Aunt Nancys Flaky Pastry Crust Recipes

AUNT NANCY'S FLAKY PASTRY CRUST

Steps:

• Cut shortening into flour with a pastry blender or with two butter knives until it resembles a coarse meal.
• Add cold water gradually and mix until the flour/shortening comes together to form a ball that holds its shape and is not sticky. If necessary, add more water or flour.
• Divide ball in two, and roll each separately into a circle large enough to fit your pie pan.
• For a double crust filled pie, place one shell into pie pan. Add pie filling and top with other crust. Bake as directed on pie filling recipe.
• For 2 single crust pies, place each shell into 2 pie pans, add filling and bake as directed on pie filling recipe.
• For 2 single crust pre-baked shells, place each shell into a pie pan and bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes or until golden brown. Cool before filling.

FLAKY PASTRY DOUGH

Steps:

• Add the flour and salt to a large bowl and stir to combine. Add the butter and toss to combine. With your fingers, begin to "smush" the butter into flat pieces. Continue smushing until all the butter is flattened but none of the pieces are larger than a quarter. The flour will look like coarse cornmeal.
• Add the water, quickly folding it in with a wooden spoon to distribute the moisture. (Do not stir vigorously--the dough should appear shaggy.) Use your hands to break up any large clumps of moisture. Then use your knuckles or a palm to smear the dough up the sides of the bowl (a technique known as fraisage). This distributes the butter over a larger surface to achieve larger flakes and compact the dough. Once you've gone around the bowl one time, fold the dough over itself a few times to pick up any dry bits from the bottom. Gently press the dough into a disk. (Note: The dough should remain very cool to the touch throughout the process. If it approaches room temperature, refrigerate it for 5 to 10 minutes to chill.)
• Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and roll out to a 10-by-12-inch rectangle. Perform a letter fold by folding one of the short ends towards the middle and the other short end over the first, like folding a business letter.
• Turn the dough 90 degrees, so the long side faces you, and perform a second letter fold. Turn the dough 90 degrees again; perform a third letter fold.
• If the dough still feels cool, it can be used immediately. Otherwise, wrap it in plastic wrap and chill for at least 20 minutes. The dough can be refrigerated for up to 1 week or frozen for up to 1 month.

EXTRA-FLAKY PASTRY DOUGH

Steps:

• Whisk sugar, salt, and 1 1/3 cups flour in a medium bowl. Cut butter into 6 rectangular pieces (if using 1/2-cup sticks, cut them in half crosswise, then in half again lengthwise). Toss butter in dry ingredients to coat, then dump mixture out onto a work surface. Roll butter into flour until it is in long flexible strips, using a bench scraper to scrape butter off rolling pin or surface as needed.
• Use bench scraper to gather mixture into a loose pile, then drizzle 4 Tbsp. ice water over. Using your hands and the bench scraper, toss mixture until water is distributed, then gather into a rectangular pile. Roll out dough to a long rectangle with short ends about 8" wide, then use bench scraper to fold dough into thirds, like folding a letter. It will be very crumbly and loose; don't panic. Using bench scraper to help, turn rectangle 90° and repeat rolling and folding, gathering loose bits of dough from outer edges into the center and flouring surface as needed. Repeat rolling and folding a third time. Dough should be somewhat homogenous and creamy-looking with some dry bits around edges. Squeeze a bit in your palm; it should loosely hold together. If not, repeat rolling and folding. Wrap folded dough in plastic, then press it into a compact disk about 1" thick. Chill 30 minutes.
• Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to a 12"-14" round or oval about 1/8" thick (don't worry about cracks around perimeter). Dust surface and rolling pin with flour as needed and rotate dough often to prevent wider cracks. If dough sticks to surface, lift on one side and scatter flour underneath before continuing. Roll dough onto your pin, then unfurl it on a sheet of parchment paper. Slide onto a rimmed baking sheet and chill while you prep the filling.
• Do Ahead: Dough can be made 3 days ahead. Keep chilled, or transfer to a resealable plastic bag and freeze up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before rolling out.

