Pie Crust

Ingredients

• 1 cup flour
• water until the mixture becomes a stiff dough

Method

1. 1

   Combine flour and water to form a stiff dough.

2. 2

   Roll out the dough on a floured surface to about one-eighth inch thick and nine or ten inches in diameter.

3. 3

   Transfer to a pie pan, crimp the edges, and prick the bottom with a fork.

4. 4

   Bake in a hot oven at 450°F for 10 to 12 minutes until slightly browned.

Nutrition per serving

As published

This recipe was extracted from Foods, their selection and preparation (1935) by Louise Stanley, page 248. The excerpt below is the record exactly as published.

until the mixture becomes a stiff dough which works into a ball. The ball of dough is then placed on a lightly floured board or pastry cloth. Enough pastry for one crust is rolled at one time. [275] (One cup flour makes enough for one nine- inch crust.) Pat the ball until it is flat on top. With the rolling pin lightly floured, place it on the center of the dough. Roll with quick, successive, short strokes from the center of the pastry toward the edge in every direction, keeping the shape round. If the dough begins to stick, as can be seen by its failing to spread, loosen it with a spatula. Then raise the dough gently with one hand and flour the board lightly with the other. Pastry should not be turned over during rolling. Pie crust should be rolled to almost one-eighth inch thick and nine or ten inches in diameter. It is then ready to be trans¬ ferred to the pie pan. Various kinds of pie pans are available. The thin ones made of tin or aluminum gen¬ erally are used, although many homemakers prefer glass. All these allow the under crust to be thoroughly baked. A soggy, half-baked under crust makes an unpalatable pie. The pan should be deep enough to allow for plenty of filling without danger of its running over. Standard pie pans are eight or nine inches in diameter. To facilitate the transfer of the pie dough to the pie pan, the dough may be rolled onto the rolling pin and then rolled off onto the pan. Another method is to fold half the dough lightly over the other half, making a semicircle of dough, and folding again, mak¬ ing a quarter-circle. This is placed directly on the pie pan and unfolded, fitted loosely into the pan, and pressed down into the angle between the side and the bottom. Pie dough should never be stretched or broken but handled gently, the air between the dough and the pan being worked out by patting with a small ball of dough. As to how the pastry is treated from this point depends upon the kind of pie. The shell to be baked without filling will be dis¬ cussed here. For other ways of handling pastry see pages 331 to 333. The pastry is pressed firmly to the rim of the pan with the fingers or the tines of a fork. Any excess pastry is trimmed off even with the pan, or about one-half inch larger than the pan, using scissors or a knife. In the latter case, the extra dough is folded back onto the rim of the pan, making a half-inch of double pastry. This double edge is crimped to¬ gether with the forefingers and thumbs into a fluting that stands up above the edge of the pan. The pie dough should be pricked every two or three inches with a fork over the bottom and sides. This lets out the air which otherwise would expand when heated and would give the pie shell a bad shape. The pie shell should be baked in a hot oven, 450° F. for 10 to 12 minutes until slightly browned. It is ready then to be filled with any ready-to-serve filling, such as a cream filling. (See page 332.) Good pastry is flaky, that is, its surface has a blistered appearance rather than a smooth one, and when it is broken, layers are plainly distinguished. Also, good pastry is very tender and cuts easily with a fork. It should not be so tender, however, that it crumbles when cut. It is a golden brown on the edges and a lighter brown on the bottom. The best pastry retains its crispness after filling. The method of making hot-water pastry is discussed on page 322. There are also richer pastries than pie crust. These varia¬ tions are discussed along with methods of preparing different kinds of pies in the chap¬ ter on "Pies and Other Pastries.” Yeast Breads. Yeast-leavened breads, sometimes called light breads, and salt-rising bread are usually made from doughs some¬ what stiffer than biscuits, though not so stiff as pastry, with approximately ^ to J as much liquid as flour. The exact proportions vary, however, with the kind of flour and the kind and amounts of the other ingredients. Soft wheat flours may be used in the preparation [276] of these breads, but the harder or stronger flours give better results because of the amount and character of the gluten. Whole¬ wheat flour and mixtures of white flour with whole wheat, rye, oatmeal, and other flours and meals also are used. The kind of leavening used in these breads is responsible for the greatest difference be¬ tween the methods of making them and the methods of making quick breads. Instead of chemicals, such as baking powder and soda, the leavening consists of living organisms or microscopic plants, yeast in yeast breads and harmless, gas-forming bacteria in salt-rising bread. Such leavening agents require very different handling from the chemical leaven¬ ing agents used in most batters and doughs. Since yeast breads and rolls are the ones of this group which are generally used, they are discussed briefly here. In a later chapter (see page 310) yeast breads are taken up in more detail, with some of the variations. Salt-rising bread also is discussed in that chapter. Ingredients and Proportions. The es¬ sential ingredients for yeast breads are flour, liquid, and yeast. To supply quick food for the yeast and to add flavor and make the bread brown better, sugar generally is used in small amounts; salt is added for flavor; and fat is used to improve tenderness, flavor, and keeping quality. Eggs are not necessary in plain bread or rolls, but they increase the nutritive value and richness of fancy breads and rolls, and they vary the grain and the texture of the crust. Fruits, spices, nuts, and extra sugar in various forms are used in fancy yeast breads and rolls. Basic proportions for yeast bread or rolls, based on 1 cup liquid (water or milk or both), consist of one package fast-rising dry yeast or one cake compressed yeast, 1 tablespoon sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon fat, and 3 to 4 cups flour

Cook this with the app: pantry check, scaling, and the assistant.