All Purpose Pie Dough Recipes

ALL-PURPOSE PIE DOUGH

Steps:

• Using your fingertips or the pulse function of a food processor, blend together the flour, fats and salt until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. There should be pebbles of butter throughout the mixture.
• Add egg yolk and vinegar to 1/4 cup ice water and stir to combine. Drizzle 4 tablespoons of this mixture over the dough and gently stir or pulse to combine. Gather a golfball-size bit of dough and squeeze to combine. If it does not hold together, add a little more of the liquid and stir or pulse, then check again. Repeat as necessary.
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and gather together into a rough ball. You want to be careful not to overwork the flour, but not too careful; the dough should hold together. Divide the ball in half with a knife or a pastry scraper, then divide each portion in half again, and again, to create eight portions. Using the heel of your hand, flatten each portion of dough once or twice to expand the pebbles of butter, then gather the dough together again in one ball. Divide this ball in half.
• Flatten each ball into a 5- or 6-inch disc and dust lightly with flour. Wrap the discs in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least 60 minutes.

EASY PIE CRUST

Steps:

• To make the dough for the pie crust, mix 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour and 1 teaspoon each salt and sugar in a medium-size bowl. Cut 2 sticks chilled unsalted butter into pieces. With a pastry blender, cut in butter, working until mixture resembles coarse meal.
• Add 4 tablespoons ice water; work with hands until dough comes together. If dough is still crumbly, add more ice water a tablespoon at a time (up to 4 more tablespoons). Do not overwork.
• Divide dough in half, and flatten halves into disks. Wrap disks separately in plastic; refrigerate at least 1 hour.
• To form the pie shell, roll the dough on a floured surface into a 14-inch round. Wrap around rolling pin and carefully unroll over a 9-inch pie plate.
• Fit gently into bottom and side of plate. Use kitchen shears to trim dough to a 1-inch overhang; fold under, and seal to form a rim.
• Crimp rim with fingertips and knuckle. Repeat with remaining dough; wrap each with plastic, stack, and freeze.

BEST ALL-PURPOSE PIE CRUST

Steps:

• To make by hand, combine the flour, salt, and sugar, if using, in a large bowl. Work the butter into the flour with a knife, pastry cutter, or your fingers until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Sprinkle the ice water onto the crumbly dough and, with your hands, push the dough from the sides to the middle of the bowl to form a ball that holds together. Transfer to a work surface. Cut the dough in half, place half on top of the other, and press down. Repeat the cutting and pressing steps three or four times until all of the water is incorporated into the dough and it clings together.
• On a floured surface, gently flatten the ball of dough with a rolling pin. Starting from the center, roll the dough into a circle about an inch larger than the diameter of the pie pan. Lift the dough into the pan. Fold the edges under and crimp with your fingers or a fork.
• To make in a food processor, cut the butter into 1inch pieces and place them in the bowl of the food processor. Add the flour, salt, and sugar. Process until all of the ingredients are incorporated. With the processor on, add the water a tablespoon at a time until the dough begins to clump but is still crumbly. Continue to drizzle a little water and pulse the food processor, stopping to test the dough with your fingertips to see if it is moist enough to hold together.
• When you can gather the dough into a ball, remove it from the processor, place it on a lightly floured surface, and roll out and fit into the pan as above.

ALL-PURPOSE PIE DOUGH

Steps:

• Stir sugar, vinegar, and 2 Tbsp. hot water in a small measuring glass to dissolve sugar. Add 1/3 cup ice water and stir to melt ice; chill in freezer until very cold, about 10 minutes (do not let it freeze).
• Pulse flour, butter, and salt in a food processor until largest pieces of butter are pea-size. Turn out onto a work surface and, using the heel of your hand, smash butter into flour to flatten. Working quickly, continue smashing butter into flour until mixture is pale yellow and resembles coarse meal. Gather into a mound and make a well in the center. Pour in sugar mixture, using your fingertips to slowly incorporate into flour; work in until only a few dry spots remain. Knead until no dry spots remain and dough holds together when pressed.
• Divide dough in half, flatten into disks, and wrap each in plastic. Chill until firm, at least 2 hours.
• Do Ahead
• Dough can be made 3 days ahead. Keep chilled, or freeze up to 1 month.

ALL-PURPOSE PIZZA DOUGH

Steps:

• Sprinkle the yeast over the hot water in a small bowl. Let stand until dissolved and slightly foamy, 5 to 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, whisk the bread flour, all-purpose flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl and make a well in the center. Pour the yeast mixture into the well and add the olive oil. Stir with a wooden spoon until a shaggy dough forms.
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, dust the dough with flour and knead, dusting with more flour as needed, until very smooth and elastic but still slightly tacky, 3 to 5 minutes.
• Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl, turning to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours. Divide the dough into two 1-pound balls. (If making sheet-pan pizza, let the dough rise, covered, on an 11-by-17-inch rimmed baking sheet coated with 3 tablespoons olive oil instead of in a bowl; do not divide into two balls.)
• If not using the dough right away, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for up to 2 days or freeze for up to 3 months. Bring to room temperature before using.

