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Sure, you could outsource the baking this year and purchase a pre-made pie or start with a store-bought pie crust for the holidays. And many of us do, including several members of the Allrecipes team. However, this could <\/em>also be the year when we finally overcome our pastry fears once and for all, and give homemade pie crust a try.\n<\/p>\n “The biggest mistake home bakers tend to make is quitting before they even start, usually because they’re afraid to do it wrong. But it’s pie, and no matter what, it’s going to be delicious and special, even if it’s not picture perfect,” says Kristen Daily, owner and head baker for Pie Bird Pies in Des Moines, Iowa. She bakes dozens of whole pies, hand pies, and more each week for her fans and private events.\n<\/p>\n To help us overcome the intimidation of baking and to ensure we end up with beautifully flaky, tender crusts every time, we tapped five pie experts to share their top tips.\n<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Picture a flaky, golden croissant. This treat gets its flaky texture from butter, which is folded into the dough again and again to produce thin, crispy layers. The flaky texture of pie crust is similar, only way less fussy.\n<\/p>\n To make pie crust, chunks of butter \u2014 though you can use other fats like shortening or lard\u2014are worked into the flour, then it gets hydrated with cold water. When the fat melts during baking, it emits steam, creating small air pockets that cause the layers of dough to separate. \u201cThese layers are what we experience as flaky or flakes of dough,\u201d Emberling says.\n<\/p>\n According to Emberling, tough pie doughs are caused by either incorrect hydration or overmixing. Both will yield tough, dense, and\/or crumbly crusts, says Lam.\n<\/p>\n If the fat is overworked, there won\u2019t be distinctive pieces that can melt and separate into layers, resulting in what bakers call a shortcrust, meaning the finished pastry ends up being soft and crumbly. To prevent this from happening, follow these five tips, and you are sure to hit that sweet spot every time.\n<\/p>\n Dotdash Meredith Food Studios<\/p>\n <\/span> <\/p>\n The recipe for homemade pastry is easy: flour, water, salt, fat, and maybe sugar. The most important of all of these is butter. According to Daily, “There’s nothing better than a rich, buttery pie crust. And in my opinion and experience, pie lives or dies by the crust. I like to use grass-fed European, or European-style butter, such as Kerrygold. Plus, it has a higher butterfat content, making it easier to laminate in the dough, which means a flakier crust.”\n<\/p>\n And, should you use salted or unsalted butter? Both work fine, so this comes down to personal preference. Daily continues, “Some bakers use unsalted butter because it gives you more control over how salty your recipe is. But I think pie is pretty forgiving, and I’m a salt lover, so salted butter is for me!”\n<\/p>\n There’s no need to get fancy with the flour either. Echeverria explains, “Proteins in the flour form gluten in your dough. You don’t want to use flour that contains too much protein, like bread flour, or too little protein, like pastry flour. A basic all-purpose flour works best.”\n<\/p>\n Now that you have your ingredients, it’s vital to add them in the correct conditions. All five pros promote using ice water, chilled butter, and adding the water slowly.\n<\/p>\n If the butter hasn’t been properly chilled or you are working in a warm environment, the fat could emulsify with the flour, preventing air pockets from forming in the dough. To avoid this, Lam advises freezing your flour, sugar, and butter. “The colder the ingredients, the flakier the crust. This is key.”\n<\/p>\n As you add the ice water, aim for moderation. Using water sparingly will keep the dough light, Lam tells us. Adding too much can make it leathery.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \u201cWhen adding water, less is more, and it\u2019s gotta be ice-cold,\u201d explains Burton. \u201cYou don\u2019t want to drown your dough, just sprinkle in a tablespoon at a time and mix gently until it just comes together. The goal is to hydrate the dough without turning it into a sticky mess. The cold water also helps keep your warm hands from melting the butter. Just remember, overhydration is the enemy of flakiness.\u201d\n<\/p>\n Dotdash Meredith Food Studios<\/p>\n <\/span> If you must add more water than the recipe calls for, try misting the mixture with a spray bottle as you are rolling it for even, minimal hydration.