. roll out the dough to the size
specified in your recipe.
4. Fitting: Run a
metal spatula carefully under the circle of dough to loosen it.
Be very gentle so as not to tear the dough.
To transfer the circle of dough
to the pie pan, fold it in half and lift it carefully into the
pie pan, placing the fold in the center; unfold it and fit loosely into
the pan. Or, wrap the dough loosely around the rolling pin and
then unroll it over the pie pan. Don't stretch or pull the dough
because it will shrink as it bakes.
To repair tears, moisten the edges with water and press together.
Pat the dough over its entire surface to ease out air pockets
underneath, using your fingers.
