Hey Everyone,

Anyone have a recipe that they want to share for amazing thick flaky pie crust É

Also, any pie crust making tips would be really appreciated. I haven``t really done it successfully before.

Thanks

Oh how I wish I could help you. I had one but it - and all my recipes - was lost when I moved recently
It was easy, flakey and oh so good.
What little I can remember called for 1 cup flour, Crisco, and COLD water. The water is added in 2 parts - some in the beginning then the rest is mixed w/a bit more flour and added to the somewhat dry flour/Crisco mixture.
Maybe someone will read this and reconsize(sp?) it.

Was it the recipe on the Crisco box?
(I heard good things about that one)

This is the only recipe I have ever used - - probably since before you were born.
For a shell:
3/4 c flour
1/4 c shortening
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
Mix everything until it resembles coarse crumbs. Add in just enough WARM water to moisten everything and stir into a ball. Bake the shell at 450 degrees for 12-15 minutes. For a double-crust pie, just double the recipe.

A few years ago, I found a tip for mixing pie crust: put all ingredients (except the water) into a bowl with a tight lid. Shake it until everything is mixed. It's a lot easier than mixing with a fork or a pastry blender.

1# water
2# butter
3# all purpose flour.

If you are making it for a pie, throw in a handful of sugar. If you are using unsalted butter, throw in some salt.

Flour (and any drys from above) in a big bowl. Using your hands work the butter (in the flour) into smaller and smaller chunks and leaves (made by squishing it between your thumbs and other 4 fingers). The smaller you make the butter bits, the less flaky your dough will be. You want most of them a little larger than peas probably. Make a well in the center and add your water all at once (may need more or less depending on the environment) and work it in with your hands. When you are done, there should still be visible butter bits and the dough should NOT look homogeneous or stick together particularly well. Portion off balls of dough (I start with 12oz for each crust for a 9" disposable dish), wrap in saran wrap, and let rest in the fridge for at least an hour, preferably overnight. This dough is AMAZING tasting and will puff up nearly like actual puff dough in flakiness.

Single Crust
1 1/3 c flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c crisco
3 Tlb ice water

Combine flour and salt in mixing bowl, cut in crisco until mixture is uniform. Sprinkle with water, one tablespoon at a time and toss lightly with a fork, dough will start to combine, work it into a firm ball.

Double Crust
2 c. flour
1 tsp salt
3/4 c crisco
1/4 c ice water
Same instructions as single crust, just divide in half after you mix it all together.

I have used this recipe for years and it works great. Its from an ancient Crisco cookbook my mom has had since college, lol. The trick is not to overwork it, stop mixing once it is in a firm ball and don't roll it and re roll it if its not perfect a million times. If it is a little sticky after you mix it all up thats ok, cause you'll sprinkle flour to roll it out and that will work into the dough. Hope this helps!

I use butter and lard... nothing compares. You can sub out the shortening for butter and lard in any recipe. The main thing to remember is that you need your ingredients COLD. I freeze my butter and use ice water. I keep the lard on the cool side of room temp though or it won't break up well enough.

I use my food processor... dry ingredients get pulsed... add the fats and pulse until chunks the size of big peas remain... add liquid and pulse until it is combined. Should look like coarse sand and not be kneadable. Too much water is the death of a pie crust. You want to still see small chunks of butter too...

Great recipe, with reviews.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/perfect-pie-crust-recipe/index.html

Ina's recipe is one of my favorites. But the secret with piecrust is to know when it looks and feels right. No two times are exact;y the same.

Trial and error is the only way to learn.

Tips:

ALL ingredients and utensils in the freezer.

Use the food processor.

Refrigerate in a ball for 1/2 hour.

When you are rolling it out, work as quickly as possible for two reasons... keeping it cold and not over-kneading. You should be less than 1 minute rolling.

Rest the flat piecrust in the refrigerator 15 minutes.

Put in pan and rest again in refrigerator for 15 minutes.

The people at Cook's Illustrated developed a neat technique where they replace half of the water with ice cold vodka.

Since the alcohol never interacts with the gluten in the flour, it gives the dough a wet workability (like playdough) but bakes up very light and flaky. This works with any other recipe.

Google it to get tips, because it is not a dry crumbly dough, quite the opposite.