Tips for Homemade Pie Dough (that you haven't heard before)

hand pies are slightly more work than regular pie, but come on, how cute are these?

Brent and I were at a get-together over the weekend and someone brought What Do You Meme? Enter: my new favorite party game. If you think Cards Against Humanity is fun....well, this is almost exactly the same. There's a new picture each round and players have to caption it with kid-friendly cards like "when all the kids in the neighborhood were molested except you" and "you throw yourself a birthday party and only your mom shows up." It's a great game to play when there's a three-year-old around, repeating age appropriate words like "deeper" and "douchebag."

Let's move on to the real family fun: pie. It's the great equalizer at your Thanksgiving dinner; whether you're seated at the kids table or with the adults, everyone loves pie. Pumpkin, apple and pecan are the big three of Thanksgiving, but really, any pie is acceptable. You know what else is acceptable? Store bought pie dough. Pie dough isn't the nemesis everyone makes it out to be, but it's a heck of a lot easier to pick up packaged pie dough than to roll out your own.

But. But. Pie dough isn't impossible. Pie dough can be in your wheelhouse. Homemade pie dough isn't hard by any means; if anything, the floury mess it leaves your kitchen counters is the real deterrent. It comes together fairly quickly and as long as you plan ahead, you can have a homemade dessert that's easy as, well, pie.

Hopefully these tips can help you get over your fear of homemade pie dough and bring your first scratch pie to the dessert table. If nothing else, they add some variety to the pie dough dialogue. I'm sick of reading about the importance of using cold ingredients like it's classified information; everyone knows you start with cold fats and ice water, tell me something useful why don't ya?

You'll probably need more water than the recipe calls for

I'm tired of reading how important cold ingredients are, but I'm even more tired of how every recipe skimps on the water. It's a conspiracy I'm putting an end to here and now: pie dough takes more than 1-2 tablespoons of water, yet for some reason every pie dough recipe is intent on making home cooks think it comes together with just a drop of water. Don't be scared to add more water if your dough isn't forming a ball.

The food processor is your friend

You can use a pastry cutter, a fork, your hands, but I've found a food processor to be the best way to get the butter cut up and evenly distributed. I put the dry ingredients in first then add the cubed butter, pulsing until the mixture looks coarse and crumbly. Then I dump the mixture into a mixing bowl to add the water by hand. You can add the water in the food processor if you'd like, but I prefer to get a feel for the dough once the water is involved so it doesn't get too wet. 

Plan ahead

Pie dough is tricky at room temperature and nearly impossible to work with warm. Make sure you plan enough time to chill the dough, since it needs to be refrigerated for several hours before rolling it out. Pro tip: make the dough the day before.

There's a pie dough sweet spot, which is right out of the refrigerator 

Expounding a little more on the tip above, pie dough is at its best when it's cold. Ignore the recipe if it says to allow your pie dough to come to room temperature. Unless your pie dough was in the freezer, it doesn't need time to come to temp. By the time you've shaped it with your hands and flattened it with a rolling pin, it won't be too cold to work with.

The secret ingredient is real 

Flour, salt, butter and water. Almost all recipes are some approximation of these four ingredients, give or take shortening and sugar. The best pie dough I've made comes together with the help of something extra, usually to help with the binding or the flakiness. I've made pie dough with vinegar, eggs, and baking powder (not all together). The recipe I've included below calls for baking powder, and it's some of the best pie dough I've ever worked with. 

Pie Dough

Yield: 2 pie crusts 

Ingredients:

3 cups AP flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

4 ounces (1 stick) butter, cold and cubed

2/3 to 1 cup cold water (it's okay to use the whole cup)

Instructions:

1. Store water in freezer while preparing dough

2. Sift flour, salt and baking powder into food processor

3. Add cold, cubed butter and pulse until mixture is crumbly (or use your hands to shingle the butter in, pressing between your fingers and thumb to evenly distribute)

4. Dump flour/butter mixture into a large mixing bowl and slowly add in water, a quarter cup or so at a time, until dough starts to come together 

5. Move dough to lightly floured surface and form a disc; if it's too crumbly, add more water

6. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 3 hours; dough will last covered in your refrigerator for 5-7 days