Perfect Pie Crust (Lf)
Submitted by spicygisela
Low-fat pie crust made with a blend of unbleached and whole wheat pastry flour and margarine. A lighter, flaky shell for savory pies and quiches with a simple blind-bake option for fruit fillings.
YIELD
8 servingsPREP
20 minCOOK
10 minREADY
30 minThis low-fat pie crust uses a blend of unbleached and whole wheat pastry flour with margarine instead of butter, cutting back on saturated fat without sacrificing flakiness.
The trick is keeping everything cold. Cut the margarine into small pieces, work it into the flour until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs, then add ice water one tablespoon at a time. You want lumps of fat still visible in the dough. Those pockets of margarine are what create flaky layers as the crust bakes.
A quick 10-minute chill in the fridge after kneading relaxes the gluten and makes rolling much easier. Don’t skip it, or the dough will fight you on the board.
Pro Tips
- For fruit pies, blind-bake the shell first with pie weights or dried beans to prevent a soggy bottom. Ten minutes at a high temperature sets the crust before juicy fillings go in.
- Don’t overwork the dough. A minute of light kneading is plenty. More than that and the crust turns tough.
- If the dough cracks while rolling, let it warm up for a minute or two. Too-cold dough breaks apart.
- Lightly flour both the board and the rolling pin, but go easy. Too much extra flour makes the crust dense.
Variations
- Use all whole wheat pastry flour for a nuttier, more rustic crust.
- Add a pinch of sugar to the dry mix for sweet pie fillings like pumpkin or custard.
- Stir in a teaspoon of dried herbs like thyme or rosemary for savory quiche crusts.
Ingredients
Directions
Preheat oven to 450F.
Lightly coat an 8-inch pie pan with nonstick cooking spray.
Combine ½ cup of the unbleached flour with the whole wheat flour in a bowl, or in a food processor bowl, and add the margarine.
In the bowl, use a fork to crumble the flour and margarine into a coarse mixture.
In the food processor, use the metal chopping blade and pulse the machine 10 to 12 times to cut the margarine into small pieces.
As you form the mixture, add the ice water, 1 tablespoonoon at a time, until the lumps appread moist.
Transfer the dough to a board, and lightly knead it for 1 minute.
Form into a ball, place in a small bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 10 minutes.
Sprinkle the remaining 2 tbspoons of flour on a pastry board and lightly coat the rolling pin with flour.
On the floured board roll the pie dough out in a circle slightly large than your pie pan.
Carefully transfer the dough to the prepared pie pan.
Crimp the edges of the dough against the rim of the pie pan.
You can use this unbaked pie shell in many recipes, except for fruit fillings.
If you make a fruit-filled pie, you must pre-bake the shell so the fruit juices won’t make it soggy.
To pre-bake it, cover the crust with tinfoil, place 2 cups of clean beans or pie weights in the center of the crust, and bake for 10 minutes.
YIELD: Makes 1 8-inch pie shell - Serving 8.
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