Pie Crust

I got this recipe from a friend of mine who has been baking pie in his family for years. He definitely makes one of the best pies I've had so I FaceTimed him when making this crust. I believe it's based off an old Cook's Illustrated pie crust recipe from over a decade ago.



Ingredients
- 2.5 cups of flour (separated into 1.5 cups and 1 cup)
- 1 teaspoon table salt
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 12 tablespoons of cold, unsalted butter, cut into 1/4 inch slices (this is 1.5 sticks of butter)
- 1/2 cup cold vegetable shortening, cut into small bits (if no shortening, you can exchange for butter 1:1, which is what I did)
- 1/4 cup vodka
- 1/4 cup cold water (can do a little less)

Some things I learned from this recipe for an ideal crust:

#1 Cold, cold cold - have all the ingredients cold - including the butter, water, and vodka. Prior to starting, place the water or vodka in the freezer or fridge.

#2 Visible butter = visible flakiness
Flecks of butter when melted will create tiny pockets in the flour that surround it and add flaky layers

#3 Vodka - vodka gives the dough a little liquid it needs to come together, but evaporates in the oven, leaving behind an extra flaky dough.


1. Dice the butter into small quarters. Let sit in freezer for a few minutes as you gather everything else.

2. In a food processor, add 1.5 cups of flour, 2 tablespoons sugar, and 1 teaspoon of salt. Pulse for 1-2 seconds to mix. You can leave this mixture in the fridge so it gets cold too.

3. Add butter to the mixture and pulse briefly (only a few seconds) until you see cheese curd chunks.

4. Add the remainder of the 1 cup flour and pulse briefly, only a few seconds at a time. It should resemble a coarse cornmeal. Be careful not to over mix.You can even do this halfway/most of the way and finish it off by hand (I used a potato masher).

5. Remove the flour butter mixture into a big bowl and place in the freezer for a minute or two.

6. Remove flour mixture from freezer. Pour in 1/4 cup vodka in a circle and start with 1/8 cup water to the cornmeal-textured mixture and fold it all together with a rubber spatula. Can add water little by little but don't go beyond the total 1/4 cup water.  It should come together easily with little stirring.

7. Clump the dough with your hands briefly into a small ball until it *just* starts to come together.

8. Separate into two balls - you may want to weigh them to so they are even. Flatten it into a small circle and wrap individually and air tight so it is easier to roll out later.

9. Place in the fridge overnight or for a few hours. Dough can be frozen for later use.

*when baking, for the last 30 minutes - cover the top with aluminum foil to avoid burning the crust!


ROLLING OUT PIE DOUGH

*coming soon.

*after place on pan, stick in freezer for 1-2 mins


https://food52.com/blog/17264-9-ways-to-snazzy-up-your-pie-edges

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