Contrary to the adage that simple things can be “simple as pie”, a well-made pie is in fact, devilishly difficult to pull off. Certainly, it’s the pie crust, not the filling, that sets the degree of difficulty. It seems that making a flaky pie crust remains a daunting task for most household cooks. I think that’s because, making a great pie crust requires more than a correct recipe, in fact all recipes for flaky pie dough are pretty much the same. A great pie crust requires intuition, experience, practice and just a bit of science. All things that, forgive me, household cooks have in short supply.
Pie Dough
This is a perfect recipe for pie crust. The product of my many years of trial and error.
The methodology evolved and is intended specifically as a ‘how to’ for household cooks. This is not the way professional chefs make pie dough in a commercial kitchen. But it is, I assure you, the easiest, fastest and most fool proof method for making pie dough at home. The recipe is prepared in a food processor, avoiding the touchy-feely aspects of a handmade dough that home cooks seem to have a hard time with. Theres a bit of vegetable shortening in the dough which is traditional but often avoided these days. The addition of shortening greatly improves the final product, making it much harder to ‘overwork’ the dough. The addition of Vodka is an old baker’s trick. Gluten, the elastic protein in flour, will not form in alcohol, so vodka adds moisture to the dough without adversely affecting it’s texture. If you’re averse to using either vodka or hydrogenated fat, send me an email and I’ll walk you through alternatives.
The fundamental rule of making killer pie dough is that at every step of preparation, the ingredients are always cold. That includes when rolling and forming the dough into the pie plate. If at any time during the process the dough approaches room temperature or the butter softens, simply stop what you’re doing and put it back in the fridge. Pie dough is best made one or two days before use. Allowing the dough to ‘hydrate’ makes it pliable and substantially easier to work with. If you plan on freezing the dough, allow for a full twenty-four hours in the refrigerator before doing so. Likewise coming out of the freezer, pie dough will require 24 hours to thaw in the refrigerator.
To make the recipes in this month’s missive, you will need a food processor, a digital
scale (see October’s Recipe of the Month), a rolling pin and at least one pie plate. For
rolling pins, I suggest what’s called a ‘straight’ rolling pin or ‘rolling stick’, which is
different than the rolling pins with handles and ball bearings, but the latter will work
nearly as well. I love the Pyrex 9.5-inch pie plate. Being able to see the bottom of the
crust as it bakes takes an awful lot of guesswork out of the equation. The ‘Easy Grab’
model is perfect for household cooks. They cost five dollars at Target. Buy two.
This recipe will yield app. three pounds of dough. More than enough for three single
crust pies of any standard size; eight, nine or ten inches in diameter. Understand that it is foolish to make only one pie crust when with the same amount of effort, you can
make three. Freeze what you don’t use. Your next pie will practically make itself.
Pie Dough Recipe
Yields 3 Standard Crusts
675 grams Flour, all purpose
15 grams Sugar
Big Pinch Kosher Salt
500 grams Butter, unsalted chilled
70 grams Vegetable shortening (Crisco)
½ cup Water, cold
½ cup Vodka, cold
Place all the ingredients except the cold water and vodka in a mixing bowl large enough to easily accommodate all the ingredients.
Cut the cold butter (sticks) into ¼ inch slices. Roughly is okay but not any thicker. Note that to facilitate cutting the butter, roll the sticks of butter in the flour in the bowl, shake off the excess and remove the butter to a cutting board. The flour keeps the butter pieces from sticking together as you cut them.
When the butter is all cut, place it back into the bowl of dry ingredients (with any flour remaining on the board).
Place the bowl of ingredients into the refrigerator and allow it to rest there until all the ingredients are cold. At least two hours. Overnight is fine but cover the bowl with plastic wrap.
When you are ready to proceed with the recipe, make ready ½ cup of ice-cold water and the ½ cup of cold vodka. It’s okay to combine them.
Place all the (cold) dry ingredients into the bowl of a food processor, fitted with the steel (cutting) blade.
Using 8-10 quick pulses, work the dough until the mix is crumbly mass with pieces of butter that are app. ¼ to 1/8 inch in size.
Remove the ingredients back into the mixing bowl. Sprinkle vodka and water over the mixture in two additions. With a wooden spoon, rubber spatula or your hands, use a folding motion to mix, pressing down on the dough until dough is slightly tacky and sticks together. There will be some crumbs not yet incorporated.
Dump the dough onto a cutting board.
Divide the dough into three balls. Wrap each so that it is not too tightly fully enclosed in plastic wrap. Press down hard on the dough balls to form a disk app. one inch thick. The pressure of the plastic wrap will magically form a smooth-edged circle.
