Flaky, Pie Dough
Have you ever wanted to make a delicious pie dough but whenever you look up the recipe it either has lard or shortening in it, and you do not have that in your kitchen?
Well, look no further cause this simple pie dough recipe with only four ingredients will blow your mind when you realize how simple and delicious it is.
In this post, you will learn how to make a simple but tasty pie dough.
Why Make Your Own Pie Dough?
Making your own pie dough has several advantages as well as being incredibly rewarding and delicious! Here are several advantages for making your own pie dough vs. using the store-bought option.
- Superior Flavour and Texture
- Flavour: homemade dough often has a richer, more buttery flavour than store-bought versions, which can contain artificial ingredients and preservatives.
- Texture: freshly made dough tends to be flakier and more tender. You have control over the mixing process, which helps achieve the perfect texture by avoiding overworking the dough.
- Control over Ingredients
- Quality: you can use high-quality, fresh ingredients, including organic flour, real butter, and other premium products.
- Customization: adjust the recipe to your dietary needs or preferences, such as making it gluten-free, vegan, or using whole grains.
- No Preservatives or Additives
- Healthier Option: homemade dough is free from the preservatives, artificial flavours, and stabilizers often found in pre-made doughs, making it a healthier option.
- Personal Satisfaction
- Craftsmanship: there is a certain pride and satisfaction in crafting your own dough from scratch. It can be a rewarding and therapeutic process.
- Family Tradition: making dough can become a cherished tradition, especially when baking with family or teaching children the art of baking.
- Cost Effective
- Economical: basic ingredients for pie dough (flour, butter, salt, water) are inexpensive and often already available in your pantry, making homemade dough a cost-effective option.
- Flexibility and Versatility
- Versatile Use: homemade dough can be used for a variety of recipes beyond pie, such as tarts, quiches, and empanadas.
- Recipe Adjustments: easily adjust the dough recipe for different types of pies, whether you’re making a sweet fruit pie, a savoury quiche, or a flaky pastry.
How Do I Cut in Butter?
Cutting in butter is a technique that you can either do with a pastry cutter food processor, or your hand and some elbow grease. Cutting in butter means to take cold butter and mix it with dry ingredients to create a crumbly texture. Here is how to cut in your butter.
- Start with Cold Butter: Use butter that is cold and straight from the refrigerator. Cold butter creates pockets of fat in the dough as it melts during baking, resulting in a tender and flaky texture.
- Cube the Butter: Cut the cold butter into small cubes about 1/2 inch in size. Consequently, this makes it easier to incorporate into the dry ingredients.
- Combine with Dry Ingredients: In a mixing bowl, combine the cubed butter with your flour and sugar. Use a pastry blender, two knives, or your fingertips to work the butter into the dry ingredients.
- Pastry Blender Method: use a pastry blender to cut the butter into the dry ingredients. By holding it in one hand and using it to cut through the butter and flour mixture, the butter will be evenly distributed, and the mixture will resemble coarse crumbs.
- Two Knives Method: Alternatively, you can use two knives to cut the butter into the dry ingredients. Hold a knife in each hand and use a slicing motion to cut the butter into the flour till it resembles coarse crumbs.
- Fingertips Method: you can also use your fingertips to rub the butter into the flour mixture. Rub the butter and flour between your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
- Stop When Crumbly: Continue cutting in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs with some larger pea-sized pieces of butter are remaining. Be careful not to overmix, as you want to maintain small pockets of butter in the dough for a flaky texture.
Practical Ways to Keep Your Butter Cold
- Chill Ingredients: chill all your ingredients, including the flour and mixing bowl, to help keep the butter cold.
- Cut Butter in Small Pieces: cut the butter into small cubes and return it to the refrigerator or freezer for a few minutes before incorporating it into the flour.
- Work Quickly: handle the dough quickly and avoid over-mixing. Use tools like a pastry cutter or food processor to mix the butter and flour efficiently.
- Use Cold Water: always use ice-cold water when mixing the dough to maintain the overall temperature of the ingredients.
Do I Have to Use Cold Water in My Pie Dough?
Yes, this is a crucial point in this recipe. Cold water helps achieve the desired texture and consistency that you need in your pie dough. Merely take your water and put it in a freezer safe dish and place it into the freezer for 5-10 minutes. This will make the water cold enough for the pie dough.
Below are some reasons why cold water is so important in making your pie dough.
- Prevents Butter from Melting
- Maintains Flakiness: cold water helps keep the butter in the dough cold and solid. When the dough bakes, the small pieces of butter create steam and form air pockets, resulting in a flaky crust.
- Texture: if the butter melts while you’re mixing the dough, it can lead to a greasy texture and a tougher crust rather than a light and flaky one.
- Controls Gluten Development
- Tenderness: cold water slows down the formation of gluten in the flour. Gluten provides structure to the dough, but too much can make the crust tough. Using cold water helps ensure that the dough remains tender and pliable.
- Mixing: cold water allows you to mix the dough without activating too much gluten, which helps maintain a tender and delicate crust.
- Easier to Work With
- Dough Handling: cold dough is easier to roll out and shape. And it tends to be less sticky and more manageable, making it easier to achieve an even thickness and consistent texture.
- Resting Periods: chilling the dough in the refrigerator (including the water used) allows the ingredients to relax and hydrate properly, which improves the dough’s workability and final texture.
By keeping the water cold, you help maintain the integrity of the butter and control gluten development, both of which are key to creating a pie crust that is tender, flaky, and delicious.
Ingredients
Plain Flour/All-Purpose Flour: offers structure and versatility, creating a balanced, tender, and sturdy pie crust.
Unsalted Butter: provides rich flavour, contributes to a flaky texture, and allows for precise salt control.
Salt: enhances flavour. Adding too little salt can cause the pie crust to be bland.
Cold Water: using cold water in pie dough is crucial for achieving the desired texture and consistency.
(Optional) Sugar: sugar makes the pie dough sweeter. Because of this, I would only add the sugar if you are making this pie dough for a dessert pie and not add sugar if you are making a meat pie.
Tips
- Do not remove the butter from the fridge until it is time to add it into the dough mixture.
- Add the cold water gradually, one tablespoon at a time, to ensure you add just enough to bring the dough together without making it too wet.
- Your dough disc will look a bit crumbly when you put it in the fridge, but once it is chilled and you remove it from the fridge and roll it out it will become very smooth.
- When you remove your pie dough from the fridge let it sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes before starting to roll it out.
- With this pie dough recipe, it is very forgiving when rolling out the dough. If you accidentally rip the dough, you can patch it with other pieces of dough, and the dough generally sticks together quite well when patched.
Flaky, Pie Dough
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 c. all-purpose/plain flour
- 1 tsp. salt preferably ground pink Himalayan salt
- 1 c. butter cubed into small pieces
- 1/2 c. cold water
- Optional 1 tsp. granulated sugar
Instructions
- Mix plain flour with salt. If adding sugar, add it here.
- Cut in your cold, unsalted butter until it is in small pieces. Approximately, butter pieces should be no bigger than the size of a pea.
- Add your cold water to the dough 1 tbsp. at a time.
- Do not overmix. When it is properly incorporated, your dough will be crumbly but will hold together when squeezed.
- Shape your dough into a 1-inch disk and cover tightly in cling wrap.
- Put your pie dough into your fridge and let it sit for 1 hour before use.