Here is my standard pie crust recipe
1 & 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 stick cold butter
full 1/4 teaspoon salt ( I usually make it heaping)
4 Tablespoon Ice Water
Place the flour and salt in a bowl,
I use a grater to grate the butter through the flour but you don't have to do it this way.
I normally dip the stick of butter in the flour and grate.
You can also just chip up the butter with a knife. I do it with the grater because it does not warm the butter by handling it with my hands. Also I use the large hole side of the grater.
Once it is grated then take your fingers and work the butter into the flour. I also rub it through my hands working quickly so I do not warm the butter.
This is what it should look like.
Add the 4 tablespoons ice water or chilled water. How much water to add is part of learning as you go. Climate makes a difference in baking so you may have to adjust this amount. I use 4 tablespoons.
I use a rubber spatula to mix it together after adding the water so my hands do not warm the butter.
You cannot see it but this is wax paper that I have dusted with flour.
Place the crumbly mixture on top of the floured wax paper. The mixture will not be like a dough but a somewhat damp/dry mixture.
Pull the wax paper together and press the pie dough together.
Here it has been pressed together in a ball/wad. Now undo the wax paper.
Many people chill their dough before rolling but I find that it is too hard to roll easily for my wrists. Also, back in the old days when there was no refrigeration people made pies.
Pick up the pie dough and put a little bit of flour on the wax paper and place it back down then roll out the pie crust.
Use your pie pan as a guide to how large. Remember to go out a good bit extra because you have to go up the sides and over the top.
This is the size I did so I had plenty of extra.
Reach under the wax paper and flip it over.
Remove the wax paper....
Press it down into the pie pan...
I use the edge of a fork to cut off the extra dough...
For the pie I am making I use the fork to crimp the edges. If I was making something like an apple pie I would leave a little more of the dough and crimp the edges with my fingers. If it is a double crust remember to leave extra to work the edges with the top crust.
I normally pre-bake my pie crust. I cover the edges because I do not want it to brown when I put it back in the oven to bake the filling. Normally I prick the bottom slightly with a fork and place in a 350 degree oven until it starts to turn golden. If it swells up during cooking you can press it down while it is hot.
For a double or lattice crust just double the pie crust recipe. You can make a thin or thick lattice. A thick lattice such as this one above will make a dumpling effect with the pie. This is a Pear Pie which I have the recipe posted in an older post. It will be three or four pages back. The page numbers are at the bottom of the cooking from scratch main page.
I hope this helps in some way. Grandma Donna
