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Pie Crust 101
Source of Recipe
TOH bb
Recipe Introduction
How to make flaky pie curst
The three steps to a tender, flaky pie crust:
Cold ingredients are key to a flaky crust. Using ice water and cold
(even frozen) Crisco Shortening is important. When the pie crust goes
in the oven, the cold shortening will stay solid long enough for the
crust to set, creating small "pockets" in between the layers of dough
as it melts. Voilà!—a flaky crust.
Minimal handling helps to achieve a tender crust. Think of a nice,
crusty, chewy piece of bread… it got that way by lots of kneading to
develop the gluten in the flour. This is exactly what you are trying
to avoid when making a tender pie crust. Handle the dough just enough
to mix it and roll it—no more.
Proper rolling is another way to avoid excess handling. Roll the
dough from the center out, lifting the pin after each roll. In
addition to keeping the dough tender, this method will also help you
achieve a nice, round shape. To easily get the rolled crust from the
counter to the pie pan, lift half the crust and lay it over the
rolling pin and then transfer it into the pan. Be careful not to pull
or tug the dough when fitting it in the pie pan—it can cause the
dough to shrink when baking.
Finally, for a beautiful finish, you can glaze a double-crust pie
with a beaten egg or egg white mixed with a little water. For an
extra-special touch, sprinkle the top crust with a little granulated
sugar. Bake pies on a lower rack in the oven, where the concentrated
heat will cook the bottom crust as nicely as the top. About halfway
through baking, check on the pie—you may need to cover it with foil
to prevent over-browning.
post by Annie Marie on TOH bb
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