Crusts

Historians trace pie’s initial origins to the Greeks, who are thought to be the originators of the pastry shell, which they made by combining water and flour. The wealthy Romans used many different kinds of meats — even mussels and other types of seafood. The first pie recipe was published by the Romans and was for rye-crusted goat cheese and honey pie. The early pies were predominately meat pies. Pyes (pies) originally appeared in England as early as the twelfth century. The crust of the pie was referred to as “coffyn”.

There are many ways of making a delicious crust for either a sweet or savory dish. You can adapt mostly any crust recipe to your liking since there are many different kinds of crust textures and flavors. When people think of making a cheesecake crust, most only consider using the classic graham cracker crust (which is delicious) but forget they can do so much to take it to the next level. If making a savory pie, you can add parmesan, bacon, garlic, or spices to the crust to elevate your dish. When making desserts, you can always switch part or the whole amount of butter to infused butter, substitute graham crackers for biscuits, Maria crackers, vanilla wafers, Oreos, etc. I always encourage people to think outside the box and experiment in the kitchen.

Cooking is only dull if you make it boring, so get creative and don’t be afraid to play around and explore new flavors and techniques. Most pie crust recipes use the same method even if the ingredient list is different, once you master the art, you can alter the recipes to fit your like. These are the recipes I mostly use as a base for my work with slight changes, depending on the dish I’m making.

Classic Graham Cracker crust:

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups of graham cracker crumbs

3 tbsp sugar

1/3 cup of melted butter or infused butter

Method:

Pulverize the crackers to make the crumbs and mix them with the sugar. Mix in the melted butter, and while it is still warm, press it down evenly in the pan to form the crust.

Now, you can pour the batter for baking or bake at 325 for 20 minutes and let cool for a no-bake pie preparation. If doing a no-bake preparation, always put some weight on top of the crust to prevent it from puffing up or breaking. Prick the crust with a fork and cover the crust with parchment paper; for weight, you could use the baking marbles bakers use, dry beans, or rice works fine too; then bake.

There are different ways to make a delicious and flaky pie crust. You can use lard, shortening, cream cheese, butter, or a mix. If using lard, rendered leaf lard is recommended, lard makes a really crunchy and flaky crust. I find cream cheese pie crust very tasty and a little denser than the classic butter-based crust, so if you need more consistency and texture in the crust than usual, I suggest the cream cheese crust, depending on the preparation and your taste. This recipe is low effort and suitable for a regular one-crust pie with a 9-inch pan. You can always double the recipe for a double-crust pie or make more than one.

Cream cheese pie crust:

Ingredients:

1/2 cup of softened unsalted butter or infused butter

1 cup of flour

4 oz softened cream cheese

Method:

Place flour in a large bowl. Cut in cream cheese and butter with a pastry blender or two knives until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Shape dough into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 1 hour. When shaping the dough into a ball, handle it as little as possible to help prevent the baked crust from becoming tough or melting the fat in the dough with the heat of your hands.

Place dough between 2 lightly floured sheets of waxed paper; roll into 10-inch round. Discard the top sheet of waxed paper. Spray 9-inch pie plate with cooking spray; invert over dough. Flip pie plate, holding pie plate and dough together. Discard the second sheet of waxed paper. Gently press dough onto the bottom and up the side of the pie plate. Flute the edge of the crust, if desired, then use as desired.

The following recipe is a little more tricky because it involves water and most of the dough content is fat (you know how that works). While you need to incorporate all the ingredients evenly, you can’t let the dough get warm or overworked because your dough will be ruined. Follow every detailed step, and you shouldn’t have any problems. Here, I describe making pie dough by hand, so if you don’t have access to the equipment, you can still get it done, but you can also use a food processor for an easier but effective method; I add a note at the end of the second step.

Buttery pie crust:

Ingredients:

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled, plus a little more for greasing the pie pan

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling out dough

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water

Method:

Cut each stick of butter into pieces, and refrigerate until needed. Place the flour, salt, and sugar in a large mixing bowl, and mix to combine.

Add the chilled butter. Using a pastry blender or food processor, incorporate the butter into the flour mixture; the mixture should resemble a coarse meal with small pieces of butter, the size of small peas, remaining visible. *If using a food processor; pulse in the butter for 8 to 10 seconds. Add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of ice water through the feed tube with the machine running.

Drizzle 2 tablespoons of ice water over the flour-butter mixture, and blend. Repeat with an additional 2 tablespoons of water. At this point, you may have to add more water: When a handful of dough squeezed together just holds its shape, you’ve added enough; if the dough crumbles, continue incorporating water, 1 tablespoon at a time, checking the consistency after each additional tablespoon.

Turn the dough out onto a clean work surface. Divide into two equal pieces, and place on two separate sheets of plastic wrap. Flatten, and form two disks. Wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Lightly dust a clean, dry work surface with flour. Place the chilled dough in the center of the work surface, and dust the dough and the rolling pin with flour. Position the rolling pin on the center of the disk, and begin rolling the dough away from you. Give the disk a quarter turn, and roll again. Continue turning and rolling until you have an even 1/8-inch thickness. Turning the dough as you roll will prevent it from sticking to the work surface. A dry pastry brush is handy to remove any excess flour during and after the rolling process.

Lightly butter the pie plate. To minimize stretching when moving the dough, roll it around the pin, lift up, and unroll over the buttered pie plate. Using your fingers, gently pat the dough into place. Trim any excess dough with a paring knife or kitchen shears, leaving a 1-inch overhang; then fold dough under to reinforce the edge.

Butter-only pie crusts are a little tricky for beginners but a good option for those avoiding shortening. If you are a beginner or want to make an easy flaky delicious homemade butter pie crust, I suggest adding some vegetable shortening. The shortening will help the dough bind together and not be too sensitive to heat which means it can be handled a little more easily than just butter pie crust; plus, it will add some structure to the crust if you plan to use it for pot pie which is eaten hot and needs to hold a liquid filling without falling apart. This next recipe includes shortening and you can work it right away although is recommended to chill it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before working it.

Easy pie crust:

Ingredients:

½ cup shortening

4 tablespoons cold butter cubed or cut small (can use infused butter)

2 ¼ cups flour

¼ teaspoon salt (if using unsalted butter)

½ cup cold water

Method:

In a large mixing bowl, cut shortening, butter, and flour together (add salt if you’re using). A pastry blender is preferred, but I have used forks and knives with success.

Add the cold water and stir with a fork until it forms a ball. If there’s still flour at the end, add water, a teaspoon at a time. You want the dough to be stiff, not sticky, so be careful not to add too much water.

Divide in half, and form into discs. (If you’re only using half, you can freeze the other half now.) Cover in plastic wrap. Let the dough chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before rolling out.

Prick the crust with a fork and cover the crust with parchment paper; for weight, you could use the baking marbles bakers use, dry beans, or rice works fine too; then bake. Bake at 400°F for 14-15 minutes, or until the crust is cooked through and no longer translucent. *Remember that if you infuse this crust with butter you don’t want to bake it in high heat. In this case, I would suggest you bake it at 340 for approx 25 minutes.

This recipe stores well too, so is a good go-to recipe when you need to prep ahead or bake numerous pies.

To store: After covering the dough ball in plastic wrap more than once (you don’t want freezer burns or dry dough), cover in foil as well. Keep in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or freezer for up to 3 months.

The author shall not be liable for any damage or injury alleged to be caused, directly or indirectly, by the information provided here. Neither is responsible for any allergic reaction or adverse reaction to any ingredient (including infusions). No legal, nutritional, or medical advice is intended with this information, and under no circumstances should any infused product be given to children without professional medical guidance.