Pie Crust 2 ways using the 3-2-1 recipe
Method 1:
Method 2:
In these videos we do pie crust two ways; one with Lard, and one with Butter. Both use (roughly) the 3-2-1 method; that is by weight 3 parts flour, 2 parts fat, and one part liquid. Since most of us no longer use a scale to measure for baking, these have been converted here for easier use. Which of course leads us to the first problem... the liquid. In both of these recipes, the liquid measure given is just a starting point. Don’t mix in all the liquid quickly, add it slowly and watch how the dough comes together. You may need less, or more liquid depending on altitude, season, and even if it is raining outside.
As I say in the videos, once you master the technique and are getting consistent results feel free to mix and match the fats that you use in the recipes. Both butter and lard bring something different to the table, so mixing them will bring varied flavours out.
Recipe 1
For a double crust pie
3 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 pound Lard
1 tbsp vinegar
1 egg slightly beaten
Ice cold water
Combine flour, salt, and super cold (frozen) lard in a food processor.
Pulse processor until mix resembles small peas. Be careful not to over process as this leads to a tough pastry.
Move flour mixture to a mixing bowl
In a 1 cup measure combine egg, vinegar, and enough ice water to make 1/2 cup.
Slowly stir liquid into flour. ADD ONLY ENOUGH WATER TO MAKE DOUGH CLING TOGETHER.
Gather dough into a ball and then cut in half. Wrap each half and refrigerate for at least an hour before rolling out.
Recipe 2
For a single crust pie
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1tbsp sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter
4-5 tbsp of ice water
Combine flour, salt, and super cold (frozen) butter in a food processor.
Pulse processor until mix resembles small peas. Be careful not to over process as this leads to a tough pastry.
Move flour mixture to a mixing bowl
Slowly stir liquid into flour. ADD ONLY ENOUGH WATER TO MAKE DOUGH CLING TOGETHER.
Gather dough into a ball then wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour before rolling out.
Common Pie crust problems, and solutions.
Crust is tough & rubbery: Too much water and / or overhandling
Too tender & falls apart: Undermixed, too little water, too much fat.
Dry & mealy: Fat mixed in too finely, too little water
Looking for a sweet tart dough recipe?
What’s Hot
-
Chocolate Cupcakes
One Bowl And Easy
One Bowl Chocolate Cupcakes Steph from Cupcakes and Sundry shows you a recipe for simple one bowl chocolate cupcakes.
-
Caramel Sauce
Ice Cream's best friend
Caramel Sauce! How can you live without this stuff on your Ice Cream, or Cake? If you’ve been scared off by all the warnings about how hard it is to make (sugar that crystalises into rock hard candy), don’t worry; this recipe has a bit of corn syrup in it. The syrup keeps the mixture liquid - easing your fears.
-
Sambal / Sambol Shrimp
succulent grilled perfection
Doesn't matter how you spell it... It's tasty and full of flavour, just right for a lazy summer grill.
-
Bread Pudding
With Glenfiddich
Perfect dessert with a hint of single malt!
-
Microwave Peanut Brittle
So Easy!
This stuff almost makes itself...
-
Chef School
George Brown College
Learn to cook with videos from the pros!
Leave Us A Comment
Video Transcript - click to open
Hi everyone! Welcome back to Le Gourmet TV. Today we are going to make Pie Crust, something that even the most confident cook in the kitchen -- somehow they find it daunting to make this. But if you follow few simple rules, it really isn't that difficult to get good results consistently.
Today we are going to do two different recipes. But realistically they are the same recipe, they follow the same ratio, 3 parts flour, 2 parts fat, 1 part liquid. In this case, we are going to use lard and in this one we are going to use butter. Slightly different flavours, slightly different taste but pretty much the same end.
So, we are going to start off and we are going today a food processor. Traditionally, I guess you would use this, a dough knife. Food processor works really well, gets you good consistent results. Problem with a food processor is that if you just go a little bit too far, you start to build up gluten. Gluten in this case, isn't very good, it equals a very hard tough crust which we don't want, we want something light and flaky.
Also to get light and flaky, you want your fat and your liquid to be ice cooled. You should take it directly from the fridge. Don't work it with your hands and don't touch it, don't play with it. You can also take it directly from the freezer when you are using a food processor and that gives you a really good, good fat and flour mixture.
So, we are going to start out with the first recipe and we are going to use a food processor. Now, the food processor allows to keep your fat really cold which is the first tip to making good pie crust. If your fat is cold, you are going to get a better mix with the flour. And you don't want to manhandle, you don't want to touch it because that just warms up your fat, the fat melts. It really doesn't give you a good soft flaky crust.
