Pie Dough
Pie Dough
Ahhh pie dough. It used to be my arch nemesis but now I consistently make tender, flaky pies every single time and I am going to dive into all the details so you can be set up for success.
What is Pie Dough?
All pie dough is essentially just a combination of flour, fat, and water. Some recipes use only shortening, some use only butter, and others use a mix of both. The pie dough recipe I’ve come to love and use is from Sally’s Baking Addiction. It uses both butter for flavor and shortening to keep it tender and help maintain its structure.
I incorporated a folding technique I learned from pie-making queens Erin McDowell and Erin Clarkson. This technique not only adds extra flakiness but also makes the dough a dream to work with when rolling it out cue sigh of relief. This recipe and technique result in a dough that rolls out as easily as store-bought but tastes 100 times better!
Tips for Success
Use a Kitchen Scale
- A kitchen scale (linked here) is the only way to make sure you are using the proper ratio of flour:fat.
- When you scoop flour into a measuring cup the amount can vary and that can throw everything off.
- If you don’t have a kitchen scale this is how you want to properly measure flour:
- Fluff the flour that you are going to use.
- Scoop it into your measuring cup making sure you don’t pack it down
- Level it off with the back of a butter knife.
- If you don’t have a kitchen scale this is how you want to properly measure flour:
Keep Everything Cold
I know you have heard it before and I am here to tell you again. Keep everything in the fridge or freezer when you aren’t using it or handling it. If there is ever a point when you are handling the dough and it starts to feel warm, just put it in the refrigerator!
- Different points in the pie dough making process when you want to refrigerate or even freeze the ingredients/dough:
- After you measure and cube the butter and shortening.
- Break up the cubes as you place them in a bowl. Then, place the bowls in the fridge or even freezer while you measure out your flour and prep the ice water.
- After you make your pie dough, wrap it in plastic wrap refrigerate it for at least 30 min before rolling it out and doing a fold.
- This helps the gluten to relax and ensures that everything stays cold.
- After you do your fold you want to refrigerate it again before rolling it out to bake the pie. Refrigerate the dough at least 30 min but preferably overnight.
- Again, this helps the gluten to relax and makes sure everything stays cold!
- After you roll out the bottom crust, place it in the pie dish, cover and refrigerate while you roll out the top dough.
- OPTIONAL: After you crimp let it sit in the fridge for 30 minutes, then you can re-crimp to really secure the design.
- Before you bake the pie, place the whole pie in the freezer, covered, for about 30 min, as you wait for the oven to heat up.
- After you measure and cube the butter and shortening.
Less is More
The less we handle the dough when mixing it the better. We have also all heard this one before, however this caused me to have a fear of mixing the dough in general. I ended up not handling it enough in order for me to thoroughly incorporate the fat and water. Do not be afraid of gluten! Here are some tips for this.
- Toss the flour with butter and shortening so that all of the pieces are coated in flour.
- Begin to squish or flatten some of the pieces of butter between your fingers and throw them back into the flour. Keep tossing and flattening.
- Use your pastry cutter to cut the fat into the flour until there are pea-walnut size pieces.
- Press down with your pastry cutter and turn. Repeat.
- When there is a build up on the pastry cutter, scrape it off and gently toss everything with your hands to redistribute the ingredients in the bowl.
- Continue with the pastry cutter cutting it and scraping it until you see that the flour has mixed with the fat and formed small pea-walnut sized pieces.
- Press down with your pastry cutter and turn. Repeat.
- Toss with the water. Create a well into the center of the bowl and add a 1/2 cup of cold water.
- Using your hands toss with the water.
- Break up the large clumps and redistribute the ingredients in the bowl again.
- Water hangs out in those clumps so it helps to make sure everything is evenly mixed.
- Do not knead it. Dump everything onto your countertop or work surface and bring it together to form a ball.
Fold the Dough
It sounds counterintuitive because I just told you not to handle the dough too much but trust me do a fold! It is a short version of laminated pie dough which is essentially what they do when making puff pastry. Doing a fold creates layers to make it extra flaky and helps to really distribute the fat which makes the dough nice and malleable. It only takes a little more time but is well worth the effort. Here is how you will do it:
- Lightly flour your work surface
- Place the dough down on a lightly floured work surface and lightly dust the top, brushing off any excess flour.
- Roll out the dough
- Starting with the rolling pin in the center roll upwards, re-center and roll downwards. Pick up the dough and do a quarter or half turn. Repeat the process.
- When the dough feels like it is sticking to the work surface add a dusting of flour to that area.
- Fold the dough like a letter, in thirds.
- Starting at a short end fold it 2/3rds of the way across. Dust off any excess flour from the bottom.
- Take the other short end and fold it on top. Again dusting off any excess flour from the bottom.
- Fold that letter in half. You just made 6 layers!
- If you have enough dough, fold it in half and half again, making 9 layers!
- If you have enough time, you can even place it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes and repeat the folding process for even more layers!
Tips for ProperHydration
Hydration is a very important part of affecting the outcome of the pie.
Too much water can cause it to become too crisp and have a tough texture.