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n “But honestly, if it were me, I’d simply quit fighting the dry, crumbly dough,” Daily concedes. “Cut it into strips or punch it out with a cookie cutter, sprinkle it with cinnamon sugar, bake it, and enjoy a mountain of pie scraps like I used to make as a kid with my mom. Then, I’d take a break and make another batch of dough, knowing that I need to add a bit more ice water this time\u2014but not too much.”\n<\/p>\n \u201cGluten is developed by adding liquid to flour and mixing it. The more you handle it, the more developed the gluten strands become, and the tougher or stronger the dough will feel,\u201d Emberling advises.\n<\/p>\n With this in mind, it\u2019s best to combine the dry ingredients\u2014flour, salt, and a little sugar\u2014in a bowl, then toss 1-inch chunks of cold butter into the flour mixture until fully coated. Then work the butter into the dough using either a pastry blender or a stand mixer with the paddle attachment.\n<\/p>\n Work the butter pieces in until you reach one of these stages:\n<\/p>\n \u201cOnce the butters are in the dough, use a technique that the French call \u2018frissage.\u2019 At Zingerman\u2019s, we simply call it \u2018schmearing,\u2019 because that\u2019s what you do: Use the heel of your hand and schmear the dough bit by bit across your work area,\u201d Emberling says. \u201cThen gather it back up into a disc. It will make thin layers of dough and butter which, when baked, will be flaky and tender.\u201d\n<\/p>\n At this point, take a pulse check. The dough shouldn\u2019t look uniform in texture or color. If it does, the butter is probably overworked. Instead, you should be able to spot pieces of butter in the dough.\n<\/p>\n “Often, these \u2018imperfections\u2019 bake away in the oven and even if they don’t, the texture of an imperfect crust will be better than one of a perfect-looking crust that you\u2019ve rolled several times,\u201d says Emberling.\n<\/p>\n Dotdash Meredith Food Studios<\/p>\n <\/span> Before rolling out the dough on to a baking dish, the final step is to let the pastry rest and chill once more. For best results, Lam advises chilling the dough for 45 minutes before rolling it out, then after you’ve rolled it onto the dish, chill for another 15 minutes before baking.\n<\/p>\n “And as you’re rolling the crust, keep it chill\u2014pop the dough in the fridge as you need to. It’s a great moment for you to take a little breather, too,\u201d Daily says.\n<\/p>\n If the dough doesn\u2019t rest and chill properly, it will shrink when you roll it out or during baking. Skipping chilling could also result in the dough melting too quickly, creating pools of fat on top of the crust.\n<\/p>\n Our panel of pastry pros admit this might sound like a lot, but once you get the hang of it, it will start to feel natural. So, keep these tips in mind, tie on your apron, and then head on over to our pie crust how-to for step-by-step guidance on your pie dough journey. Bear in mind, you might consider blind baking the crust, especially if you’re making a pie with a juicy filling. As Daily advises, “Is it [the pie] a juicy mess, or does the crust slump? Who cares! I bet it’s delicious. Just remember, everything takes practice, and each pie you make will be better than the one before.\u201d\n<\/p>\n And of course, we hope you have the ice cream ready!\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Sure, you could outsource the baking this year and purchase a pre-made pie or start with a store-bought pie crust for the holidays. And many of us do, including several members of the Allrecipes team. However, this could also be the year when we finally overcome our pastry fears once […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1380,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1379","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-kitchen-tips"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1379","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1379"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1379\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1380"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1379"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1379"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1379"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}} Our Panel of Pie Baking Experts <\/span> <\/h2>\n
What Makes Pie Crust Flaky? <\/span> <\/h2>\n
\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Tips for the Flakiest Pie Crust Ever <\/span> <\/h2>\n
Start with Quality Ingredients <\/span> <\/h3>\n
\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Chill Out <\/span> <\/h3>\n
Pay Attention to How Much Water You Use <\/span> <\/h3>\n
\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Avoid Overmixing <\/span> <\/h3>\n
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\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Let It Rest <\/span> <\/h3>\n
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