So, we are going to first put the flour in. So add 3 parts flour, we have got a little bit of salt. And we are just going to pulse that, let's mix the salt in, make sure that it's mixed in properly. Next we are going to add the fat. So this is -- we have got 3 parts flour, remember, we are going to do 2 parts lard. Now this is non-hydrogenated. So if you want a health kick, you really don't have to worry too much about it because you probably shouldn't be eating pie everyday anyway.
So, we are going to do this pulsing and you just want to get it until it looks like tiny little peas inside. There is a problem though, because if you pulse it too far, you start to make gluten. And you don't want to form too much gluten because you get a really, really tough pie crust. Okay, so that looks really good. And I find that, it's probably best if you think you haven't gone far enough up, you probably have, pour that into your bowl and then if you need to, you can use a pastry fork just to do that last a little bit.
So, into the bowl -- oh that looks really good. Good consistent mixture. So in this cup, I have got one whole egg, a tablespoon of vinegar and then enough cold water to bring me up to about half-a-cup. And I am just going to pour this in slowly. You might not need to use the whole half cup of liquid. You just kind of pour it in and stir it and mix it until you get a good consistent dough or a clump of dough.
So, I am using a wooden spoon for this step rather than my hand because I don't want the heat from my hand to melt the fat into the flour. I want to keep that fat cold and I want to keep it pretty much separate from the flour. Okay, it's starting to come together really nicely here. And you don't want to work it too much because again, working it, you start to build the gluten and gluten gives you a really tough, tough crust.
So, right now, this is the consistency of the flour, fat and liquid mixture. And at this point, you do have to give in and use your hands to form it into a ball. So that's pretty much it. We have got one piece of dough. Now we made enough for this for two crust pie. So I am going to cut it in half and I am going to make two flat rounds, one for the base and one for the top.
You wrap them in saran wrap and you put them in the fridge for at least an hour. You can also leave them overnight and make your crust tomorrow but they need to rest at least for an hour in the fridge. Then you pull them out, you let them rest for another half-an-hour and then you roll them out. Really simple, really easy.
So, for variety for different reasons, people don't like using lard. So, this one, we are going to use butter. But it is essentially the same recipe and the same method. So, we are going to start out, we put the flour into the food processor, again salt into the food processor. This one uses just a little bit of sugar just to make it just a tiny bit sweeter, we put that in. Again we will just pulse it once or twice to make sure that they are mixed together. That's good.
So again, frozen butter, this has been in the freezer, it's ice cold. Same ratio: 3 flour, 2 fat which in this case is butter and 1 liquid. And again, we will just pulse it a 6-7 times, take a look and then maybe once or twice more. I think that was 7. And it just needs a little bit more, that butter was really hard. So there we go, into the bowl. Now even though we are using butter here, the same rules apply. You don't want really touch it too much, you don't want to melt that butter into the flour.
This one just uses water, there is no egg and there is no vinegar in it. So again, we will just pour just enough in to bring it together into a ball. And of course just like all of the recipes here if you click on the link below, click here for recipe, another window will open up and the recipe is there that you can follow along as you watch the video.
So, in the bowl here, what I am now seeing, as it comes together, it looks like little rocks, little peas, peas coated in flour, peas and corn coated in flour, really is what it's look like. So, this isn't really coming together all that well and as I look at it, now I realize it needs a little bit more water than the water component in the recipe. So, you add just a little bit of more, be very careful, little bit at a time and this is one of those things with baking this type of recipe, that there are variables and overtime you are going to realize what looks right, what isn't quite right and needs to be changed.
It's one of those things that -- just practice, practice, practice. I have got to tell you my first few were failures but you just keep making it and eventually you get the hang of it and it's just so simple. So, this is coming together. It's looking pretty good, so you just kind of put it on your counter-top, form it into a round. This recipe that I made is just for a one crust pie. So you get one round, again you wrap it up in plastic wrap, put it in the freeze and let it rest for at least an hour.
You can leave it overnight. You could actually leave it for a couple of days in the freeze. It's not going to spoil. It will still be good. Pull it out and roll it when you are ready to make the pie. So there you have it. Two different pie crust recipes. Essentially the same recipe just made with a different type of fat. The one with the butter had a little bit of sugar in it, so it's a little bit sweeter. And I would use it only for a dessert pies.
