Perfectly Flaky Pie Crust
I’m a lover of pies.. but mainly just because I love pie crust. And there seems to be a stigma that making a homemade pie and/or crust is difficult or daunting and lemme tell you, that just ain’t true. Below is my absolute go-to pie crust recipe that I use for things like pecan pie or even the cutest apple rose tartlets.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 sticks cold butter
1/3 cup plus 1 tbsp ice water
2 cups flour, plus more for rolling
2 tsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
Things you’ll need:
Food processor or blender
(2) 12” pie crusts | 1.25 hours
Directions:
Prepare the butter and ice water. Cut 1 1/2 sticks cold unsalted butter into 1/2-inch cubes and refrigerate. Place a few ice cubes in a liquid measuring cup and fill with cold water.
Pulse the dry ingredients with half the butter in the food processor. Place 2 cups flour, 2 tsp sugar and 1 1/2 tsp salt in a food processor fitted with the blade attachment. Pulse a few times to combine. Scatter half of the butter cubes over the flour. Pulse until the butter is cut into pieces no larger than a pea, about 7 (1-second) pulses.
Pulse in ice water and the remaining butter. Drizzle 1/3 cup + 1 tbsp of ice cold water over the butter-flour mixture. Scatter the remaining butter cubes over the water-flour mixture. Pulse until the dough forms very small lumps about the size of a peppercorn, 7 to 10 (1-second) pulses. At this point, the dough should hold together and feel tacky when squeezed.
Form the dough into disks and chill. Turn the dough out onto a clean work surface, no flour needed. Divide the dough into two piles. Use the palm of your hand to quickly gather and press each mound into a thick disk about 3 inches wide. Try not to overwork the dough. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 4 days (or freeze for up to 3 months; thaw in the refrigerator overnight before using).
Roll out the dough. Let the dough sit at room temperature for 10 minutes before rolling out. Unwrap 1 of the disks and place on a work surface dusted lightly with flour. Sprinkle a rolling pin with flour. Working from the middle of the dough outwards, roll the dough into a 12-inch round about 1/8-inch thick. If the dough cracks when you first start rolling, let it stand for one minute to warm slightly before rolling again. Use more flour if the dough starts to stick. Use a bench scraper to lift the pastry from the work surface occasionally and make sure it's not sticking.
Use dough as needed. Proceed to follow any other recipe instructions whether it’s to transfer to a pie pan or cut out shapes.
Recipe adapted from Kitchn
