Bake and fill to taste

Let's talk pie.

It comes in just about every shape, size, and flavor imaginable. It gives us a wonderful use for those starting-to-go apples, and is probably at least half of the reason why we love our grandmothers as much as we do.

Unfortunately, half of this wonderful dessert has, quite frankly, gotten the shaft. I'm talking about the crust. Pre-made pie crusts are, in my opinion, the death of this food. People will flock to buy these things to save time and effort when in fact making the crust is probably the quickest and easiest part of the whole process. Not to mention that when you do it by hand you have full control of the outcome, and that's going to mean a far better crust than anything you'd find in the store.

So before I throw down a recipe for you, let's talk about what makes a really good crust and how we get there.

When it comes to baked goods, flakey and tender are pretty much on opposite sides of the scale. There are a number of factors that play into the flakey-tender dichotomy. Using a liquid fat, which will simply absorb into the flour mix and coat everything, is going to provide a tender item (as seen with muffins). This is why the great among the pie crusts are made with butter or lard and not oil. Also the size of the pieces of fat makes a big difference. Before I can explain about that, though, a quick lesson about how solid fat = flakey is in order.

As I said, liquid fat like oil will simply absorb into the flour like water, giving an even coating and tenderizing the product (that's what fat does when left alone in baked goods - it tenderizes). Chunks of solid fat, however, are different. Cutting the fat into the flour (that is, either working the butter in with a quick run through a food processor or the old fork and knife method) does still coat the flour with fat, but you still have these nice big pieces spread throughout the dough when you're done. When these chunks hit the hot oven they melt and spread all throughout the dough. Soon the water will turn to steam and will separate the layers of protein contained within, and you're left with all of those wonderful light flakes.

Now why does size matter in this process? It's pretty simple - a large chunk of fat will melt over a large area, the steam will go to work over said large area, and you'll be left with nice big flakes. Tiny little bits of fat (say for example, pieces about the size of rice) will make tiny little puddles of fat, which turn into tiny little pockets of steam, and you just won't get those nice flakes. The smaller you go, the more tender the result. Big flakes come from big fat, and that's that.

Before anything else, though, watch out for a few pitfalls:

Don't go overboard when working the fat in, especially if you're using a food processor. Like I said, cutting those pieces too small won't give you a flakey crust. A food processor will only take about 10 seconds, if that. Pulse lightly, and keep your eye on it.

When rolling out the crust, be gentle. Remember those protein layers that get separated to become those wonderous flakes? That protein is gluten. It forms when flour mixes with water. If you're ever kneaded dough, you know that it gets more elastic as you go - that's gluten forming. These rubberband-like strands are great for bread, giving a good chew and catching gases to allow for a good rise as well. For a pie crust, though, they're not exactly friendly. Too much gluten will make a crust tough, and who wants that?
When rolling, don't just go to town on the sucker. Use quick, light strokes to gently form the dough into the desired shape.

Watch the water you use. You want just enough water to bring it all together into a dough. Gently mix while pouring to bring it together - but remember what I said about gluten. Mix just enough so that you have a doughball.

Keep it cold. Especially when using butter, which gets really soft at room temperature, it's important to keep everything cold. Before I roll it out, I give the dough a nice chill in the refrigerator (or even a few minutes in the freezer). If you can, toss everything you'll be using (bowl, rolling pin, etc) into the freezer as well. The up side to lard is that it has a higher melting point, so it will stay solid just a little bit longer in the oven. This is helpful because the protein layers need some time to set. If there are no layers to push apart, the steam won't create flakes when it escapes. The most crucial time to chill the dough is before it goes into the oven (so that solid chunks of butter are present just before baking). If nothing else, give it a few minutes in the freezer before you bake it.

Docking, that is to say poking little holes all over the place, is necessary if you're baking the crust without any filling (blind baking). Otherwise the steam won't have a good way out and you'll get all sorts of air pockets.

And now, on to the actual recipe. This will make enough for 2 crusts - either a top and bottom, or 2 bottoms... likely with some scraps left over.

1 1/4 cup flour*
pinch salt**
1/2 c butter***
1/4**** c ice water

That's a lot of little footnote markers, but they're important. I'll go through the process, though, before explaining.

Combine flour and salt.
Cut in butter (I personally try not to go below pea-sized pieces, and probably half are at least twice that size. If using a processor and you want this effect, do half of the fat first to 1/2 T sized pieces, put in the rest and go a bit more. You should end up with good chunks of butter. If it looks like you've got a lot of flour left in there, don't worry, it just looks that way. Stir it around gently a bit to make sure all of the flour has touched the fat, but don't cut the fat further)
Gradually add ice water, starting with 2-3 T. The necessary amount depends on altitude, humidity, etc, so go light and add more if needed. Remember, you just want it to come together.


There you have it. You've got your doughball, ready to go. Now for those footnotes...

*Flours are not created equal. Bread flour has more gluten-forming protein, and cake flour has less. Since we don't want too much gluten, using cake flour if you have it wouldn't be a bad idea. If all you have is all-purpose, though, don't worry. Alone it'll make a fine crust (all other steps done properly). If you want a little extra insurance, though, replace 2T of flour with corn starch. It'll mix in well enough with everything else in this amount, but it won't form gluten.
**Salts are also not created equal. Sea salt, though I love it, is full of minerals that are beneficial to gluten formation. Given that it's way more expensive this may be falling on deaf ears, but in case it matters, save it for other culinary pursuits and use standard table salt or kosher salt.
***Another bit of insurance can be added here. If you care to, replace 2T of butter with lard. Really, you can use all lard if you want, but I'm sure a lot of you are making faces at that thought. I just use butter myself, and it'll be fine if you keep it cold, but like I said, if you want that extra bit of insurance...
****Just to reiterate, use ice water to keep the mix cold. I fill a 1 cup measure with ice, then with water. Give it a minute to cool down all the way, then add it one tablespoon at a time to the mix.


One final note. This is something that I haven't actually tried yet, but I think it may be worth noting. Adding sugar to baked goods does a few things. It gets in the way of gluten, sweetens (obviously), and helps with good browning. It's classified as a tenderizer, as sharp crystals have a habit of cutting through things. If you feel up for experimenting, toss in a teaspoon or two with the rest of the dry goods. I would expect that, given good preparation in other areas, the outcome would be beneficial. If you do try it, let me know how it turns out. I'll be testing that one with the next pie I make myself.

The next time you get a sweet tooth going, I highly encourage you to try your hand at putting together your own crust (even if you don't feel like filling it, you can bake it with a little bit of cinnamon-sugar on top - trust me, it's delicious). It's easy, and really takes less time than the trip to the store. Just keep in mind a few good tips and you'll be an expert in no time.