One particular ingredient makes this the most effective flaky pie crust recipe for candy and savory pies, tarts and quiches.
By Christie Vanover | Revealed November 13, 2022 | Final Up to date November 13, 2022
One of the best pies are these the place the pie crust is simply nearly as good because the filling. This flaky selfmade pie crust recipe is the proper pie crust for fruit pies, custard pies, hen pot pies and quiches.
What’s the key to flaky pie crust
There’s a lot science behind pastry making. Some cooks swear through the use of all butter. Others favor vegetable shortening. My sister-in-law even provides a tablespoon of vodka to her pie crust recipe.
However my secret to creating an extremely flaky pie crust is to make use of beef tallow.
For hundreds of years, folks have used animal fats for baking to create amazingly scrumptious recipes.
PRO TIP: Rendered beef fats known as tallow, rendered pork fats known as lard and rendered hen fats known as schmaltz.
Beef tallow has the same consistency to Crisco. And don’t fear, it gained’t make your pie style like a hamburger. As a substitute, it provides a richness which you could’t get from butter or shortening alone.
Along with selecting the best fats, it actually helps in case you maintain the pie crust chilly earlier than baking it. If it’s heat, the fats melts too quickly. As a substitute, you need it to soften and evaporate because it cooks to create crispy, flaky layers.
As a result of tallow and shortening are simpler to work with once they’re at room temperature, I chill the crust after it’s made earlier than baking the pie.
What I realized at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris
Once I lived in Belgium, I had the chance to take a few programs in Paris at Le Cordon Bleu. Primarily, I realized to make genuine French baguettes and croissants.
One of many main issues that I got here away with is that you need to use the most effective components you possibly can afford, and you need to weigh your measurements.
For those who measure a cup of flour time and again, it can weigh completely different nearly each time. As an illustration, in case you place your measuring cup straight within the flour and scoop it out, it can weigh extra. For those who use a scoop to fill your measuring cup, it can weigh much less.
That’s why skilled bakers at all times weigh their dry components. That approach, they know that they’re getting constant measurements each time.
Elements
Substitutions: For those who can’t discover beef tallow, you too can use lard.
The right way to make flaky pie crust
- STEP ONE: In a big bowl, mix the shortening, tallow, flour, sugar and salt with a pastry cutter or two forks. A pastry cutter is sort of a whisk with a deal with that lets you break down the fats and mix it with the flour.
- STEP TWO: Add chilly water one tablespoon at a time, till the dough is clean and doesn’t crack whenever you press it.
- STEP THREE: Form the dough right into a disc. Wrap it in plastic wrap and chill it for at the least an hour.
PRO TIP: It’s essential to sit back the dough after working it, in order that the fats hardens. For the flakiest crust, you need it to soften because it’s baking.
The right way to use the pie crust
Take away the pie crust from the fridge. It will likely be barely sticky and that’s okay.
Use a rolling pin to roll it between two sheets of parchment paper or waxed paper to the scale that it’s worthwhile to suit your pie pan.
Utilizing the parchment paper is essential. For those who roll it on the counter, it can stick, and you don’t want so as to add extra flour; in any other case your crust will change into too dense.
This recipe yields sufficient pie crust for 9-inch double crust pie or one deep dish single crust pie.
Observe the recipe in your candy or savory pie and bake accordingly.
Storage
You possibly can maintain your pie crust disc saved within the fridge for as much as every week. You may also freeze the unbaked pie crust. For those who freeze it within the form of a disc, you possibly can maintain it for about 6 months. Earlier than utilizing it, let it thaw within the fridge.
For those who form the pie crust right into a pie tin after which freeze it, use it inside one month or it can begin to type ice crystals, which is able to create an excessive amount of moisture and make your pie much less flaky.
GCG Professional Pitmaster Ideas
Often Requested Questions
Like biscuits and puff pastry, pie crust finally ends up with flaky layers when you’ve got a correct fats to flour ratio and when the fats has hardened earlier than going into the oven. This provides the fats the chance to soften because it bakes, creating puffs of steam that type pockets throughout the dough.
Pies don’t simply need to be candy. You should use this pie crust to make quiches, hen pot pie, hand pies, tarts and a lot extra. 
Just a little. Shortening and tallow are just a little softer than butter, so they are going to soften extra rapidly, inflicting your dough to really feel sticky. That’s why it’s essential so as to add the chilly water one tablespoon at a time. You solely wish to add sufficient water for the dough to come back collectively. For those who add an excessive amount of, it can really feel sticky.
No. Including an excessive amount of flour will make your pie crust extra dense. As a substitute, place the dough on a sheet of parchment paper or wax paper. Then, add one other sheet on high and roll the dough between the 2 sheets. It ought to launch simply.
For those who roll the pie crust between two sheets of paper, you possibly can take away the highest sheet. Then, flip the pie crust over proper on high of the pie dish and peel off the paper. Lastly, simply press dough inside to the form of the pan, use a pointy knife to trim off the surplus dough and type the ornamental edge.
Recipes Made with Flaky Pie Crust
The Finest Flaky Pie Crust for Candy and Savory Pies
One particular ingredient makes this the most effective flaky pie crust recipe for candy and savory pies, tarts and quiches.
Elements
- 3/4 cup Crisco shortening
- 1/4 cup beef tallow
- 2 1/3 cup all objective flour (300 grams)
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp desk salt
- 5-7 tbsp chilly water
Directions
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Combine: In a big bowl use a pastry cutter to mix the shortening, tallow, flour, sugar and salt. Add water one tablespoon at a time, till the dough is clean and would not crack when pressed.
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Chill: Form the dough right into a disc. Wrap in plastic wrap. Chill till prepared to make use of.
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Type: When it is time to make a pie, roll the pie crust out between two sheets of parchment paper and place it within the pie tin. Bake in keeping with the pie recipe directions.
Notes
For those who use kosher salt, as an alternative of desk salt, enhance the quantity to at least one teaspoon.
This recipe yields sufficient dough to make a high crust and backside crust for a 9-inch pie plate or one deep dish single crust pie.
The vitamin values are only for the pie crust. They don’t embody the pie filling.
Diet
Energy: 362kcalCarbohydrates: 28gProtein: 4gFats: 26gSaturated Fats: 8gPolyunsaturated Fats: 6gMonounsaturated Fats: 8gTrans Fats: 3gLdl cholesterol: 7mgSodium: 147mgPotassium: 39mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gCalcium: 6mgIron: 2mg