BASIC FLAKY PIE CRUST

Steps:

• Whisk the flour and salt together in a medium size bowl. With a pastry blender, cut in the cold shortening until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Drizzle 2 to 3 tablespoons ice water over flour. Toss mixture with a fork to moisten, adding more water a few drops at a time until the dough comes together.
• Gently gather dough particles together into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap, and chill for at least 30 minutes before rolling.
• Roll out dough, and put in a pie plate. Fill with desired filling and bake.

THE BEST PASTRY CRUST

Steps:

• Mix flour and salt together in a large bowl. Cut in butter using a pastry blender until the mixture resembles fine cornmeal. Pour in water slowly; knead dough into a firm ball.
• Pour in additional water as needed if dough is too dry or additional flour if too moist. Divide batter into equal halves. Roll out dough halves into rounds on a lightly floured work surface using a lightly floured rolling pin to desired thickness.
• Press one round into the bottom of a 9-inch pie pan. Use the other round as a top crust or for a separate bottom crust. Bake according to desired filling instructions.

BASIC FLAKY PIE CRUST

Steps:

• Divide the butter into two parts, about two thirds to one third:
• For #1 2.5 ounces and 1.5 ounces (5 tablespoons and 3 tablespoons)
• For #2 3 ounces and 1.5 ounces (6 tablespoons and 3 tablespoons)
• For #3 4.5 ounces and 2.5 ounces (9 tablespoons and 5 tablespoons)
• Cut the butter into 3/4-inch cubes. Wrap each portion of butter with plastic wrap, refrigerate the larger amount and freeze the smaller for at least 30 minutes. Place the flour, salt, and baking powder in a reclosable gallon-size freezer bag and freeze for at least 30 minutes.
• Food processor method:
• Place the flour mixture in a food processor with the metal blade and process for a few seconds to combine. Set the bag aside.
• Add the larger amount of butter cubes to the flour and process for about 20 seconds or until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the remaining frozen butter cubes and pulse until all of the frozen butter is the size of peas. (Toss with a fork to see it better.)
• Add the lowest amount of the ice water and the vinegar and pulse 6 times. Pinch a small amount of the mixture together between your fingers. If it does not hold together, add half the remaining water and pulse 3 times. Try pinching the mixture again. If necessary, add the remaining water, pulsing 3 times to incorporate it. The mixture will be in particles and will not hold together without being pinched.
• For tiny 1-inch tartlets, omit the baking powder and allow the processing to continue just until a ball forms. The additional mixing produces a dough that is slightly less flaky but ensures that it will not puff out of shape in the tiny molds.
• Spoon the mixture into the plastic bag. (For a double-crust pie, it is easiest to divide the mixture in half at this point.)
• Holding both ends of the bag opening with you fingers, knead the mixture by alternately pressing it, from the outside of the bag, with the knuckles and heels of your hands until the mixture holds together in one piece and feels slightly stretchy when pulled.
• Wrap the dough with plastic wrap, flatten it into a disc (or discs) and refrigerate for at least 45 minutes, preferably overnight. (For a pie shell and lattice, divide it in a ratio of two thirds:one third - use about 9.5 ounces for the shell and the rest for the lattice, flattening the smaller part into a rectangle.)
• Hand method:
• Place a medium mixing bowl in the freezer to chill.
• Place the flour, salt, and optional baking powder in another medium bowl and whisk to combine them. Use a pastry cutter or rub the mixture between your fingers to blend the larger portion of the butter into the flour until it resembles coarse meal.
• Spoon the mixture, together with the cold butter, into a reclosable gallon-size freezer bag. Expel any air from the bag and close it. Use a rolling pin to flatten the butter into flakes. Place the bag in the freezer for at least 10 minutes or until the butter is very firm.
• Transfer the mixture to the chilled bowl, scraping the sides of the bag. Set the bag aside. Sprinkle the ice water and vinegar onto the mixture, tossing it lightly with a rubber spatula. Spoon the loose mixture back into the plastic bag. (For a double-crust pie, it is easiest to divide the mixture in half at this point.)
• Holding both ends of the bag opening with your fingers, knead the mixture by alternately pressing it, from the outside of the bag, with knuckles and heels of your hands until the mixture holds together in one piece and feels slightly stretchy when pulled.
• Wrap the dough with plastic wrap, flatten it into a disc (or discs) and refrigerate for at least 45 minutes, preferably overnight. (For a pie shell and lattice, divide it in a ratio of two thirds:one third - use about 9.5 ounces for the shell and the rest for the lattice, flattening the smaller part into a rectangle.)
• Store:
• Refrigerated, up to 2 days; frozen, up to 3 months.
• Understanding:
• Pastry flour offers the most tenderness while maintaining flakiness, but it is the addition of vinegar that relaxes the dough without losing flakiness, making it easier to roll, shrink less, and be even more tender. The baking powder lifts and aerates the dough slightly without weakening it, but it makes it seem more tender.
• Thes secret to success is finely incorporating about two thirds of the butter into the flour, which keeps the flour from absorbing too much water and forming gluten, which would make the crust tough. The remaining one third of the butter is incorporated in larger pieces, which serve to seperate the layers, resulting in the desired flakiness. This pie crust does not shrink or distort as much as the standard all-butter crust because there is less gluten development.
• If when adding the water, you find you need more than indicated in the recipe, chances are you haven't moisture-proofed the flour adequately (you haven't used the correct amount of butter or processed it fine enough), leaving the flour free to absorb more liquid. The resulting crust will be flakier but less tender.
• If you find you need less water than specified in the recipe, chances are you divided the butter incorrectly and used too much of it to moisture-proof the flour, preventing it from absorbing an adequate amount of water. The resulting crust will be more tender but not very flaky.
• Flattening the newly formed dough into a disc or discs before refrigerating makes it easier to roll without cracking. The dough is refrigerated to relax the gluten, making it less elastic and easier to roll. Chilling also firms the butter, preventing sticking and the need for extra flour when rolling, which would toughen it. Dough that has rested overnight before baking shrinks less.

