Easy Pie Crust Recipe

This Easy Pie Crust Recipe is very good with sweet or savory fillings. It is "short" but easy to handle.

The Easy Pie Crust Recipe is easily made if you have a food processor. Just be aware that you shouldn't over-process the pastry otherwise it will become heavy. However, it is also very easily made by hand.

It is important that the butter is cold, but not brick hard. With regards to the water, I usually just plunk a couple of ice cubes in a cup of water, and then use what I need. Try to keep your work space as cool as possible, making pastry before the heat of the day. Even your hands should be cold, although this is a tall order! For years I didn't understand the mystery around keeping everything so cold - but it is really quite logical. You don't want the butter to melt and become difficult to handle. One of the tricks is to work very fast - this also prevents one over-working the pastry.

A note on "resting" the pastry: wheat flour contains a protein called gluten. Interestingly, this word is derived from the Latin "gluten" meaning "glue." As you roll the pastry, the gluten strands stretch. If you cook your pastry straight away, the strands contract or shrink and you land up with hard pastry - like tough glue! To counteract this, you need to "rest" the pastry. This means that the strands relax and there is less chance of the pastry shrinking when it is cooked. You will also end up with a lighter, crisper pastry.

I tend to roll my pastry very thin. If you want a thicker pastry, roll it to the desired thickness and adjust the cooking time slightly.

Ingredients:

Method:

1. Rub the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
2. Add the salt and then gradually add the iced water. Mix until the dough just comes together. Don't over-handle it. Wrap the dough in grease-proof paper and refrigerate for at least half an hour, and longer if possible.
3. If the pastry is brick hard when you are ready to roll it, allow it to soften slightly at room temperature. But, avoid it becoming warm.
4. Using a floured board, roll the pastry into a circle (or other desired shape). Roll in the same direction. I flip my pastry over a couple of times so that it doesn't stick to the board.
5. When the pastry is about an eighth inch / ¼ cm thick, roll the pastry onto the rolling pin and place in the pie tin.
6. Rest the uncooked pastry shell in the refrigerator for at least half an hour before cooking.

For a richer, sweeter Easy Pie Crust Recipe:

For a sweet pastry you can add 2oz / 60 g sugar to the flour. You may omit the water and add 2 whole eggs to the dough. This dough is very short, but it is more difficult to handle and beaks easily.

Baking Easy Pie Crust Recipe Blind:

This term refers to baking the pie shell before adding the filling. This is a method that I favor even if I am adding a filling which still has to be cooked. You get a really crisp pastry - not a soggy, half-cooked apology under the filling.

1. Pre-heat oven to 400° F / 200° C.
2. Line the pastry case with tin foil and fill it with beans or pastry weights. This will help to stop the sides of the pie shrinking during the cooking process.
3. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove foil and the beans (the beans can be stored for later use). Bake uncovered for a further 10 minutes, until the pastry is golden and slightly crisp.
4. Brush the pastry shell with the egg wash. Place back in the oven for a further 2 minutes until the egg sets. This acts as a kind of barrier and prevents the pastry becoming soggy when the filling is added.
5. Remove from the oven and cool in the pan on a wire rack. The pastry will crisp as it cools.






If the filling still has to be cooked:

6. If the filling is still to be cooked, for example, a pumpkin pie filling, I cover the edges of the pastry with silver foil when I add the filling. This seems arduous, but in fact, takes no time and is worth the effort. The method is unorthodox but it works - tried and tested over the years! Once the filling has been put into the pie crust, cut the foil into strips and place loosely on the edges of the pastry in order to stop them burning during the cooking process.