FAQs
How To: Roll Out Pie Dough
- Lightly dust flour on large, flat surface. ...
- Loosely roll dough back around rolling pin and lift rolling pin into pie plate, before gently unrolling into place.
- Press dough firmly into corners and up the sides of pan.
Is pie crust better with butter or crisco? ›
Butter pie crust has the most flavor out of the three fats. This pie crust bakes up nice and golden brown, with plenty of flaky layers. Butter pie crust is the most sturdy and will support the weight of your favorite pie fillings.
What is the most important rule when making pie crust? ›
The most important rule when making pie crust is to keep your ingredients as cold as possible. This includes using cold butter, shortening, and ice-cold water. This ensures a perfectly flaky crust because the butter remains in solid form in the dough and then evaporates into the layers of dough while baking.
How do you get a crispy crust on the bottom of a pie? ›
Choose the Right Rack in the Oven
Which rack you use in the oven can help ensure a crisp crust. Baking the pie on a lower rack will concentrate heat on the bottom of the pie and help the crust crisp.
What not to do when making pie crust? ›
Whether you use a food processor, a stand mixer, or your hands to incorporate the ingredients together, overmixing is a common mistake that leads to a chewy crust. It's tempting when baking to combine the ingredients completely, but the texture should resemble a coarse meal before adding your liquid.
What are the 5 tips for pie perfection? ›
My 5 Best Pie-Making Tips
- 1 - Cold dough equals flaky crust. I could have started with “Make Your Own Pie Crust” and I do feel that's important. ...
- 2 - Overfill your pies on purpose ... most of the time. ...
- 3 - Bake on the low rack. ...
- 4 - Hold down your pre-baked crusts. ...
- 5 - Hold off on slicing your pie.
What are 2 pointers for successful rolling of pie dough? ›
You can roll pie dough on any surface when your dough is extremely cold, because the cold dough is what really helps to keep it from sticking. Just a light dusting of flour applied many times is better than one big thick coating of flour. Just add flour as needed as too much flour can toughen the dough.
Should you refrigerate pie dough before rolling out? ›
Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes, or up to overnight. Tip: Chilling hardens the fat in the dough, which will help the crust maintain its structure as it bakes. And the short rest before rolling relaxes the dough's gluten, helping prevent a tough crust.
Why do you put vinegar in a pie crust? ›
Others swear that vinegar is doing double duty and also helping pie dough get golden brown. The theory there is that the acidity keeps the dough from oxidizing, which helps it get nicely bronzed in the oven.
Why do people put vodka in pie crust? ›
Unlike water, alcohol does not contribute to the formation of gluten, the network of proteins that can cause a crust to turn leathery. Because the alcohol burns off quickly in the oven, drying out the crust, we could add enough vodka to keep the dough wet and extremely supple.
Butter “gives you the flakiness that no other fat can give you,” De Sa Martins said. That's because “during the baking process, the water found in butter releases steam and separates the layers within the crust,” she explained.
What is the secret to a good pie crust? ›
For Flaky Pie Crust, Keep Everything COLD, Especially Your Butter. If your kitchen is above 73°F, you can refrigerate all of your ingredients and equipment including your bowl, rolling pin, and pie plate until it's between 65-70°F (dip an instant-read thermometer into your flour to gauge the temperature).
What is the best flour for pie crust? ›
What kind of flour makes the best pie crust? Well, not high-protein bread flour! Use that for your chewy bagels. What you want for pie is flour that yields a tender, flaky crust, which means medium-protein all-purpose flour or low-protein pastry flour.
What does vinegar in pie crust do? ›
Others swear that vinegar is doing double duty and also helping pie dough get golden brown. The theory there is that the acidity keeps the dough from oxidizing, which helps it get nicely bronzed in the oven.
What does egg yolk do to pastry dough? ›
Egg yolks added to shortcrust pastry make it richer and slows down the development of the gluten in the flour, which is exactly what you want. Gluten has an elastic quality which can make pastry rubbery if overdeveloped. But the resulting crumbly dough can be difficult to work with.
How do you make crust taste better? ›
A brush of butter (and maybe a sprinkle of cookie crumbs) adds moisture and texture. Since store-bought pie crusts have a tendency to dry out, our experts suggest using a moistening agent to imbue the crust with texture and flavor.
What does an egg do for pie crust? ›
Egg: This makes the dough more pliable and easy to roll out. Eggs also make the crust more compact. Acid and Alcohol: Both acid and alcohol tenderize pie dough, make it easier to roll out, and prevent it from shrinking in your pan.