A Thoroughly Reliable and Tasty Piecrust
There are probably as many piecrust recipes out there as there are bakers. Many of us struggle with piecrust, so it's not surprising that new tweaks of what's really a pretty basic recipe keep appearing. This crust, made with our Mellow Pastry Blend, is a good go-to recipe for those of you who haven't yet settled on a favorite. Easy to roll, buttery-tasting, and somewhere between flaky/crumbly, it's like an old friend: reliable and forgiving.
Read our blog about this pie crust, with additional photos, at Bakers' Banter.
Crust
- 2 ½ cups King Arthur Mellow Pastry Blend
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
- 2 tablespoons buttermilk powder
- ¼ cup vegetable shortening
- 10 tablespoons very cold unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon vinegar, cider or white
- 7 to 10 tablespoons ice water
Topping
- 1 teaspoon milk
- 1 tablespoon coarse sparkling sugar
Directions
|
1) Whisk together the Mellow Pastry Blend, salt, baking powder, confectioners' sugar, and buttermilk powder. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
12) Wrap in plastic, and chill for 30 minutes, or up to overnight. Or wrap in aluminum foil over the plastic, and freeze for up to 2 months. |
|
13) When you're ready to make pie, remove the crust from the refrigerator or freezer, leaving it wrapped. Allow it to thaw (if it's frozen) or warm a bit (if it's been chilled longer than 30 minutes), till it's softened enough to roll, but still feels cold to the touch. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
19) Crimp as desired. It's nice to make a tall crimp, as the filling for a single-crust pie is usually fairly liquid (think pumpkin or custard), and it's good to have that tall "dam." |
|
|
|
|
|
22) For a double-crust pie, leave the edges of the bottom crust as is (no folding or crimping). Once you've added the pie filling, roll out the top crust to the outside diameter of your pan, and place it atop the filling. |
|
|
|
|
|
25) Cut a hole in the center of the crust for steam to escape. Or slash the pie's top surface several times. |
|
|
|
|
Recipe summary
- Hands-on time:
- 15 mins. to 20 mins.
- Baking time:
- Total time:
- 15 mins.
- Yield:
- Two piecrusts, enough for 2 single-crust pies or 1 double-crust pie
- Recipe comments (34) »
Tips from our bakers
- Can you use King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour in place of the Mellow Pastry Blend? Can you leave out the buttermilk powder? Yes; in both cases, the crust will simply be a bit less tender.
- Can you use buttermilk in place of the buttermilk powder? Yes; substitute ¼ ice-cold buttermilk for ¼ to 1/3 cup of the water.
- Can you use all butter instead of butter and shortening? Yes, the crust will be more crumbly/sandy, less flaky.
- Can you make all of these substitutions at once? Yes, and you'll have a different crust. Probably still tasty; just a different texture.
- Be sure to use cold butter and ice water when making the crust; it helps keep the butter and shortening from dispersing throughout the dough, which in turn helps keep the crust flaky.
- Can you make this crust ahead and freeze it? Absolutely. For a double-crust pie, make it up to the point where the two dough disks are wrapped in plastic and ready to chill; add an over-wrap of aluminum foil, and freeze for up to 2 months. For two single-crust pies, roll each chilled crust, and place in a metal pie pan. Trim, crimp, wrap the pans well in plastic, and freeze.
Reviews
04/19/2009
I really liked the crust - the vinegar if for flakiness, folks! The crust browned beautifully and was very tender. Sorry to all you folks who had a bad experience with it......I always like to try new recipes and keep the old standbys on standby, but I will use this pie crust recipe again.
04/18/2009
The peeps are passionate about their crusts! I do love this crust recipe, and won not one, but two, community-wide pie baking competitions (so, not just, like, an office shindig) with it last Autumn. I also love the large KAF silicone rolling mat with the circular markings. I've tried others' recipes since - some were good, some were disastrous - but this is my go-to winner.
Karen - Congratulations on your competitions! Thank you for trying our recipes. EFB @ KAF
04/18/2009
LOVELOVELOVED IT! Only problem...I'm allergic to wheat!! Any suggestions of other kinds of flour that will work/ I was thinking maybe coconut?! Would welcome any help here.
While we haven't tested the recipe with other flours, you could try spelt if you can tolerate it. Good luck with your experiments MJR @ KAF
01/01/2009
I was wondering if its possible to substitute either sour milk (the lemon juice in the milk routine) for the buttermilk? That isn't something I keep in my fridge.
Also, when incorporating the shortening & butter into the flour, how much of a difference will it make to the finished product if you leave the fat in larger chunks as opposed to smaller ones?
THanks!
(I have yet to rate the recipe since I have questions that prevented me from making it. Will rate after.)
Yes, this old reliable method will do the trick for replaceing buttermilk. Leaving the fat in bigger pieces, as long as they are not too big, will give a bit more flake. If too big they will simply melt away and leave a hole. Call the hotline if you'd like to walk through this recipe with a baker before you get the flour down. Frank from KAF.
01/01/2009
Not for pate brisee purists, but effortlessly produced a very flaky and quite tasty pie dough. I used lard instead of shortening, as trans-fat free shortening is not available over here yet. I omitted the sugar because I used the dough for meat pie (tourtiere). Will make it again.
12/09/2008
Fabulous! I'm another baker who has tried for 35 years to make a good pie crust (and failed miserably, I must add). My husband was again ready to run to the store for a pre-made crust! But this crust is an absolute winner!! The dough was easy to work with, baked up beautifully and was tender and flaky! I also substituted all-purpose flour for the pastry blend, but it still tasted fine! I let the dough chill overnight, and finished the pie the next day which also helped my preparation time schedule. Thanx KAF, I'm thrilled to have a great-tasting pie crust recipe (finally!) and will definitely make this again!!
12/01/2008
This turned out nice and flaky and rich. Baked beautifully and rolled out nicely. I used all AP flour and a palm oil shortening.
11/28/2008
I used this for my Thanksgiving Pecan pie and thought it was very good. The crust went together well, I even used my fingers to work in the butter. It was flaky and tasted very good. I usually have problems with the dough falling apart when I roll it out, but this one held together real well. The only problem I had was the sides shrunk down when I baked the pie. This happens a lot to me and I don't know what causes it. I have enough for another pie in the freezer. Sounds like chocolate pie next week...have to get rid of the Cool Whip
This one's a keeper. Thanks KAF!!
Sorry to hear this. Sound like you may have overworked the dough a bit during mixing. That is why sides snapped back on you. Next time only work the dough until it comes together. Frank from KAF.
11/27/2008
This was a great recipe! I usually use my grandma's recipe for crust. I usually prepare crust with canola oil in place of shortening or butter (in the same proportions) because some in my family have a saturated fat limitation. And the canola oil substitution works beautifully! BUT...for a nice change, this was a wonderful recipe! Thank you so much KAF for this! Y'all always have some great recipes. Thanks for sharing! HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
11/22/2008
Preparation wasn't nearly as overwhelming as the length of the recipe suggests. Even though I had to make a few substitutions (AP flour instead of pastry and homemade buttermilk for the buttermilk powder) it turned out absolutely delicious! The crust was light and flaky in texture and not at a all sweet. I didn't notice any flavor from the vinegar either. Wonderful and will be my only pie crust recipe from now on!
Bookmark/share
this recipe