Too little water will cause a dry dough, make it difficult to roll out and tougher overall.
When in doubt opt for less water, as it is easier to fix.
- Start with 1/2 cup of cold water (if making a double pie crust and using this recipe)
- Toss with the water. Create a well in the center of the bowl with the flour, butter and shortening. Add a 1/2 cup of cold water.
- Using your fingers, lightly toss everything with the water.
- Toss with the water. Create a well in the center of the bowl with the flour, butter and shortening. Add a 1/2 cup of cold water.
- Break up the large clumps and redistribute the ingredients in the bowl again.
- Water hangs out in those clumps so it helps to make sure everything is evenly hydrated.
- Inspect the dough. Look to see if there are any areas that look dry or like coarse sand.
- Usually you’ll find them at the bottom. Add a tablespoon of water at a time to those areas. I usually end up adding one – two extra tablespoons of water.
- Take some in between your fingers and pinch it together. When it easily comes together it is ready.
- It shouldn’t feel too sticky
- When you touch your palm to it it should not stick to it.
- It shouldn’t be too dry
- If it is too dry, it won’t come together easily. Some pieces might fall off and it will be very cracked on the surface.
How to fix dough that is too wet
So, you made pie dough and now it feels too sticky…
Add a little extra flour to try to soak up some of that extra moisture.
- Dust the surface of the disk of dough with flour.
- As you are rolling out our dough you can dust with more flour as you go.
How to fix dough that is too dry
When you are trying to form the dough into a disk or when you are rolling it out and it keeps cracking…
Don’t worry!
Add a sprinkle of water to add a little extra hydration.
- Flatten the dough disk to about a 1/2 inch.
- Sprinkle the dough with water. Wet your hands in cold water and flick your fingers to disperse a small amount of water onto the surface.
- Fold the dough onto itself a few times to try to work it into the dough.
- Try not to knead the dough to overwork it as it will become tough.
- If it is too dry as you are rolling it out and keeps cracking sprinkle a few drops of cold water onto the dough as you are doing your folds.
Equipment
- Kitchen Scale
- Pastry Cutter
- Large Mixing Bowl
- Measuring Cups
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 Cups All Purpose Flour 315g
- 1 Tsp Salt
- 6 Tbsp Unsalted Butter (85g) Cubed, Cold
- 2/3 Cup Vegetable Shortening (130g) Cubed, Cold
- 1/2 Cup Cold Water 120 ml
Instructions
PIE DOUGH
- Mix the flour and salt in a large mixing bowl.
- Add the cold butter and shortening to the flour, and begin to toss the fat with the flour, making sure each piece is coated in flour. As you're tossing the fat into the flour, begin to flatten some of the piece of butter between your index finger and thumb. Continue until everything is coated in flour and broken up.
- Use a pastry cutter to break up the fat even more. Press the pastry cutter down and turn. Repeat. When there is a build up, clean it off and toss the ingredients together to redistribute everything in the bowl. Continue until you start to see small pea - walnut sized pieces forming.
- Create a well in the center of the bowl and add in 1/2 cup of cold water. Using your fingers toss the flour and fat mixture with the water. As you notice some larger clumps forming, break them up and keep tossing until it seems like everything is evenly hydrated.
- Inspect the dough, if you notice some areas that look dry or like coarse sand add 1 tablespoon of cold water at a time.
- Once the dough will easily come together by pinching it between your fingers, dump it out on a clean work surface. Do not knead. Using both hand bring it together to form it into a ball.
- Cut it in half then form each half into a disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
FOLD THE DOUGH - FOR EXTRA FLAKY PIE DOUGH
- Prepare your work surface: Place a dough disk on a lightly floured work surface and dust the top with flour.
- Roll out the dough: Starting with the rolling pin in the center of the dough, roll up. Re-center and then roll down. Pick up the dough and do a quarter turn. If the dough sticks at all, dust lightly with flour. Continue until it forms a long oval/rectangle with two short sides and two longer sides.
- Fold the dough: Starting at a short end fold it 2/3rds of the way across. Dust off any excess flour. Take the other short end and fold it on top. Again, dust off any excess. Fold that letter in half. You just made 6 layers!
- Re-wrap in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 30 minutes or preferable over night. If you are making a pie, tuck the edges under themselves to form a disk. This will help it to roll into a circle.
- Repeat with the other dough disk.
MAKE THE PIE
- Prepare your work surface to roll out the dough. Place the dough disk on a lightly floured work surface and dust the top with flour.
- Roll out the dough until it is 1/4 inch thick using the instructions listed above. Transfer it to a pie dish and coax it into the pan. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate while you roll out the top crust.
- Roll out the top crust and repeat the instructions above.
- Put the room temperature filling into the pie dish and place the top crust over it. Crimp the edges, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Optional: Re-crimp the crust to secure the design.
BAKE THE PIE
- Pre-Heat the oven to 425°
- Freeze the whole pie for 30 minutes while you wait for the oven to heat up.
- Bake for 30 min at 425°, lower the temperature to 375° and bake for an additional 30 min. If the crust is begins to brown too much during the baking process cover the crust loosely with tin foil.