Pastry Techniques for pie crust
INGREDIENTS
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3-2-1 Dough
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Flour: For a tender crust, choose a low-protein flour. Pastry flour, with a protein content of about 8-10%, ranks between all-purpose flour and cake flour. All-purpose flour works just fine for pie crusts, while cake flour might lack enough protein t
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Depending upon your tastes and the recipe, you can substitute nut flours (almond flour or hazelnut flour) or whole wheat pastry flour for part of the mixture.
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If you're a novice crust-maker, start with a plain all-purpose or pastry flour dough.
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Fat: Flaky crusts can be made from a variety of fats: butter, lard, shortening, duck fat, vegetable oil, or nut oils.
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Crusts made with all butter are very flavorful, though they are generally not quite as flaky as crusts made with shortening or lard.
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Vegetable shortening pie doughs are easier to work with and hold their shape better than all-butter crusts, but the flavor won't be as rich.
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Lard produces the flakiest crust, but processed lard can have a chemical aftertaste. Some butchers or farmers' market stands might sell fresh rendered lard.
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Some of the best pie crusts are made with a combination of fats: half butter, for flavor, and half shortening or lard, for flakiness.
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Fans of crispier crusts use melted butter or oil for the fat, resulting in a mealier dough that bakes up as a fine-textured, crisp crust.
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Liquid: Ice water, fruit juices, egg yolks, sour cream, milk or cream add different flavors and textures to your pie crust.
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When adding liquid to the flour and fat mixture, it should be ice-cold in order to keep the pieces of fat cool and separate.
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Always add liquid a tablespoon at a time, tossing with the flour mixture.
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Humidity can affect dough performance, so you might need less liquid than the recipe calls for.
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If your dough becomes too wet, you'll need to add more flour to roll out the crust, throwing off your ratio and resulting in a tough crust.
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A little bit of acid--vinegar or lemon juice--helps tenderize the dough and prevents it from oxidizing.
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Salt: don't forget to add a pinch of salt to enhance the flavor of your crust.
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For a sweeter crust, add a tablespoon or two of confectioners' sugar. Granulated sugar can make the dough sticky and harder to work with.
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Other additions: Wheat germ, a pinch of spice, a dash of flavorful liqueur or cold brewed coffee are all good additions to pie crusts.
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