Making your own piecrusts at home is more an art than a science. But it doesn’t need to be difficult to create a delectable piecrust that your family and holiday dinner guests will absolutely love.
Midwest Living has a fantastic tutorial online that reveals “how to mix, knead, flatten, and trim an all-butter pie pastry that’s perfect for any pie.”
This recipe takes 15 minutes of hands-on prep time and 2 hours of bake time. It yields two, nine-inch piecrusts.
Creating the perfect all-butter piecrust
This all-butter pie pastry recipe is inspired by “author and pie-baker extraordinaire Lisa Ludwinski.” Thankfully, you don’t need very many ingredients to get started making your piecrust. Here’s what you need:
- Ice
- 2 tablespoons of cider vinegar
- 2 ½ cups of unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon of sugar
- 1 teaspoon of kosher salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks) of unsalted butter
The recipe cites that the butter should preferably be “European-style high butterfat such as Plugra or Kerrygold, straight from the fridge). Why? Because, according to Ludwinski, it enhances both the flavor and texture of the ingredients.
“This is definitely the most buttery tasting, flakiest all-butter crust we’ve tried. If you can afford the splurge, go for it,” according to Midwest Living.
Recipe directions
Step 1:
Grab a 1 cup liquid measuring cup, and place a few ice cubes inside. Add in the cider vinegar and cold water. Make sure to fill up the cup. Then using a large bowl, which in the sugar, flour, and kosher salt.
Step 2:
Now, get your butter and cut it into 1/2-inch cubes. Add the butter to the flour mixture you combined in step 1 and toss the mixture onto the butter to coat it.
Use a pastry blender (or you can just use your fingers), to cut or rub the butter into the flour. While turning the bowl, “toss the mixture occasionally so you don’t miss any butter.” (If the blender clogs now and then, just clean it out with a butter knife.)
Once the largest chunks look like they are about the size of a pea and the rest of the mixture resembles canned Parmesan cheese, you can stop blending.
Step 3:
At this time, take the ice out of the measuring cup. Pour 1/2 cup of the vinegar-water mixture over the flour mix (make sure to evenly drizzle the vinegar-water into the flour mix). There will be some of the vinegar-water mix left over, which you will only need if the pastry is dry, so keep it on hand just in case.
Toss the mixture using a fork. When you can’t see any more liquid pooling in the mix, you’re done with this step. Using your hands, knead the mixture with your hands. By doing so, you’ll knead it into a cohesive mass.
Finally, when all of the dry bits residing at the bottom of the bowl are gone, you’re done with this step.
Step 4:
Move the dough to a lightly floured surface. If the dough needs more kneading, so now. Then cut the dough in half, and pat each portion, gently, into 2-inch thick discs. Next, wrap them using plastic wrap.
Now, you’ll put the do in the fridge for at least 2 hours. However, it’s ideal to refrigerate the dough overnight if possible.
After cooling, the dough will be ready for you to fill it with your favorite filling. Then bake and enjoy!
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Nutrition facts
This recipe’s nutrition facts are, per serving: 173 calories; 11g total fat; 30mg cholesterol; 161mg sodium; 15g carbohydrates; and 2g protein.
