perfection is not intimidating ::::
Pie crust does not have to be intimidating. Here is the perfect whole-wheat pie crust I promised for my single-crust cherry pie recipe. It’s the quintessential baking recipe: you use butter, you work with your hands, and learn to be patient. It’s easily doubled for double-crust pies.
If you want a little visual instruction and encouragement on forming rolled-out pie crust dough, check out Melissa Clark’s video on perfect pie crust. The recipe below is also easily used for savory recipes such as quiche.
Hope you all had a Happy Fourth of July!
perfect whole-wheat pie crust
Author: story of a kitchen (adapted from aida mollenkamp's white flour crust recipe)
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 8
This makes one single pie crust. If you want a top and bottom crust to your pie, double the recipe.
Ingredients
- 1 cup white flour
- ¾ cup whole-wheat flour
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, in a small dice
- ¼ cup shortening
- 5 to 7 tablespoons ice water
Instructions
- Mix flours, sugar, and salt together.
- Add butter and toss until just coated with flour mixture.
- Rub butter between thumb and forefingers to incorporate into flour mixture, so that the butter-flour mix looks crumbly and is about the size of chickpeas. It will clump when squeezed in your palm.
- Add shortening, toss to coat, then rub it into the flour mixture until the mixture forms pea-sized pieces. It will also come together in fist-sized clumps when squeezed in your palm.
- Slowly drizzle in about 2 tablespoons of ice water and mix into butter-shortening-flour mixture to moisten. Add a little more water, gently mixing to moisten so dough is moist but not wet. Do not overwork the dough in this step, or your dough will be tough!
- Gather into ball, flatten into disk, and wrap with plastic wrap. Place in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before rolling out and using.
- IF YOU NEED TO PRE-BAKE: Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Roll dough out to about 11-inch diameter circle to fit a 9-inch pie plate. You know who makes awesome pies? Melissa Clark (see my link above).
- Place gently into pie plate and bake with pie weights (such as dried beans, rice, pennies), foil overhanging the edges to prevent crust burn, for 35 minutes. Remove weights and foil then bake for 5 more minutes, watching carefully to prevent burn.
- Fill with cherry filling -- see my last post!
Notes
I normally hate watching videos on kitchen instruction, because many of them are product oriented and marketing strategy, but Melissa Clark's link isn't. It's actually helpful. And you will make wonderful pie crust.
