Pie Pastry

Pie crust recipes to go along with the Pumpkin Pie.

The first recipe is the pastry from Better Homes and Gardens which is the one my mom raised me on. It's still my go-to recipe.

Pastry for Single-Crust Pie from BHG

1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup shortening
3-4 tablespoons cold water

In a large bowl, combine flour and salt. Cut in shortening until pieces are the size of small peas. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon water over the mixture and toss with a fork. Repeat until all is moistened. Form dough into a ball.

On a lightly floured surface, flatten dough into a disk. Turn over so that the top is now lightly floured as well. Roll dough from center to edges into a 12 inch circle. Gently fold into quarters and transfer to pie plate. Trim edges 1/2 inch beyond edge of plate, fold under and flute edges.

To Bake:

Line the unpricked crust with a double thickness of foil. Fill with pie weights or if you don't have, use dried beans or rice. Bake at 450° for 8 minutes. Remove foil and weights and bake 5-7 minutes longer or until golden brown.

Tips:

When beginning to prepare the pastry, fill a glass with ice and add water, use this water for the pastry. It takes cold water to make a flaky crust.

When rolling pastry, from the point you've flattened the dough into a disk through continuation of rolling, give the dough a quarter turn occasionally to ensure that it's not sticking to the surface.

A bench scraper is a great tool to assist in folding the pastry into quarters and is a kitchen essential. If you don't have one, you'll find lots of uses for it once you do have one. They're also great for cutting bar style cookies.

Treat pastry tenderly and do not over work to achieve a tender crust.

For a little flair, add 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon and nutmeg to the flour and salt mixture.

Pastry for Double-Crust Pie from Land O' Lakes

The below recipe is also one of my favorites. The addition of butter adds richness but also makes it a little bit fussier to work with. But the results are worth it! If only baking 1 single-crust pie, tightly wrap the remaining half and freeze until another day. Then thaw in the refrigerator for a day before using and let stand at room temperature for about 30 minutes before rolling out.

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup cold butter, cubed

1/3 cup shortening

4 to 5 tablespoons cold water

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar and salt; cut in butter and shortening with pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in enough water just until flour is moistened.

Divide dough in half; shape each half into ball. Flatten slightly. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. Roll out one portion on a lightly floured surface into a 12-inch circle. Fold into quarters. Transfer to a 9-inch pie plate; unfold dough, pressing firmly against bottom and sides of plate. Proceed as above.