Hard pie crust and soggy bottoms, be gone!
The Perfect Pie Crust
A pie crust should be flaky and tender, not tough.
Golden brown edges and a sturdy bottom to hold a flavorful filling are essential.
Credit: Alison Miksch
You want to create pockets of butter in the dough the same way you would while makinghomemade biscuits.
You also need the right recipe.
Use a pie crust recipe that calls for ablend of butter and shorteningfor the flakiest results.
If your pie crusts are often lackluster, you’ve come to the right place.
The solution is simple: When making pie dough, the colder your ingredients are, the better.
Ensure the butter is cold and the added liquid ingredients are chilled when making your pie dough.
When measuring the dough, scoop the flour into a measuring cup and level it with a knife.
Don’t pack it down.
Even better,measure the flourby weight with a kitchen scale for accurate results.
Don’t be tempted to add too much excess flour during this step.
The more you work the dough and the more flour added will make the dough tough or crumbly.
Overworking The Pie Dough
Excessive mixing or rolling overworks the pie dough.
Consider getting in touch with your food, literally, by using your hands during this process.
We also likeEasy Piecrust Crackers.
But it is necessary to allow some time for the pie dough to chill.
The pie crust could have a firm or tough texture if you bake your pie before resting your dough.
Improper rolling can cause the dough to break before you ever bake it.
If the dough is breaking when you put it in the pie pan, double-check it has chilled properly.
Patch any cracks by pinching them together to exit the seam so the filling doesn’t escape while baking.
This problem could combine factors of the dough being overworked or not giving the dough enough time to rest.
Or add a foil covering if you see the edges getting dark.
Soggy Bottom
A homemade pie with a soggy bottom is a notorious gripe in kitchens worldwide.
This problem could arise from too much moisture or trapped moisture at the bottom of the pie.
Ready to start putting these pie crust skills to the test?
