Recipes : Perfect Pie Crust

Description: Pie crust is an essential basic. We often just buy a prepared pie crust when we want one, but once in a while we like to roll up our sleeves and make our own. It's not too difficult once you get the hang of the technique. While traditionally crust is made with butter or vegetable shortening, we prefer making ours with oil, since it's more cost-effective, less time-consuming to prepare, and we find the dough easier to work with. This recipe makes two 9-inch pie crusts that you can use to bake a variety of treats, from quiche to chicken potpie to a good old-fashioned fruit pie. See our links below!

Servings: 12

Cost per Serving: 12 ¢ per serving

Ingredients

  • 3 cups flour $0.64
  • 1 teaspoon salt $0.01
  • 1 teaspoon sugar (for sweet pies) * -
  • 1 cup oil (canola or vegetable oil) $0.76
  • 6 tablespoons water (ice cold) $0.06
*Optional ingredients - not counted in pricing.

Instructions

  1. Blend flour, salt, and sugar (optional) in a large mixing bowl.
  2. Add the oil and the ice water to the flour, and using your hands or a wooden spoon blend together. Add a little more flour if the dough is too moist. Add a few more drops of ice water if needed so the dough sticks together. It should be a bit crumbly but not sticky.
  3. On a floured surface, knead the dough a few times until it is a uniform texture. Divide into two parts, form into a ball, and cover in plastic wrap or wax paper. Refrigerate for at least one hour. (Refrigerating the dough makes it easier to work with in the next step.)
  4. On a floured surface, roll out the dough until it is about 1/8" thick. You can also roll it out between two pieces of plastic wrap or wax paper to prevent sticking. If you don't have a rolling pin, use a wine bottle.
  5. Press the dough into a pie dish. You're all set to prepare your favorite quiche or pie!

Notes

  • You can partially bake the pie crust before adding the ingredients to make quiche or pie if you like a crisper crust, but it's not totally necessary. To partially bake the crust, prick a few holes in the bottom with a fork (to prevent it from bubbling up during baking) and bake at 400º for 7-9 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool before continuing on with your recipe.
  • You can refrigerate dough for a few days after step 3 until you are ready to use it. Just keep it covered in wax paper or plastic wrap for up to 5 days. You can also freeze the dough in an airtight container for later use. Place frozen dough in the refrigerator to thaw overnight.
  • This recipe calls for oil, but you can substitute butter instead if you prefer. Add a cup of chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2" cubes, to the flour and salt, and with your fingertips, rub the butter into the flour to make very small crumbles. Then add the ice water and blend the dough quickly.
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