Perfect Pie Crust
Preparation: 15 min Chill: 30 min
This versatile pie crust can be used for making both sweet and savoury pies. When making homemade pastry, be careful not to overblend the fat with the flour--there should be pea-sized crumbs mixed within the flour. Handling the dough as little as possible will also help make pastry tender and flaky.
You will need:
| 2 cups |
all-purpose flour |
500 ml |
| 3/4 tsp |
salt |
4 ml |
| 1/3 cup |
each cold butter and shortening, cubed |
75 ml |
| 1 |
egg yolk |
1 |
| 1 1/2 tsp |
vinegar |
7 ml |
Tools required:
Pastry blender
Step 1:
Combine flour and salt in large bowl; cut in butter and shortening with pastry blender until mixture resembles pea-size crumbs.
Step 2:
Whisk egg yolk and vinegar in measuring cup until blended; pour in enough ice water to make 1/3 cup (75 ml). Stirring with fork, add liquid mixture to flour mixture until dough starts to hold together, adding more ice water only if needed.
Step 3:
Transfer dough to lightly floured surface; press together to form a disc. Divide disc in half and wrap in plastic wrap; chill 30 minutes. Dough can be chilled for up to 5 days or frozen for up to 3 months. Let chilled pastry come to room temperature before rolling out.
Makes one 9 inch (23 cm) double-crust pie shell.
Nestlé Kitchens Tip: Substituting store-bought pastry mix for this homemade pastry recipe will also give great results; simply follow packaging directions and fit rolled-out pastry into a 9 inch (23 cm) glass pie plate.
