What is the first thing you think of when you hear the word “Pie”?

Is it the filling or is it the crust? 

If we did a poll, I am very confident most will vote for the flaky crust; however, most have not had the pleasure of experiencing what a really good pie crust tastes like.

Some pies have crusts that are dense and chewy and store bought brands usually are pumped with stabilizers to maintain freshness but sacrifice taste.

I will be the first to tell you that nothing beats a freshly baked homemade pie with a beautiful crust.

How do we achieve this successfully? 

No fear!  Your dense and chewy pie crust days are OVER.

I’m about to give you my five best tips on achieving this super flaky phenomenon that will wow you, your family, and friends; and guess what???  The recipe is included!

Here We Go!

Step #1:  INGREDIENTS

Making pie dough is quick and very easy in terms of the ingredients:  flour, shortening, water, and salt (butter and sugar are optional).  However, in a great pie dough, all ingredients MUST be cold!  When I make pie dough, I scale out all the ingredients and place them inside of the refrigerator.  The reason for this is because the heat from your hands and other warm environmental situations can warm the fat too quickly and result in over-mixing the fat inside of the dough.

Over-mixing or using soft fat will cause too much of the fat to be blended into the flours instead of remaining in separate chunks.  The result is a dough that is hard to work with – and worse, a baked crust that is tough rather than flaky.

Additionally, the flakiness of a pie crust also depends a great deal on the flour to fat ratio.  Using too much flour will be similar to making a short dough so you want to use the least amount of flour possible.

Step #2:  FAT

While most people insist on using lard only in their pie crusts, I believe that even though it will produce a beautiful flaky crust, the flavor of only lard can be overwhelming, especially if a fruit filling is used.

To fix this problem, I use the combination of both lard and butter.  In my opinion, it gives the absolute best overall results.  If you don’t like lard,k you can substitute margarine or vegetable shortening.

DO NOT and I repeat, DO NOT make the dough with all butter!  Doing this will be detrimental to your success, in achieving a superior flaky pie crust.

Because of butter’s high water content and low melting point, a pie dough made using 100% butter is very hard to work with and the texture of the final baked product will be mealy.

Step #3:  FRAISER

Fraiser or “Fraisage”, is a French technique used to sheet fat into the dough.  Doing this process will make the dough somewhat like a laminated dough.  When baked, the fat will release moisture creating steam causing air pockets to form.  Once the moisture is gone, the remaining fat will crisp those air pockets resulting in a very light and flaky baked product.

Yummy Flaky Crumb Goodness all Over your Hands, Face, Mouth, Table, Lap…… Umm Yea… Let’s Just Say Crumbs Everywhere!  SMILE!

• To Fraisage, mix the dough ingredients until just combined
• Pour on to a clean surface
• Use the heel of your hand and push the mixture down and forward on the surface
• You should see the fat “smear” in a thin “sheet-like” layer
• Continue this process with the entire mixture twice
• If done properly, most of the fat will still be visible, resembling a marble-like appearance
  THIS LADIES AND GENTS IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT STEPS TO CREATING A FLAKY CRUST!

Step #4:  RESTING AND PANNING

This step is the easiest but is very necessary to create a great product.  After you got all of that buttery goodness mixed together, flatten the dough in plastic wrap or parchment paper and wrap tightly.  Set in the refrigerator to rest

• The first reason the dough needs to rest is to relax the gluten that was built during the kneading process.
• The second reason is the flour needs to hydrate properly.  Flour needs to reach full hydration so that the dough is pliable and easy to roll out a pan up

AND THE FINAL STEP?

Step #5:  BAKING TEMPERATURE

Baking any products at the correct temperature is very crucial!  When I bake anything in the oven, I don’t rely on the manufacturer’s temperature dial.  I use an oven thermometer to verify the temperature is correct.

Faulty oven equipment that gives incorrect low temperatures are more than likely to result in a blond and chewy pie crust or if the oven is too hot then the crust will burn on the outside too quickly and be under cooked in the middle.
My advice is to invest in a few high-temperature oven thermometers.  They are extremely inexpensive and can save you time and prevent insanity.

Flaky Pie Dough

• 355g bread flour
• 5g salt
• 228g unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 70g cold lard or vegetable shortening
• 80ml ice cold water
  • Measure and refrigerate all ingredients until very cold
  • Combine flour and salt in a bowl
  • Add the butter and lard and pinch it into the flour, leaving small chunks of the fat visible.  The mixture should look coarse!
  • Add the ice cold water and mix with hands until the dough just comes together (the fat should still be present!)
  • Fraisage the dough!
  • Gather into a ball, place in plastic wrap and flatten.  Wrap tight and chill for 1-2 hours to let the flour hydrate fully!

Fresh Apple Pie Filling

• 900g apples, peeled and sliced or diced
• 30g butter
• 90g sugar
• 60g water, cold
• 24g cornstarch
• 100g sugar
• 1g salt
• .5g cinnamon
• .5g cardamom
• .5g nutmeg
• 10g lemon juice
• 7g butter
  • Saute the apples lightly in the first quantity of butter until they are slightly softened
  • Add the first quantity of sugar to the apples.  This will draw out the apple to simmer them in their own juices
  • In a separate bowl, mix the water and starch until smooth
  • Add the starch mixture to the apples and boil until the liquid is thick and clear
  • Stir gently until the sugar is dissolved and the butter is melted
  • Cool completely
  • Fill pie shells and top with more pie dough.
  • Brush the top of the pie with egg wash completely
  • Bake in oven at 425F until deep rich golden brown and the crust is cooked all the way through top, bottom, and sides
  • Let cool, slice and serve!