GOOD FOR ALMOST EVERYTHING PIE DOUGH

Steps:

• Put the flour, sugar and salt in a food processor fitted with a metal blade; pulse just to combine the ingredients. Drop in the butter and shortening and pulse only until the butter and shortening are cut into the flour. Don't overdo the mixing- what you're aiming for is to have some pieces the size of fat green peas and others the size of barley. Pulsing the machine on and off, gradually add about 3 tablespoons of the water- add a little water and pulse once, add some more water, pulse again and keep going that way. Then use a few long pulses to get the water into the flour. If, after a dozen or so pulses, the dough doesn't look evenly moistened or form soft curds, pulse in as much of the remaining water as necessary. or even a few drops more, to get a dough that will stick together when pinched. Big pieces of butter are fine. Scrape the dough out of the work bowl and onto a work surface.
• Gather the dough into a ball, flatten it into a disk, and wrap it in plastic. Refrigerate the dough for at least 1 hour before rolling. (If your ingredients were very cold and you worked quickly, though, you might be able to roll the dough immediately: the dough should be as cold as if it had just come out of the fridge.)
• To roll out the dough: Have a buttered pie plate at hand.
• You can roll the dough out on a floured surface or between sheets of wax paper or plastic wrap or in a rolling slipcover. (I usually roll this dough out on the floured counter.) If you are working on a counter, turn the dough over frequently and keep the counter floured. If you are rolling between paper, plastic or a in slipcover, make sure to turn the dough over often and to lift the paper, plastic or cover frequently so that it doesn't roll into the dough and form creases.
• If you've got time, slide the rolled-out dough into the fridge for about 20 minutes to rest and firm up.
• Fit the dough into the pie plate and, using a pair of scissors, cut the excess dough to a 1/4- to 1/2-inch overhang. Fold the dough under on itself, so that it hangs over the edge just a tad, and flute or pinch the crust to make a decorative edge. Alternatively, you can finish the crust by pressing it with the tines of a fork.
• To partially or fully bake a single crust: Refrigerate the crust while you preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
• Butter the shiny side of a piece of aluminum foil, fit the foil, buttered side down, tightly against the crust and fill with dried beans or rice or pie weights. Put the pie plate on a baking sheet and bake the crust for 25 minutes. Carefully remove the foil and weights and, if the crust has puffed, press it down gently with the back of a spoon. For a partially baked crust, return the pie plate to the oven and bake for about 8 minutes more, or until the crust is very lightly colored. To fully bake the crust, bake until golden brown, about another 10 minutes. Transfer the pie plate to a cooling rack and cool to room temperature before filling.

BASIC PIE DOUGH FOR SPINACH AND GRUYERE QUICHES

Steps:

• In a food processor, combine flour, salt, and sugar; pulse to combine. Add butter; pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal, with a few pea-size pieces of butter remaining.
• Sprinkle with 1/4 cup ice water. Pulse until dough is crumbly but holds together when squeezed (if necessary, add up to cup more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time). Do not overmix.
• Transfer half of dough (still crumbly) onto a piece of plastic wrap. Form dough into a disk 3/4 inch thick; wrap tightly in plastic. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour (and up to 3 days). Repeat with remaining dough.
• Place one disk of dough on a lightly floured piece of waxed paper. Rolling from center outward, form into a 14-inch round. Using paper, lift and wrap dough around a floured rolling pin; carefully unroll (discarding paper) over a 9-inch pie plate.
• Gently fit dough into bottom and sides of plate. Avoid stretching or tearing dough. Using kitchen shears, trim overhang to 1 inch; fold under to form a rim. Crimp with fingertips and knuckle. Repeat with remaining disk of dough.

ALL-PURPOSE EASY SHORTENING PIE DOUGH

Steps:

• Combine the flour and salt in a medium bowl.
• Using a pastry blender, cut in the shortening until the mixture is crumbly, with a few pea-sized pieces of shortening.
• Sprinkle in the water and mix with a fork, adding just enough until the mixture is moistened and begins to clump together.
• Gather up the dough and form into a flat disk.
• You can use this dough immediately or proceed to the next step.
• Wrap the dough in wax paper or plastic wrap.
• Refrigerate for atleast 20 minutes or up to overnight.
• If chilled until hard, let the dough stand at room temperature for about 10 minutes to soften slightly before rolling.
• ********Double-CrustShortening Pie Dough*********.
• Use all-purpose flour, salt, vegetable shortening and ice-cold water.
• Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces.