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Perfect Pie Crust

This all butter pastry is simple to make with 4 main ingredients you’ve got yourself a homemade flaky pie crust that can be used in many recipes.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Course Appetizer, Breakfast, Dessert, High Tea, Pie, Sweet tooth
Cuisine French

Equipment

  • Large mixing bowl
  • Rolling Pin
  • Bench scraper
  • Baking dish
  • Fork
  • scissors

Ingredients
  

  • 330 gm Flour
  • 3/4 tsp Salt
  • 230 gm Butter cold and cut into cubes
  • 110 gm Ice water literally ice in water, might need some more or less
  • 15 ml Vodka/Vinegar

Instructions
 

  • In a large mixing bowl, add the flour and salt and briefly mix until mixed through.
  • Add the cubed butter into the flour and toss around to coat well.
  • Smash and flatten each piece of butter between your index finger and thumb. Toss the flattened pieces in the flour to coat again.
  • Break the pieces of butter apart with the tips of your fingers again to create walnut/pecan sized pieces of the butter. Keep tossing in the flour to coat evenly.
  • Add 3/4 amount of the water into the flour and butter mixture, create a claw like shape with your hand and stir in a circular motion to bring it together.
  • Add tablespoons of water as required to bring together. Once it comes together, where the dough is not sticky or has any dry flour pockets, turn out onto a surface and briefly knead, bringing it together.
  • Divide into two discs and wrap in cling film. Leave to chill for a minimum of 1 hour to firm up.
  • Roll one disc of the dough out between two pieces of cling film until larger than the pie dish.
  • Line the pie dish with the dough and using your fingers tuck the dough into the corners of the baking dish.
  • Dock with a fork all over the pastry and trim the excess dough using a pair of scissors and leaving a good 2 inches of the dough to over hang.
  • Take the dough that is over hanging over the pie dish and tuck it under itself to create a thicker crust rim/edge. Crimp/decorate as you like.
  • Place a large piece of baking parchment over the top. Add dried legumes/grains and bake in a preheated oven at 180˚C for 15 or so until lightly golden on the sides and dry to the touch.
  • Remove the baking parchment and dried legumes, at this stage you can brush the pie crust with a beaten egg and bake for a couple of minutes just to make a crispier base however it is optional and I won’t be doing it for this recipe. This crust is only partially baked hence it still needs to bake further which we will do in the assembly section.

Notes

  • Food Processor option: In a food processor pulse the flour and cold butter until fine breadcrumbs. Add the water tablespoon at a time and keep pulsing until a dough forms. Divide the dough into two halves. Wrap in cling file and leave to chill for 1 hour in the fridge. Follow the rest of the recipe from point number 8.
  • Do not over work the butter and flour mixture.
  • Ensure everything is COLD COLD COLD for the flakiest crust.
  • You can always work a wet dough better than a dry dough. So if there are dry pockets of dough in your bowl sprinkle water into those areas and bring together.
  • If you dough is too sticky then you have added too much water however, worry not, instead of rolling between cling film, knead with a generous amount of flour on the work surface until you can handle it. Chill it and and roll out with lots more flour.
  • Dock the sides of the pastry to ensure even baking and no puffing.
  • Leave at least 2 inches worth of dough while trimming as it does shrink when baked. We will tuck the dough under itself and let it sit on the pie baking dish to create support while baking.
  • If you need to chill the dough along the way, keep putting it into the fridge once too cool down before baking.