The Secrets to Making Great Pie Crusts and Pastry Dough
Everyone will agree that it's absolutely vital for a pie to have a mouthwatering, flaky, melt-in-your-mouth
crust. No matter how delicious the pie filling is, if the crust is tough and flavorless it really brings you down.
The frozen pie crusts that are ready-made and available to purchase at the grocery store are never going to taste right.
So if you really want to knock their socks off you've gotta make your pie crusts from scratch.
Yes, it's daunting. It looks hard, and the recipe gets all complicated and uses words you don't understand like "cut in
the shortening." But with some simple demonstrations to explain the unusual terminology and with some secrets from veteran Southern cooks
you'll be surprised at how easy it is to get the hang of it. And there's nothing as exciting as watching people's eyes close in
bliss as they eat a piece of your pie or other pastry dessert. Then after they've swallowed it they say things like "where did you get this pie crust?" and "no way!
you made this from scratch?!" and "this is one of the best pie crusts I've ever eaten." And even the quiet ones in the family (we all
have at least one) - they might not say much but they'll eat every bite.
In most recipes for pies or other pastry desserts, the pie crust or the pastry dough is pretty much the same recipe. And the same tips & tricks can be applied to both.
Secrets to great pie crusts and pastry dough are few, but they are critical. Surprisingly not very many people know them. When you watch our demonstration
video and request our complete recipe you'll get the TWO BIGGEST SECRETS. But just to show you we really know our stuff, here are a few
tips to making a great pie crust or pastry dough that will help you get started.
Pie Crust & Pastry Dough Tip #1: Don't overwork your dough. This is a common error that makes a pie crust or pastry dough tough and dense. As you're sprinkling flour on your dough and
work surface in preparation for rolling out your pie crust or pastry dough, make sure to use the very least amount you can get away with. Then work lightly and deftly
with the rolling pin instead of "scrubbing" the crust. If you incorporate this tip into you will notice an immediate difference:
your crusts will be lighter and more tender.
Pie Crust Tip & Pastry Dough #2: Work your rolling pin in one direction at a time. Now that you know not to add too much flour, it's also important to be careful
how you use your rolling pin. We all have an image in our mind of how to roll out dough, don't we? We see the rolling pin going back and forth,
back and forth over the dough. We try to do this using a star pattern to make the crust into a circle. Well, this is working the dough too hard,
and it creates a tough crust just like adding to much flour does. So always make a single stroke with the rolling pin, starting at the center & working
outward to the edge - light and sure. Then turn the crust a fraction of a turn and make another light, sure, single stroke from center to edge. Turn our
crust again and repeat this until your dough is the size and thinness you desire. Avoid the old-fashioned "scrubbing" motion and you'll love
the delicate flavor and texture you can achieve.
Pie Crust & Pastry Dough Tip #3: Don't work the shortening into the dough with your hands. Again, this is something you might have seen your mother or grandmother do, but this
is harmful to your pie crust. The warmth from your hands (remember, your body temperature is close to 100 degrees all the time) will soften the
shortening and it won't hold up in little globs like it needs to. It will partially melt into the flour. What happens when you melt anything in flour? You
get paste, right? Well, nobody wants a pasty pie crust. Use a simple fork & butter knife combo or a pastry cutting tool to break up the shortening into the flour and
you see how flaky it makes your crust.
We hope you've enjoyed our Secrets of Great Pie Crusts and Pastry Dough article. Please, tell your friends about us and visit the page with related topics that will help
you improve your family cooking skills. After all, what's more pleasant than sitting down to eat great food with family and friends!
Pastry Cutters help you blend the shortening into the flour. They're inexpensive and easy to find in stores where kitchen utensils are sold.
A Pastry Cloth is a great investment in a fabulous pie crust. No tough crusts if you follow our tips & use a pastry cloth.
A Pie Crust Shield will protect the edge of your pie crust to prevent it from over-browning while the center of the pie cooks to doneness.
