Basic Pastry Crust

BASIC PASTRY CRUST

INGREDIENTS:

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup butter, cold, cut in chunks
1/3 cup ice water
1 egg yolk, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Pulse dry ingredients in food processor until combined. Add butter and pulse to blend. Mix ice water, egg yolk and lemon in bowl. Add, a spoonful at a time, to processor mixture, and blend until moistened. Divide pastry in half, and shape into discs. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill 30 minutes. Roll out on lightly floured surface until it fits a pie pan. Transfer to pie pan, trimming edges to fit.

If your recipe calls for a pre-baked crust, as many custard pie recipes do, follow all the steps above until you get to the point where it says to put in the filling. Note that you will need to make only a half recipe if you are only doing a bottom crust. Freeze the crust for at least a half hour, until chilled. This is an important step in pre-baking. Otherwise the crust will slip down the sides. Preheat your oven to 350°F. When the pie crust is sufficiently chilled, line the pie crust with parchment paper, wax paper, or aluminum foil. Fill at least two-thirds full with pie weights - dry beans, rice, ceramic or stainless-steel pie weights. Bake with weights for 10 minutes. Remove from oven, cool a few minutes and carefully remove pie weights. Poke small holes in the bottom of the pie crust with a fork and return to oven (without the weights) and cook for an additional 10 minutes, until the crust is golden. Cool completely before filling. You may need to tent the edges of the pie with aluminum foil when you bake your pie, to keep the edges from getting too dried out and burnt.

YIELD: 2 pie shell bottoms

NOTES: The above is a fairly generic recipe from the internet and various cookbooks. Growing up back in the 1950s, my Mom and Grandma made pie crusts from scratch. It was later into the 1960s when the "store bought" pie shells aka crusts were frequently used but the pies and cobblers they baked with the home made pie crust and solid or lattice type top were definitely the best tasting and looking for sure. I don't remember either of them using a food processor to make biscuits or any type of pasty dough items; all by hands and elbow grease.

I will add sequence pixs at a later date. I normally enlist the help of my bride when it comes to rolling out dough which is an art form in itself! I usually have flour and dough all over the place and caked on myself from my hands to my elbows....grin if you must!

Web published by Bill aka Mickey Porter 11-19-12.

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