I love pies. I firmly believe that there is no situation that can't be improved by pie. Because of this I've always been particular about pie crust. A good pie crust can make a can of pre-made pie filling taste like you slaved for hours and can make homemade filling culinary perfection. I hate to break it to you, but those store bought pie crusts just don't measure up.
Homemade Crusts 101
1. Temperature. Temperature. Temperature. The key difference between homemade and store-bought crust is that crusts you make yourself take a little more effort to prevent holes. This is because they're made with butter and shortening. Even though you start with cold butter, you've got to chill your crust when you're not rolling it out or cutting out your designs because the butter will soften.
2. Patience is important. Because the crust is temperature-sensitive you have to chill it semi-frequently. It may take a little more time, but trust me it's worth the wait. 3. The key to a gorgeous, shiny pie crust is an egg wash. ​Just beat a single egg and use a pastry brush (or just your fingers if you don't have tons of tools like me) to paint on a thin egg layer. 4. My secret for pain free crust is using a food processor. The whole process takes about 10 minutes. But if you don't have a food processor, you can just as easily use a pastry cutter, potato masher, or some good ole' fashioned forks Make the Crust
Crust Ingredients:
2.5 c all purpose flour, plus extra for kneading and rolling 1/4 tsp kosher salt 3 Tbs sugar, plus extra for garnish 1/4 c shortening 12 Tbs butter, cold and cubed 1/4-1/2 c ice water 1 egg (for the egg wash) Filling Ingredients: 1 pint raspberries 1 pint blueberries 1 c sugar 2 tsp lemon juice 1 tsp cinnamon pinch of salt 1/2 c corn starch 1. Put the flour, salt, and sugar in your food processor and pulse a to thoroughly mix the dry ingredients. 2. Add the cubed butter and shortening to the mix and pulse till incorporated. It should have the consistency of moist soil (middle image). 3. Slowly add the ice-water through the top of the food processor till the dough just comes together (third image). 4. Transfer the crust to a cutting board and knead together. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes. Don't cheat and put it in the freezer for less time. It doesn't agree with the butter. Trace the Direwolf
5. Roll out 1/2 of the crust (if you don't have a rolling pin you can use a wine bottle like me!).
6. Then cut out your Direwolf (no teeth) outline with a small and sharp knife. Cut your little fur tufts, eye, nose, and snarls. 7. Sprinkle flour on a second cutting board and transfer your Direwolf. Put more flour on top of the wolf as well. 8. Chill Direwolf in the fridge for 20-30 minutes. Ball up the scrap dough and chill as well. Put it all together
9. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
10. While your waiting for the dough to chill make the filling by adding the fruit, sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon, and salt to a medium pot over medium heat. Stir in corn starch a little at a time till it's the consistency of gravy. Remove from heat and rest. 11. Roll out the 2nd half of the dough into a circle for the base crust layer and loosely drape over the pie plate. 12. Pour in the filling. 13. Roll out the leftover Direwolf dough and cut out 8, 1" strips with a pizza cutter and make a lattice design. 14. Take the Direwolf out of Make an egg wash by beating an egg in a separate bowl. Brush the egg in a thin layer on the back of the wolf. This will help him stick to the rest of the crust. 15. Brush the egg wash onto the lattice. 16. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 375 degrees and bake for an additional 30 minutes. 17. Let pie cool, serve and enjoy.
1 Comment
Spence daddy
7/28/2017 04:58:15 pm
I love pie and I love this pie even more
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AuthorEmma Neale: (young) adult, cat mom, and aspiring for adventure. Archives
February 2019
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