Pie Crust!

Fall is my favorite season in New England. The air is crisp and cool, the leaves start turning brilliant colors, baseball and football are in full swing and all of the yummy fresh fruits and vegetables that have been growing and ripening over the summer are ready to eat. One of the best ways to enjoy the season is to go apple picking so a few weekends ago my mother-in-law Kathy, her sister Jane, my husband Jeff and I went out to our favorite farm and did just that. We were early enough in the season that nectarines and peaches were also available for picking, so we grabbed a bushel of those too. But what to do with 28 pounds of fruit? I couldn't possibly eat it all before it turned. The answer - make one of Fall's best desserts. Pie!

Fruit pie is one of those pastries that baffles many cooks. Most fillings, especially the fruit fillings, are pretty simple. However the CRUST is a mystery. I have made many pies and I don't think I've ever used the same recipe twice. Many fellow bakers have expressed frustration with how to get the best flavor and flakiness, how to avoid a soggy bottom crust, and what to brush the top with to get the coveted golden color and sheen. So I turned to the internet and my myriad of cookbooks to determine once and for all which recipe is the best.

Here are the recipes I tried. I selected a variety that allowed me to test the age old debate "butter or shortening?" and also some other twists like added vinegar, egg, sugar, etc.

2-Crust Pie Recipes	Betty Crocker Cookbook	Secrets of Baking Cookbook by Sherry Yard	Country Living Magazine	thepioneerwoman.com
Flour*	2 cups	12.5 oz	2 ½ cups	3 cups
Ice Water	4-5 T	4 oz	2 T	5 T
Salt	1 t	1 t	1 t	1 t
Shortening	2/3 cup plus 2T	-	½ cup	1 ½ cup
Butter	-	8 oz	½ cup	-
Vinegar	-	½ t	1 T	1 T
Egg	-	-	-	1
Sugar		2 T	-	-
*All-purpose is fine, pastry can be used for butter crusts if available

The first crust I tried was Sherry Yard's crust made completely with butter as the fat. I have always preferred butter crusts because of their superior flavor over shortening crusts. This recipe also includes sugar which adds a nice boost to the flavor. Vinegar is also on the ingredient list to help prevent gluten formation which results in a more tender final product. The other major difference in this recipe (as seen in the full instructions below) is the method for incorporating the butter. Instead of cutting it in with two knives, a food processor, or a pastry cutter, Sherry Yard suggests using an electric mixer with the paddle attachment and blending with the flour until the butter is the size of walnuts. This worked BEAUTIFULLY! Large pieces of butter remained and I could actually see them when I rolled out the crust later on. These pieces allowed for a nice separation between the flour layers and a more flaky crust after baking.

Next I tried the shortening crusts - both Betty Crocker's and one by a fellow blogger who calls herself Pioneer Woman. I like many recipes on her site so I thought I'd give the pie crust a try as well. Her recipe was also intriguing because it includes egg which I hadn't seen before. All in all both her crust and Betty Crocker's turned out well, and admittedly a bit flakier than the butter crust. However, the flavor was just not there. Both were very bland.

Seeking the ultimate balance between the yummy butter crust and the flaky but flavorless shortening crust I tried one final recipe from Country Living magazine. This turned out to be my least favorite crust. It wasn't quite as flavorful as the butter crust but actually less flaky. In addition the bottom crust came out very soggy. Not a winner.

So, which recipe to choose...

Butter crust it is! Ultimately, flavor has to trump flakiness (when was the last time you walked out of a restaurant saying "That was the flakiest dessert I ever had!" - never) and with some practice you CAN get flakiness too. I think Sherry Yard's recipe is your best bet to get there. However, since butter crusts can be fickle (see tips below!) if you are just starting out in pie baking and want the simplest route to a flaky crust, try the Betty Crocker recipe. It has straightforward ingredients and is easy to work with.

Tips for working with a butter crust:

• KEEP IT COOL!
  
• Cut butter into small pieces and refrigerate before using.
• Make sure the water you use is truly ICE water. As cold as you can get it.
  
• Make sure the area where you are working with the crust is cool. Don't preheat the oven until after crust is rolled out, and be careful about preparing on hot humid days.
• Once bottom crust is rolled out and in the pie plate, put pie plate in the freezer while you roll out the top crust.
  

Tips for baking fruit pie crusts:

Avoid a soggy bottom crust!

• Refrigerate bottom crust in pie plate for 15 minutes before filling.
• Bake pie immediately after filling and top crust are added to avoid liquid from fruit from soaking into the bottom layer.
  
• Bake pie in the lower 3rd of the oven at 50F higher temp for the first 10 minutes. Then lower temp to the level called for in the recipe for the remainder of the baking time.
  

Get a golden, glossy, sweet top crust!

• Beat one egg with 1 1/2 tablespoons of heavy cream. Brush the mixture all over the top crust and sprinkle with sanding sugar. Granulated sugar will also work if that is what you have on hand.
• Check pie while it is baking to prevent burnt edges. If the crust browns too quickly cover it loosely with foil for the remainder of the baking time.

Complete recipes

The Winner - Sherry Yard’s Flaky Pastry for Double-crust pastry for 9-inch pie

Ingredients: listed above

Instructions:

1. Cut the butter into 1-inch pieces and place it in the freezer to chill for 15 minutes.
2. Sift together the flour, sugar, and salt into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the partially frozen butter. Turn the machine on low and beat for 2 minutes or until the butter is broken down into the size of walnuts. Stop the machine, and by hand pinch flat any large pieces of butter that remain.
   
3. In a small bowl, combine the ice water and vinegar. Turn the mixer on low speed and add the liquid all at once. Beat just until the dough comes together, about 15 seconds. The dough should be tacky not sticky. The amount of water is variable. It is better to have a slightly wet/tacky dough than one that is too dry: add a little water if your dough is too dry.
4. Remove dough from bowl, divide into 2 equal pieces, and wrap each piece in plastic wrap. Do not squeeze the dough together or overwork.
   
5. Chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour before rolling it out. (The well-wrapped dough can be kept in the refrigerator for 3 days or frozen for up to two weeks)
6. Use in your favorite fruit crust pie recipe!

The Runner-Up - Betty Crocker's Pastry for Pies and Tarts

Ingredients: listed above

Instructions:

1. Mix flour and salt in medium bowl. Cut in shortening using a pastry blender or a criss-cross motion with two knives until mixture resembles small peas.
2. Sprinkle with cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, tossing with a fork until all flour is moistened and pastry almost leaves the side of the bowl.
   
3. Gather pastry into a ball. Divide in half and shape each into a flattened round. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
4. Use in your favorite fruit pie recipe