Cornmeal Butter Crust Recipes

CORNMEAL CRUST

Steps:

• Whisk cornmeal with 1 1/2 cups cold water.
• In a medium saucepan, bring 2 1/2 cups water, salt, and pepper to a boil.
• Gradually stir in cornmeal mixture. Reduce heat; simmer, stirring often, until very thick, 4 to 5 minutes.
• Remove from heat; stir in butter until melted.

BARLEY-CORNMEAL CRUST

Steps:

• Combine both flours, the cornmeal, sugar, and salt in a food processor and pulse until well mixed. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture forms coarse crumbs, with a few almond-sized pieces remaining. Sprinkle the grapefruit juice over the mixture and pulse until the dry ingredients are evenly moistened and large clumps just start to form. When you squeeze some of the fine crumbs between your fingers, they should hold together.
• Turn the dough out and divide it into 2 portions, one slightly larger than the other.
• Shape the dough into two 1-inch-thick disks, wrap each tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours.
• Make-ahead: The dough can be refrigerated for up to 2 days. It can be frozen in resealable plastic freezer bags for up to 1 month. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.

CORNMEAL CRUST

Steps:

• Prepare the butter and lard, if using. Cut the butter into 1/2-inch (12-mm) cubes (a bench scraper is perfect for this, but a sharp knife works well too), and cut the lard into small pieces. Return them to the fridge to cool.
• In a liquid measuring cup, stir together the milk and vinegar. Refrigerate the mixture until ready to use.
• On a clean flat surface or in a large shallow bowl, toss the flour, cornmeal, cornstarch, sugar, and salt together lightly to blend. Add the butter and lard (if using) to the dry ingredients and, using the tool of your choice, cut the fat into the flour with speed and patience, until the fat has been reduced to small pea-sized chunks. Try to use a straight up-and-down motion, as the more you press on the flour the more tough gluten will develop. Avoid using your fingers, as the heat from your hands will melt the fat and further encourage gluten development. Unlike with pasta or bread, gluten is the enemy of pie dough, so be gentle, and be quick!
• Once your fat has been cut down to size, spread your mixture out to expose as much surface area as possible. Gently drizzle about half of your milk mixture over the flour, trying to cover as wide an area as you can. Using bench scrapers or a large spoon, lightly toss the flour over the liquid, then spread everything out again, and repeat the process with the second half of the liquid.
• You should now have a dough that will just hold together when pressed against the bowl, with visible little chunks of butter. If you need to add more liquid to bind it, do so with more cold milk, adding a tablespoon at a time until you reach the right texture. It's not an exact science, as everything from the humidity in the air to the dryness of your flour will affect the consistency of your dough.
• Once you've reached your goal, cover the dough tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for at least 1 hour. The dough can be kept in the fridge for up to 1 week, well wrapped, or in the freezer for up to 2 months.

CORNMEAL CRUST FOR PEACH POTPIE

Steps:

• Pulse flour, cornmeal, sugar, and 1 3/4 teaspoons salt in a food processor until combined. Add butter; pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs with no large pieces remaining. Add yolk, and drizzle 1/4 cup water evenly over mixture. Pulse until mixture just begins to hold together when pressed between 2 fingers (it should not be wet or sticky). If dough is too dry, pulse in more water, 1 tablespoon at a time.
• Turn out dough onto work surface, and knead once or twice to combine. Divide dough in half. Shape into disks. Wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

CORNMEAL PIE CRUST

Steps:

• Combine cornmeal, flour and 1 tsp salt in a bowl.
• Cut in shortening.
• In a separate bowl, beat together egg and 1/4 cup water.
• Add to cornmeal mixture.
• Press into 9 inch pie plate to form crust.
• Use in place of regular pie crust.