Pie Dough for Prebaked Pie Shell
Recipe by: Baking Illustrated, modified by the O’Connor clan
Servings: 1 8-9 inch pie crust
| Amount |
Ingredient |
Prep Notes |
| 1.25 cups |
flour |
or 6.25 ounces |
| 1/2 teaspoon |
salt |
|
| 1 tablespoon |
sugar |
|
| 3 tablespoons |
shortening |
chilled or frozen |
| 1/2 stick |
butter |
cut into 1/4 inch pieces |
| 4 tablespoons |
ice water |
|
- in large bowl, combine flour, salt, and sugar.
- cut in shortening and butter until there are no chunks larger than small peas
- sprinkle with 4 tablespoons ice water and combine until there are no dry spots. If it’s too dry, add up to 2 tablespoons more ice water 1 teaspoon at a time. Dough should not be dry, but should also not be sticky. Work the dough as little as possible to do this. If you work it too much, your crust will be tough.
- form into a 4 inch disk and wrap in plastic wrap or waxed paper. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 2 days before rolling it out.
- roll the dough on a lightly foured surface until it’s about a 12 inch circle.
- ease the crust into your pie plate and trim so the edges extend about 1/2 inch past the rim. Fold the edges under and flute or slightly flatten the edge against the rim.
- refrigerate until the dough is firm, about 15 minutes then freeze for about 10 minutes. You can skip the freezer if you’re short on space.
- while it’s cooling, adjust your oven rack to the lower middle position and preheat to 375.
- remove the pie plate from the freezer and cover the entire crust, including edges, with at least a double layer of tin foil. distribute pie weights over the foil. If you don’t have pie weights, you can use coins.
- bake for 25-30 minutes, until the crust under the foil looks dry and light in color.
- carefully remove the foil and weights. Note these will be VERY hot. If you can, gather the foil together and lift everything out at once. MAKE SURE YOU USE OVEN MITTS TO DO THIS.
- If your recipe calls for a partially baked crust, continue baking uncovered until very light golden brown, another 4-6 minutes after uncovering. If your recipe calls for a fully baked crust, continue baking uncovered until golden brown, another 8-12 minutes after uncovering.
- note: if your recipe calls for a partially baked crust, it may want you to put the filling into a hot crust (like pumpkin pie).
- note: you can substitute all butter into your crust. It won’t be quite as flaky, but it’s still a yummy crust.
- note: if you refrigerate your dough for longer than an hour, you may have to let it sit a few minutes to warm up just enough to be able to roll it.
[Download PDF]