There isn't anything pagan about the pie crust but after that Pagan Baby rant, I thought I would continue the theme. Onto the pie crust..... first, I don't like making pie dough in a Cuisinart for two reasons. First, you have to clean it and since it has been more than 25 years that I have had a dishwasher, washing all those parts is annoying. Second, once you get the dough the right consistency (small pea-size pebbles) you are then supposed to add the ice water and pulse it a few more times, which I think makes those pea-size pebbles too small and the dough becomes too tough. And honestly, kids, if you are going to the trouble of making a pie crust, making it in a bowl with a pastry blender takes less time than hauling the food processor off the shelf, assembling it, doing the dough, breaking it down, washing it, drying it and putting it away. Too much work. You should be able to get the dough in the fridge in under five minutes once all the ingredients are in the bowl. Five minutes! It's that easy.
One very important factor is that the butter must be very cold. If it's too warm, it melts or squishes into the flour. No bueno. That just makes oily dough, something that only a grease monkey would like. (Not to disparage grease monkeys, they are very cute and fluffy, just a bit oily.) If your kitchen is hot, don't make pie crust. Or you can do it if you put the flour in the bowl and stick that in the fridge for a few minutes and if you put the butter back in the fridge after you cut it up and if you work really, really fast.
So, here it is. For a single 9 inch pie crust you will need 1 1/3 cups flour, 1 stick of butter cut into small (1/2 inch) dice, a half teaspoon salt and a teaspoon of sugar if you like. Put a couple of ice cubes into a mug of water of which you will use four or five tablespoons or a little more. But it needs to be ice water, thus the ice cubes.
Use a decent size bowl, nothing too small because you might have to get your hands in the bowl. Into the flour, add the salt and sugar and stir, then scatter the butter cubes over and use your pastry blender to work the butter into the flour until the butter is the size of small peas. It won't be uniform looking, don't worry. Then drizzle two or three tablespoons of ice water over the dough and mix it into the flour mixture with a spatula or a fork. Do this a couple of times, but just a bit at a time so it doesn't get too wet. You will probably use less than a third cup water. It should come together with large clumps. Grab a handful and squeeze gently. It should feel like it's sticking together, sort of. Add a little more water if you need to, but once it has pretty clumps, gather it together with your hands and make it into a cohesive ball, kneading it a little so it sticks together. If you have used enough water, you should be able to squish it together easily without it all falling apart. Be gentle, yet firm. Once it is in a ball shape, put it onto a large sheet of plastic wrap, smash it down (gently) into a disc and wrap it up. Put in the fridge for at least an hour.
That's it. You should be able to see pieces of butter in it, which is going to make it nice and crispy. And you can go here (http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2008/11/pie-crust-102-all-butter-really-flaky-pie-dough) to see how Deb does it and see photos and the like. She advises a little more water than I like, but follow her instructions, it will be beautiful.
The rolling and putting into the pie pan is easy. See this for that. http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2008/11/pie-crust-103-rolling-and-crimping/ I think she gets too involved in the rolling part. This dough will be thin in the pie pan but it's pretty sturdy. As you are rolling it, if it isn't the right shape (circular!) it's OK to cut off a piece here and there and pat it firmly into place on top of the rest of the dough to make a circle. I never get the crimping to look really good but this dough didn't shrink in the pan, and it was deliciously golden brown and crisp after the final baking.
When you pre-bake it, it won't be golden. It will be golden after you put the filling in, whatever it is, and bake it. And I really recommend spraying the tin foil with non-stick spray before you pat it over the dough. I didn't use beans or rice, just the tin foil, and it worked fine, but if you are a novice, use beans or rice (and save them to use again for the same purpose) because it will make the dough lay down nicely.
OK, now you know that this entire thing wasn't really my idea, I stole it from smitten kitchen. I admit that. I admit that I don't have a creative idea in my head most of the time but I also will sing the praises of this pie crust any day of the week. Try it. Be brave.
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