flaky-pastry pie crust
This is a no-fuss, awesome-result ever time pie crust, that can be used for savory pies or dessert pies. One batch equals one crust to easily cover a 10" pie. Double this for two crust pies. You can definitely go for making this gluten free too!
Ingredients
savory pie crust ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour, plus more set aside for dusting For gluten free crusts, use an all purpose blend of gluten free flours that are a 1:1/even ratio with classic wheat/gluten flour.
- 1/2 cup salted butter one stick. Needs to be slightly soft, so leave out at room temperature for 20 minutes, or microwave for 15 seconds before cutting into cubes.
- 1/2 cup sour cream full fat only
sweet/dessert pie crust ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour, plus more set aside for dusting 1:1 ratio of gluten free blend if you'd like a gluten free pie
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup salted butter one stick, cut into cubes. By now, you know I only use salted butter. If you are not using salted butter, simply add 1/2 teaspoon of table salt to this recipe
- 1/2 cup sour cream full fat only
Instructions
- Decide if you're making a savory or sweet pie and how many crusts you'll need. In a bowl, place the two cups of flour (and sugar if you are making a dessert pie, and salt, if you are not using salted butter). Measure the sour cream.
- Cut the butter into cubes and place into the flour / flour mixture.
- Cover the butter cubes.
- Use your fingers to smash the individual butter cubes into the flour mixture.
- Work the two together so that the butter is into bits. It does not need to be fully uniform, but the butter pats should be small now.
- Add the sour cream.
- Use a metal fork or a pastry cutter to evenly combine.
- Easily fold the dough together. This dough will be flexible and easy to handle.
- Dust a little flour onto a clean, flat surface. If you are making a single batch - for one crust, form into one disk, wrap and refrigerate. If you are doubling this recipe for two crusts, form a ball, divide in two pieces, create two disks to wrap and refrigerate.
- You can refrigerate the dough overnight. However, it's ready to work with in 15-30 minutes after being refrigerated. When you are ready, pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. Dust a little flour onto a clean surface, and onto a rolling pin. Uncover the disk and roll out into an evenly-thin, round crust.
- For a pie with a bottom crust: place the rolled dough onto a pie dish, cover bottom and form the edges in whatever pattern or design you'd like, and fill with the prepared fruit that that will be baked.
- For a pie with a top pie crust, place the rolled out crust onto your prepared pie dish.
- Cut off the edges with a pastry knife or food-scissors.
- The dough is very pliable and easy to work with and manipulate, so you can decorate your pie however you wish. Here, I simply folded-in the edges for a chicken pot pie.
- Anytime you have a top-crust, you must cut some little slits at the top so that it the pie can "breathe" while baking and bake properly.
- My suggestion for all pie crusts, if you are not vegan or allergic to eggs, is to whisk a single egg white, and brush it over the top to totally cover the top crust. If this is a savory pie, leave it as is. It this is a sweet/dessert pie with a top crust, now is the opportunity to add sugar to the top before baking.
- Now, it's time to bake. Place in the center of your oven at 350 degrees, for 30-50 minutes, depending on the coverage and how browned you'd like your crust. for a bottom-crust only pie, like this blueberry, you'll want to add sugar (if desired) after the pie is baked, and completely cooled.
- Here's the end-result for a savory pie, with this crust at the top.
