You should know how to make pie crust. Seriously, you should. Your grandma made it, your great-grandma made it and likely generations of women (and men) before them did it too! And they did it without modern convienences like, you know marble countertops and running water! Is it hard to make? No! Does it take practice? Yes, of course! Can you do it? ABSOLUTELY! And I’ve got a great whole grain pie dough that would make your grandma proud!
I Love Pie Crust
I love pie crust, don’t you? It really makes or breaks a pie. That flakey, buttery crust is just pure, delicious perfection. You know what’s not delicious? Flavorless, hard pie crust. I know, because I’ve made it and have tried to eat it. Not good. Not good at all. Don’t let this be you! Learn the steps NOW to make a great, HOMEMADE pie crust every time!
Practice Makes Perfect
Don’t you love that old saying? It’s kind of annoying, but so darn true. You will likely have to make pie crust several times before you get an awesome one. Why? Because you have to learn about how dough feels. You need to understand when you’ve worked your butter enough, when the dough is hydrated properly and how to handle it so it’s not over-worked. It’s an art, but you can learn it!
The winner? The 1/2 AP and 1/2 WWF blend! While I loved the idea of using whole wheat pastry flour, it resulted in a dough that was too delicate.
Tackling the Whole Grain Crust
I mastered the all purpose pie crust first and that’s a good place to start. But you know I love my whole grains, so of course I had to experiment. After sitting at my computer, writing down several notes on post-its (I’m old school – some of you might not even know what a post-it is! That makes me sad. But I digress.), I decided to give the chat line over at King Arthur Flour a try. I mean, they’re the baking experts, right? Let’s just say my chat with Bryanna was way more fun than it should’ve been. In fact, I left our conversation wishing Bryanna was like my personal baking “Siri.” How awesome would that be!? She gave me some great tips that I’ll share with you!
Pie Crust Tips
Here’s what I learned from my new friend Bryanna:
- She recommended using 1/2 all purpose (AP) and 1/2 whole wheat (WW) flour for the dough.
- She said whole wheat pastry flour might yield too delicate (read-frustrating as heck) pie crust.
- The rule of thumb is 8-9 tablespoons of fat for one pie crust and about 1 1/2 cups flour.
Here’s what I’ve learned from my own practice:
- Don’t get mad. Really, it doesn’t help. If you screw up, forget about it and start over.
- Use REALLY COLD butter and water. Just do it! In fact, if you’re super prepared, dice up the butter and stick it in the freezer and toss it in at the very last moment. Warm butter cannot be perfectly integrated into the flour like cold butter. That means no flaky crust and that’s just sad.
- Transfer the dough from your counter to the pie plate using your rolling pin. See my pictures below!
- Turn your pie dough a quarter turn every time you roll it. This ensures it’s not sticking to your work surface. Throw some flour down if you notice that it is. Learned that 5000 dollar trick in culinary school. Look I just saved you 5ooo dollars!
- If it’s not perfect, it’s beautiful. So what if you’re crust is lopsided or droopy or imperfect! It still tastes the same, right? Let’s not put the added pressure of perfection on our pie crusts. Nobody’s perfect and neither is pie dough!
Pie Crust Time
Now it’s up to you! Get in the kitchen and start practicing that pie dough. And if you get in a pickle, give the fine folks at King Arthur Flour a buzz. Or drop me a line in the comments section below! Happy baking!
Best Whole Grain Pie Crust
Description
A blend of whole grain and all purpose flour is perfect for this buttery, easy-to-handle pie crust dough.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour (90g)
- 3/4 cup white whole wheat flour (90g)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar (16g)
- 1 stick (1/2 cup) salted butter, cold
- 3–4 tablespoons ice cold water
Instructions
- Mix the flours, salt and sugar together in a large bowl. Using a pastry cutter, fork or your fingers, cut the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse sand. Pour 3 tablespoons of water over the flour mixture and shape into a ball. If dough is crumbly or too dry, add the final tablespoon and gently work the dough into a disc. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes.
- When ready to make your pie, remove dough from refrigerator and plastic wrap and place on a floured work surface. Flour your rolling pin and starting from the middle of the dough, roll your way out, shaping your dough into a circle that’s about 11-12 inches in diameter. Transfer dough to the pie pan and gently press into the bottom and sides of the pan. Fold over edges and pinch them or use the tines of a fork to decorate.
- Proceed with pie as directed in recipe.
Notes
- Makes one, 9-inch pie crust
- Use cold butter, pretty please.
- Use ice cold water, pretty please!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 8
- Calories: 193
- Sugar: 2
- Sodium: 176
- Fat: 12
- Saturated Fat: 7
- Unsaturated Fat: 4
- Trans Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 19
- Protein: 3
- Cholesterol: 31
Find it online: https://www.sarahaasrdn.com/best-whole-grain-pie-crust/
Just wanted to let you know this is not a paid post. While I sure did love my time chatting with the baking experts at King Arthur Flour, all thoughts are my own and I will likely make zero dollars from this post. Ha!
