PIEtisserie Pie Crust

PIEtisserie Pie Crust Recipe (for a double crust sweet or savory pie)

• 1 cup cold unsalted butter (2 sticks)
• 3 cups flour (unsifted)
• approx 1 cup ice cold water
• 1/4 teaspoon salt (?)

Measure three cups flour into a large mixing bowl. Do not pack the flour into the measuring cup, simply scoop and level with the back of knife. Add the salt, and mix.
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Grate the butter over the flour with a cheese grater or by scraping with the tines of a fork. The butter can also be cut in pieces over the flour. The butter should be very hard, straight out of the fridge. It also does not have to be an exact cup of butter, it’s ok if you add a little more, better to have a little more, than not enough.

Combine the flour, butter, and salt with a fork or pastry cutter. The mixture should look crumbly, sandy-looking and not uniform. There should be small clumps of butter, about the size of pebbles/gravel, and roughly no larger than nickels in diameter, throughout the mixture. Butter will clump on the fork, be sure to scrape it back down into the mixture.

Add the ice cold water by sprinkling it over the flour-butter mixture in increments of (approx) 3-4 tablespoons. Stir with a fork after each addition of water. Add enough water until the mixture sticks together when pressed between your fingertips and balls up into a dough ball. Avoid combining the butter-flour-water mixture with your hands, as the heat from your hands will warm the butter and water, when the butter and water should stay as cold as possible. There may be a section of your mixture that is drier than the rest, focus on adding water to that area.

Just like the butter, it’s better to add a little more water, better to have a little more, than not enough.

Once the butter-flour-water mixture form a large sticky lump in your mixing bowl, gently and quickly shape it roughly into a ball and store in a Ziploc bag or some other airtight container. If your ball of dough is not sticky to the touch (does not leave dough on your finger when touched), add a little more water.

Refrigerate your dough for 25 minutes, or longer. The colder the dough the better, as it will bake up lighter and flakier.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and cut in half. Store the other half in an airtight container. You may also place the container of dough back in the fridge. The first half of dough being rolled out is the bottom crust.

Roll out to 1/8 in. thickness.

Optional: Lightly brush the top of the upper crust with cream or a beaten egg for a crispier crust and glossy finish. Be sure to evenly coat the entire top.

Baking Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake the pie on a lower rack on a cookie sheet (to catch any dripping filling).

Bake at 400 degrees for 20 mins. Reduce the heat to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 25-30 mins.

Juice should run from the pie when it’s done.