I would appreciate any recipes for a flaky pie crust. Plus, I have tried making homeade pie crusts before but they never turn out. Does anyone have any tips for me? Thank you so much, Trish

-- Trish (mybusiness@herwire.com), April 21, 2002

Answers

Hi, Trish...I, too was pretty much a flop @ piecrusts until I tried the recipe on the "Tenderflake" brand of shortening. It includes vinegar, which I thought was pretty gross until I tried the recipe. The crust turns out great every time now. I don't know if you get that brand of shortening where you live, but if not, I can sure get the recipe to ya. I haven't any on hand or I would put the recipe here now. Another option is to write to "Pauline" @ avdb@canada.com. This woman is an excellent cook among her MANY talents, and she may be able to remember what all is in her recipes. It's worth a try. Good luck, Trish....Judy

-- Judy Hill (hillsacres@sk.sympatico.ca), April 21, 2002.

For flakey crusts, use lard. Vegetable shortening just doesn't make the crusts flakey.

-- westbrook (westbrook_farms@yahoo.com), April 21, 2002.

I had trouble too, until I saw a show on tv on how to work pie crust dough. Some good pointers were to cut the shortening or butter into different sized chunks by adding 1/3 of the shortening, cutting it in, then adding the next 1/3, cut it in more coarsly, then add the last 1/3 and cut it in just a little. The larger chunks were about 1/2 across. This sounds more complicated than it is, it went pretty quickly, actually. Speaking of which, the quicker the better: working the dough too long makes it tough. (Part of my problem was that I was cutting all of the shortening in too carefully and too finely, which takes too long.) He then added the water, sort off mixed it in, and squashed the dough into one lump, covered it with saran wrap, and refridgerated it 20 minutes to allow the gluten to relax.

Thinking back, my crusts were tough because I was cutting the shortening into the flour too finely, mixing the water in too carefully, and not refridgerating the dough. Squashing it into one lump before it is chilled allows the water to mix with the flour better. My crusts are actually pretty good, now.

-- Terri (hooperterri@prodigy.net), April 21, 2002.

OOPS! I meant that the larger chunks of shortening were 1/2 inch across!

-- Terri (hooperterri@prodigy.net), April 21, 2002.

The water needs to be ice water, add almost all the ice water, at once. Flatten out the crust to about 1"X6" circle and wrap it in plastic wrap, until completely chilled. It can keep in the frig. for about a week or be frozen longer. lacyj

-- lacyj (hillharmony@hotmail.com), April 21, 2002.

Thank you everyone for your response. Reading your tips, I realized that I am probably working the dough too hard. I never knew to refridgerate the dough. I have saved your tips, so the next time I make a pie crust, I'll have it handy. Trish

-- TrishFarrell (mybusiness@herwire.com), April 21, 2002.

Here really are some secrets to perfect flakey pie crust. Once you know them you will have perfect crust everytime - guaranteed!

First, you have to understand how pie crust works to become flaky. The shortening blends with the flour and the moisture holds it all together. The shortening is trapped in the four mixture and melts creating the "layers" which is the flakey part of the crust. The "secret" is actually several things:

• The texture of the shortening/flour has to be just right. You need to cut the shortening in (use a pastry cutter or big meat fork). The texture you are looking for is a little less than the size of tiny peas. Any bigger and you won't have the many layers.
• You will get the biggest percentage of layers if you use lard. Lard breaks down differantly in baking than shortening and lard creates a much "shorter" (meaning more tender) crust with lots of layers.

• When you add the water it MUST be ice cold. You don't want to break down that shortening or soften it too much. Use ice water.
• The most important part is not in over mixing. You can use all the right ingrediants but if you overmix or overwork your dough it will be horrible. When you add the water, add it a tablespoon at a time and just toss it into the flour. NEVER mix your dough! Just work in the water with a fork ONLY and toss and turn it. Don't mix. You want it JUST barely hold together without breaking all apart when you roll it out. Your crust will be good if you error on the side of not enough water as opposed to too much water. You end up with tough crust if you use too much water because you will be making glue which, again, breaks down those layers.

• Remember, the least amount you work with it (whether mixing, or rolling) the better the crust will be because every time you fuss with it those little layers are smashing together and not staying nice and apart. When you take it out of the bowl, do so gently and just pull it into a ball. Important: Do NOT knead it! Just kind of gather it into a ball to begin rolling.

• When you roll out the crust another thing to remember is you have most all the flour you need. Try not to work too much more into the crust. Do be sure and flour your work surface and rolling pin well. It is also important that you roll from the center out. You don't want to stretch the dough. Stretching also breaks up those little fat globs.

As you can see, there more to crust making than just tossing it all togehter, but it doesn't take any more time to do it correctly. Just keep these things in mind and I promise you the perfect crust every single time. Even times when it might not roll out great (remember humidity plays a role here also) it will still taste just as good as the picture perfect crust.

By the way. Here is my favorite basic pie crust (makes a double crust):

2 cups of flour
1 tsp. salt 2/3 cups of lard or crisco
6-8 tablespoons water (sometimes more, sometimes less depending on the weather)

By the way, those recipes with the vinegar and egg (although can be good) artificially create the layers by creating a "rising" of the dough. Not meaning any disrespect to those recipes, it just does not taste like real lard crust and not near as tender and flakey.

Be sure and vist the Cooking and Crafts forum for some other hints and tips. Among the regular posts is the Cooking Hint of the Day, Recipe of the Day, and Crafting Hint of the Day. Lots of charts and helps there!

-- Karen (mountains_mama2@hotmail.com), April 21, 2002.

One other hint is to put your lard, shortening,or butter in the freezer for ten minutes or so to make it cold also. The first time I made my pie crusts doing this was the first time they turned out flaky and tender.

-- Gina NM (mamainnm@yahoo.com), April 21, 2002.

You can also make it in the food processor, just make sure that everything is cold, and pulse for only a few seconds at a time.

Depending upon what you're making, you can always just gently press the crust into the bottom of the pie pan, and only worry about rolling out the top crust to where it looks nice. I care more that it tastes good, so I always use butter :-)

-- GT (nospam@nospam.com), April 21, 2002.

There is nothing to making good pie crust.....well nothing except you have to do it frequently. I use flour, salt, regular shortening and tap water. My Granny raised me and she was just about the best cook there was(according to just about everybody). One day I took her a pie. Granny never gave compliments but she said.....this crust just might near is better than mine. My jaw just about hit the floor. Everybody raves about my crusts. You just need to make them frequently enough that you get the feel for it. For the first couple of years I made crusts they were edible but nothing to write home about...then it just clicked and I got the feel for it. I still can't get my edges to look as pretty as grannies was but then again I haven't been doing it as long as she had :o). Hang in there Trish.

-- Amanda (mrsgunsmyth@hotmail.com), April 21, 2002.

I can't boil water but I can always tell when my uses White Lilley Flour. It is outstanding.

-- Mel Kelly (melkelly@webtv.net), April 22, 2002.