Several months ago I got brave enough to try making my own pie crust. Before that I just always bought either frozen pie crust shells or the rolled up pie crusts. I had even discovered Wal-mart's Great Value rolled up pie crust and decided why would I take the time to make my own, when this one tasted so good.
Well, as I was saying, several months ago I got brave enough to try one of my mother's recipes. It is so funny. I have so many recipes that my mother had in boxes. She would see a recipe that she wanted to try and would just write it down on an envelope that she would then tear down to just what the recipe covered. I have never counted how many pie crust recipes she had written down, but it is a lot. I chose one and tried it.
Well, it wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be and it tasted so good. (Even better than the Great Value one.) After that I felt guilty buying one when I knew I could easily bake one. (The only thing I need to work on is the finishing touches -- the fluting on top of the pie plate rim. I am not always happy with my attempts so I often end up just working around the rim with a fork.)
Recently Kevin Williams shared some pie crust recipes on his website amish365.com. Saturday when I wanted to make a pie I had seen, I decided I would check out a different recipe from the one of Mother's. First I looked in several of my Amish cookbooks, but they make so many pie crusts. I checked out Kevin's site and decided to give this Best Ever Pie Crust recipe he had shared from Rosanna Bauman. He said it was the Go-To pie crust recipe in his home.
The interesting thing I discovered when I compared it to the one I had been using of my mother's was the ingredients were proportionally the same but it contained an egg and a tablespoon of vinegar that Mother's recipe didn't.
Well, that egg and tablespoon of vinegar made all the difference in the world. The pie crust not only tastes great....it is so flaky! I think this recipe will the Go-To recipe for pie crust in my house from now on also.
It did make enough for another pie crust, but I just put the rest of the dough in a covered container and put it in the frig.
BEST EVER PIE CRUST
1 cup butter or shortening (I did use shortening.)
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup cold water
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon vinegar
Combine the salt with the flour and then "cut" in the shortening til crumbly.
(Hint! Here is how I do that. I am used to doing this when I make my biscuits and I have always used my fingers.)
I measured the shortening in a cup measure and then scooped it out and pressed them against the side of the bowl. Then I worked around the side of the bowl, mashing up a little at a time with the flour until it was no large lumps of shortening exist.
Add the cold water, vinegar, and egg and stir til combined. (I ended up having to use my fingers to get it totally combined.)
Chill dough (if you have time) (I did chill mine for maybe 30 minutes while I mixed up the pie I was going to make.) Rosanna says you can use it immediately if you are using shortening instead of butter without any problems.
Roll out to desired thickness. Rosanna said she likes her crust thick so that they don't tear when she puts them in the pie plate. I do also.
Add filling or bake first if necessary.
The rest of the dough, I made into another pie crust
wrapped it completely with plastic wrap to quick freeze.
After it was frozen, I wrapped it again with foil and returned it to the freezer until I am ready to make another pie which is probably going to be in a day or two. The first one didn't last long.
Well, as I was saying, several months ago I got brave enough to try one of my mother's recipes. It is so funny. I have so many recipes that my mother had in boxes. She would see a recipe that she wanted to try and would just write it down on an envelope that she would then tear down to just what the recipe covered. I have never counted how many pie crust recipes she had written down, but it is a lot. I chose one and tried it.
Well, it wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be and it tasted so good. (Even better than the Great Value one.) After that I felt guilty buying one when I knew I could easily bake one. (The only thing I need to work on is the finishing touches -- the fluting on top of the pie plate rim. I am not always happy with my attempts so I often end up just working around the rim with a fork.)
Recently Kevin Williams shared some pie crust recipes on his website amish365.com. Saturday when I wanted to make a pie I had seen, I decided I would check out a different recipe from the one of Mother's. First I looked in several of my Amish cookbooks, but they make so many pie crusts. I checked out Kevin's site and decided to give this Best Ever Pie Crust recipe he had shared from Rosanna Bauman. He said it was the Go-To pie crust recipe in his home.
The interesting thing I discovered when I compared it to the one I had been using of my mother's was the ingredients were proportionally the same but it contained an egg and a tablespoon of vinegar that Mother's recipe didn't.
Well, that egg and tablespoon of vinegar made all the difference in the world. The pie crust not only tastes great....it is so flaky! I think this recipe will the Go-To recipe for pie crust in my house from now on also.
It did make enough for another pie crust, but I just put the rest of the dough in a covered container and put it in the frig.
BEST EVER PIE CRUST
1 cup butter or shortening (I did use shortening.)
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup cold water
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon vinegar
(Hint! Here is how I do that. I am used to doing this when I make my biscuits and I have always used my fingers.)
Chill dough (if you have time) (I did chill mine for maybe 30 minutes while I mixed up the pie I was going to make.) Rosanna says you can use it immediately if you are using shortening instead of butter without any problems.
Add filling or bake first if necessary.
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