Pie Pastry (Basic)

This recipe is from a copy of The Canadian Cookbook which my Uncle Johnny gave to my Mom for Christmas in 1975. In a strange coincidence, in 2013 I won a copy of the exact same book at a pie-making competition where the pie I’d entered used this pastry recipe!  I’ve copied it directly with a few edits and side notes where I differ from the ladies who wrote the recipe.

Hear me when I say you should not go check with Martha or any of the other gods of the food world; just trust me and the 1970s, and follow this recipe to the letter, and you will have a pretty good pie crust.  If you make it regularly, you’ll have a totally amazing pie crust (it takes a practised hand to make a really amazing pie crust, but even a beginner can make a delicious one).

If you go buy a pie crust from the freezer section of a grocery store, you’re going to end up with a sub-par pie, no matter how tasty the filling is.  So don’t be a chump; make your own pie pastry.

And oh yeah: a pastry blender is like, five bucks, and it is so awesome to have it.  It’s one of the few single-purpose kitchen gadgets I’d recommend.

Pie Pastry (Basic)

Yield: This recipe makes 2 nine-inch pie shells, or one double crust

Mixing Time: 20 minutes

Chilling Time: 2 – 24 hours

Rolling and & Fussing Time: up to you, really, but at least 10 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 cups (240g – 250g) all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup ((170g) cold butter
• 1/4-1/3 cup very cold water
• 1 teaspoon salt

Method

Mixing the dough

1. Place your measuring cup with 1/3 cup water in the freezer to cool 15-20 minutes prior to beginning (this is a good time to get out your ingredients and clean your work space if necessary).
2. Sift flour and salt into a bowl.
3. Add cold butter; cut into the flour with a pastry blender or with two knives until, when the bowl is shaken, no pieces larger than a pea appear (Cutting the butter too finely or creaming it into the flour will give a cookie-type crust known as short pastry. Flaky pastry requires small lumps of cold fat to trap layers of air.).
4. Sprinkle some of the cold water over the flour, using as little water as possible.
5. Mix the flour up from the bottom of the bowl with a fork.
6. As some of the mixture appears to stick together, push it to one side and sprinkle the dry flour with water. Too much moisture makes tough pastry; too little, and the dough will be hard to roll out. Experience helps determine the right amount.
7. When the flour appears damp, press it together into a ball; break the ball open; if it crumbles apart more water is required; shape all the dough into a ball but do not knead it.
8. Wrap the dough in waxed paper, and chill the dough for 2 – 24 hours (If you’re in a hurry, 30 minutes is fine, but the extra resting time gives the gluten time to relax).

Rolling out the pie pastry

1. When it is removed from the refrigerator, dough must soften up a little before it can be rolled.
2. Divide it in two pieces, the larger piece for the bottom crust, the smaller for the top.
3. Dough may be rolled on a lightly-floured board or counter top, (this is generally how I do it), between two pieces of waxed paper, or on a pastry cloth. A clean heavy linen tea towel makes a good substitute for a cloth. Let one end hang over the end of the table so that it may be kept in position. Rub a little flour into it. A child’s white stocking with the foot cut off, or a knitted cotton rolling pin cover pulled over the rolling pin holds flour and keeps the pin from sticking.
4. More important than any piece of equipment is the lightness of touch. If dough becomes warm it will also be much harder to handle.
5. Roll the dough from the centre out to the edge in each direction, if a circle of dough is desired; roll it all in the same direction for a rectangle.
6. Pinch together any cracks that form; you can use a little water to fuse cracks, but be careful not to make your dough wet as it will also make it harder to handle.
7. At the end of each stroke the pin should be lifted to be sure the dough is not sticking. After each 3 or 4 strokes, move the pastry on the board to pick up a little more flour, and run a floured hand over the pin. If the dough will not move freely, loosen it carefully with the side of a knife and sprinkle a little more flour on the board.
8. The dough should be rolled out to about 1/4 inch in thickness; there is no advantage in having paper-thin pastry. The size should be that of the bottom of the pan plus the depth.
9. To transfer the dough to the pie pan, either fold it in half, lift it into the centre of the pan and then unfold, or roll it loosely around the rolling pin and unroll it onto the pie pan.
10. Place the bottom crust in position; add the filling, cooled if cooked (*see note below about Blind Baking)
11. Dampen the edge over the rim of the pan with cold water; fit on the top crust in which a vent has been cut, press the two pieces together along the edges.
12. Trim and edge (This is where I used any leftover pastry to make shapes and decorations, usually just using cookie cutters).
13. Bake as instructed in your pie recipe.

By Helen Wattie and Elinor Donaldson

Adapted by Candace Shaw from The Canadian Cookbook

*Blind Baking: this term refers to partially-baking the bottom pie crust before adding the filling, and while I agree that it does result in a slightly tastier crust, I rarely bother doing it, and never bother with pies that have a top crust.

For more delicious recipes, including lots of fantastic Pies, visit the Family Recipes page!