Refrigerate for up to 4 days or freeze for later use.
Click on the arrow to expand
To Bake Blind or Not to Bake Blind?
This recipe was originally derived from America’s Test Kitchen, which is in its unaltered state a darn good pecan pie recipe. ATK heats the prepared filling in a bain-marie, which allows the brown sugar to dissolve. It’s the cure for ‘grainy’ pecan pie filling. A smart idea. Wolfgang Puck’s recipe inspired me to use brown butter (beurre noisette) in the recipe. It adds a wonderfully nuanced ‘Sugar Daddy’ flavor to the pie. When I make this pie for my family’s Thanksgiving, I add a bit more salt to the recipe. Pecans like salt, caramel likes salt. Taste the filling and follow your instincts. Also, note that Pecans do not change color very much when you toast them. They are toasted when they smell and taste toasted. Pecan pie is best made the day before serving. It allows the filling to set properly. I would leave the pie overnight at room temperature loosely covered, but there are eggs in the filling and some might argue that it should be refrigerated overnight. If you do refrigerate the pie, allow 2-4 hours for it to come to room temp before serving. To Bake Blind or Not to Bake Blind?
Note that many Pecan Pie recipes require that the pie shell be “Baked Blind”, which means that the crust is baked or partially baked without any filling and then baked a second time with the filling. This of course facilitates a crispy golden bottom crust and avoids overcooking the filling. It’s a useful method and it works wonderfully, but it is a hassle. With pecan pie I find I can avoid blind baking, if I take a few precautions: 1) Chill the empty crust or freeze it before filling and baking. 2) Have the filling ready at room Temperature (not warm) 3) Cook the pie on the lower rack of your oven sitting on a pre-heated cookie sheet 4) Start to bake the pie in a hot oven Pre-heated to 450. Immediately reduce the temperature to 350 when you put the pie in the oven. |
Rolling out a Pie Crust
1 Homemade Pie Crust, ready to fill and bake
100 grams Butter, unsalted
200 grams Dark brown sugar
¾ tsp Salt, kosher
3 Eggs
175 grams Light Corn syrup
15 grams Vanilla
220 grams Pecan Halves, toasted and chopped coarsely
To toast pecans, start with halves, not chopped pecans. Lay the pecans onto a cookie sheet (half sheet pan) and place them into a pre-heated medium oven (350) for 5 - 8 minutes. As noted, the pecans will change very little in color, but they should smell and taste like a roasted nut. The difference is striking, you’ll know it when you taste it. Remove from oven. When cool enough to handle, chop the nuts coarsely. Pretty much turn the halves into quarters, leaving a few whole halves.
To make the brown butter, melt the butter in a small saucepan. Continue to cook the butter until it begins to turn brown, stirring frequently with a metal spoon or small whisk. The butter will melt, then foam, then begin to brown. As it does it will have a pleasant ‘Nutty’ aroma. Continue to cook the butter until it is at least golden brown. More brown is better, but it is possible to burn the butter so err on the side of caution. Note that the butter gets very hot during this process, so keep your fingers out of it.
When the butter is well browned, remove it into a metal or ceramic bowl. The little brown specks are a good thing. Remember it’s hot. Allow to cool to room temperature.
Using a small whisk, mix in the brown sugar and salt until the butter is absorbed.
Beat in the eggs, just to combine, then the corn syrup and vanilla. It should be
homogenous. It doesn’t need to be perfect.
Place the bowl over a bain-marie and heat it gently, stirring constantly until the brown sugar has dissolved. Taste a bit of the goop or rub a bit between your index finger and thumb, feeling for sugar crystals. When it’s perfectly smooth, it’s done. Do not let the filling get hotter than 130 degrees, which is approximately the temperature of hot tap water, i.e. comfortably hot to the touch. If you cook it too hot , you can scramble the eggs and Bye-Bye filling.
Stir in the pecans. Allow to cool to room temperature. Filling can be made in advance and refrigerated at this point. Allow the filling to come back to room temp before baking
Preheat oven to 450. Place a cookie sheet (half sheet pan) onto the lower rack of your oven.
When the oven is heated, pour the filling into the chilled pie shell. Stir the filling a bit to make sure the nuts are evenly distributed.
Place the pie into the oven on the heated cookie sheet. Immediately reduce oven temperature to 350.
Bake for 40-50 minutes or until it has puffed and the crust is golden brown (check the bottom) and there is just the slightest hint of jiggle in the center.
Cool to room temperature before serving.
Best served with vanilla ice cream.
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