Five steps to perfect pie crust

Back in the day, bakingfabulous pastrywas, as they say,easy as pie.The recipe called for afew handfuls of flour, a couplespoonfuls of lard andsprinklings of water. Unlikecakes, pies fared well withthe uneven heat of woodstoves and bakers didn't loseprecious pantry space to seldom-used ingredients likebaking powder.As a result, cakes becametreats for special occasionswhile pies baked into everydayfare. Pastry crust easilyaccommodated savorymeats and vegetables for potpie dinners and held favoritefruits for a sweet dessert.turned on pie crust. Askmodern bakers what theysee as their greatest culinarychallenge and most will answer,"pie crust."How did this come to be?Let's take a look.Modern times broughtnew methods for creatingdesserts. As manufacturerscreated more cake mixesdesigned for easy and successfulbaking, hand-craftedpies fell from favor.Commercial pie crusts,whether mixed from a boxor pulled from the refrigeratedor frozen foods sectionof the grocer store, pale incomparison to homemadevarieties. Don't let fear offailure keep you from creatinga fabulous dessert thisholiday season.Here are my five secrets togreat pie crust.1. Choose the right combinationof ingredients. Startwith bleached flour; its lowerprotein content helps preventa rubbery crust. A smallamount of sugar tenderizesthe dough and promoteseven browning during baking.Great pie crust is all aboutthe fat. Unsalted butter addssmooth flavor; partneringwith transfat-free shortening smoothes the doughwhile rolling. Mixing withcold butter prevents thedough from becoming toosoft.2. Use a successful mixingmethod. Food processorsmake quick work of thedough, but using a pastryblender offers a hands-onexperience. The key to mixingpie dough lies in knowingwhen to stop blendingthe fat into the flour. Rotatethe bowl counterclockwisewhile moving through themixture in a cutting motion.Scrape the bowl,bringing upthe dry ingredients from thebottom until the mixture isuniformly crumbly.3. Stir in the correctamount of liquid.Most crustrecipes call for too little water.Bakers tend to compensatefor the liquid shortfallby overworking the dough in an attempt to bring everything together. Much more than adding too much liquid, overworking the dough creates a tough crust. For my crust recipe I substituted apple cider for water and boosted the amount. Apple cider's acidic edge tenderizes the crust and provides a sweet background flavor.4. Form and rest the dough. Press, don't knead the dough together. Gently round the sides of each dough after wrapping in plastic. Chilling gives the dough time to relax and absorb all the flour.5. Roll and shape the crust. Lightly dust the rolling surface with flour; just enough to prevent sticking. With even pressure, roll from front to back. If dough feels hard to roll, rest additional 15 minutes at room temperature.While rolling, rotate the dough quarter turns to the right. While turning, feel under the dough for thickness and texture. Round the dough's edges, roll onto pin and transfer to the pie panFollow this recipe for Easy as Pie Crust along with these five secrets, and your crust will be as easy as pie.As Easy as Pie Crust2#189; cup all-purpose flour, bleached preferred 2 tablespoons sugar 1 teaspoon salt #189; cup cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes #189; cup shortening, cut into small cubes #189; cup cold apple cider or juice, dividedIn a large bowl whisk flour, sugar and salt until combined. Add cubed butter and shortening and gently stir with fork until cubes are coated with flour.Using pastry blender, cut butter and shortening into flour until mixture resembles small crumbs. Turn bowl in circular motions while scraping bowl well. (Alternatively, use food processor; pulsing dry ingredients at 10 second intervals. Turn mixture into large bowl.)Pour #188; cup cold cider over flour mixture and stir with fork to moisten. Sprinkle in remaining cider 1 tablespoon at a time, using fork to reach dry portions at bottom of bowl. Let mixture stand 1 minute to absorb liquid.Gently press dough together using hands or scraper. Turn onto floured surface and form into flat disc.Cut into two equal portions for two, 9-inch single crusts. For a double-crust pie, cut one portion slightly larger than the other.Wrap each dough piece in plastic wrap and smooth top and edges. Chill at least 30 minutes before rolling and shaping. Dough can be kept up to 5 days, tightly wrapped and refrigerated.Makes enough for a double-crust pie. Serves nine.Baker's hint: Substitute #189; cup and 2#189; teaspoon vinegar for the cider.Nutrition values per serving: 301 calories, 20 g fat (8 g saturated), 28 g carbohydrates, 1 g fiber, 3 g protein, 25 mg cholesterol, 215 mg sodium. 512395Once the butter and shortening have been cut into the dry ingredients to create small crumbs, use a fork to blend in the liquid. 512385When rolling the dough, use even pressure and rotate the dough. To transfer to a pie plate, roll the dough onto the rolling pin.