PASTY PASTRY FOR CORNISH MINERS' PASTIES

Steps:

• Mix dry ingredients in mixing bowl.
• Cut in shortening with a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
• Add ice water a little at a time, tossing with a fork to make a pastry-like dough.
• Add a bit more water if it seems dry and won't hold together when squeezed lightly.
• Gather into a ball, press firmly now, then wrap with plastic wrap and chill while preparing the pasty ingredients (see Recipe # ).
• Roll dough out on a lightly floured surface (or on top of a piece of plastic wrap which can easily be folded over and then peeled off once the pasty ingredients are loaded).
• Edges of pasty should be brushed with a smidgen of water and then crimped VERY firmly with a fork (and I fold them and crimp again -- so none of the liquid seeps out).
• Brush tops of finished pasties with milk to enhance the crust (it will bake to a beautiful golden brown).
• NOTE: Like pastry dough, pasty dough should be handled as LITTLE as possible to ensure flakiness. So, *handle with care* !

CLASSIC BUTTER PIE PASTRY

Steps:

• Combine flour and salt; cut in butter until crumbly. Gradually add ice water, tossing with a fork until dough holds together when pressed., Shape dough into a disk for a single-crust pie; for a double-crust pie, divide dough in 2 with 1 piece slightly larger than the other. Shape into 2 disks. Wrap and refrigerate 1 hour or overnight., On a lightly floured surface, roll 1 disk of dough to a 1/8-in.-thick circle; transfer to a 9-in. pie plate. , For a single-crust pie: Trim crust to 1/2 in. beyond rim of plate; flute edge. Fill or bake according to recipe directions., For a double-crust pie: Add filling to pie. Roll remaining dough to a 1/8-in.-thick circle. Place over filling. Trim, seal and flute edge. Cut slits in top. Bake according to recipe directions.