The one with the vinegar is a great dessert pie crust. But you could also use it with meat pies. It's very versatile in that way. And this is my Goto recipe, the one that I used most often. Very simple, very easy. Give it a try, and come on back and we will do some fillings.
Today we are going to do two different recipes. But realistically they are the same recipe, they follow the same ratio, 3 parts flour, 2 parts fat, 1 part liquid. In this case, we are going to use lard and in this one we are going to use butter. Slightly different flavours, slightly different taste but pretty much the same end.
So, we are going to start off and we are going today a food processor. Traditionally, I guess you would use this, a dough knife. Food processor works really well, gets you good consistent results. Problem with a food processor is that if you just go a little bit too far, you start to build up gluten. Gluten in this case, isn't very good, it equals a very hard tough crust which we don't want, we want something light and flaky.
Also to get light and flaky, you want your fat and your liquid to be ice cooled. You should take it directly from the fridge. Don't work it with your hands and don't touch it, don't play with it. You can also take it directly from the freezer when you are using a food processor and that gives you a really good, good fat and flour mixture.
So, we are going to start out with the first recipe and we are going to use a food processor. Now, the food processor allows to keep your fat really cold which is the first tip to making good pie crust. If your fat is cold, you are going to get a better mix with the flour. And you don't want to manhandle, you don't want to touch it because that just warms up your fat, the fat melts. It really doesn't give you a good soft flaky crust.
So, we are going to first put the flour in. So add 3 parts flour, we have got a little bit of salt. And we are just going to pulse that, let's mix the salt in, make sure that it's mixed in properly. Next we are going to add the fat. So this is -- we have got 3 parts flour, remember, we are going to do 2 parts lard. Now this is non-hydrogenated. So if you want a health kick, you really don't have to worry too much about it because you probably shouldn't be eating pie everyday anyway.
So, we are going to do this pulsing and you just want to get it until it looks like tiny little peas inside. There is a problem though, because if you pulse it too far, you start to make gluten. And you don't want to form too much gluten because you get a really, really tough pie crust. Okay, so that looks really good. And I find that, it's probably best if you think you haven't gone far enough up, you probably have, pour that into your bowl and then if you need to, you can use a pastry fork just to do that last a little bit.
So, into the bowl -- oh that looks really good. Good consistent mixture. So in this cup, I have got one whole egg, a tablespoon of vinegar and then enough cold water to bring me up to about half-a-cup. And I am just going to pour this in slowly. You might not need to use the whole half cup of liquid. You just kind of pour it in and stir it and mix it until you get a good consistent dough or a clump of dough.
So, I am using a wooden spoon for this step rather than my hand because I don't want the heat from my hand to melt the fat into the flour. I want to keep that fat cold and I want to keep it pretty much separate from the flour. Okay, it's starting to come together really nicely here. And you don't want to work it too much because again, working it, you start to build the gluten and gluten gives you a really tough, tough crust.
So, right now, this is the consistency of the flour, fat and liquid mixture. And at this point, you do have to give in and use your hands to form it into a ball. So that's pretty much it. We have got one piece of dough. Now we made enough for this for two crust pie. So I am going to cut it in half and I am going to make two flat rounds, one for the base and one for the top.
You wrap them in saran wrap and you put them in the fridge for at least an hour. You can also leave them overnight and make your crust tomorrow but they need to rest at least for an hour in the fridge. Then you pull them out, you let them rest for another half-an-hour and then you roll them out. Really simple, really easy.
So, for variety for different reasons, people don't like using lard. So, this one, we are going to use butter. But it is essentially the same recipe and the same method. So, we are going to start out, we put the flour into the food processor, again salt into the food processor. This one uses just a little bit of sugar just to make it just a tiny bit sweeter, we put that in. Again we will just pulse it once or twice to make sure that they are mixed together. That's good.
So again, frozen butter, this has been in the freezer, it's ice cold. Same ratio: 3 flour, 2 fat which in this case is butter and 1 liquid. And again, we will just pulse it a 6-7 times, take a look and then maybe once or twice more. I think that was 7. And it just needs a little bit more, that butter was really hard. So there we go, into the bowl. Now even though we are using butter here, the same rules apply. You don't want really touch it too much, you don't want to melt that butter into the flour.
This one just uses water, there is no egg and there is no vinegar in it. So again, we will just pour just enough in to bring it together into a ball. And of course just like all of the recipes here if you click on the link below, click here for recipe, another window will open up and the recipe is there that you can follow along as you watch the video.
So, in the bowl here, what I am now seeing, as it comes together, it looks like little rocks, little peas, peas coated in flour, peas and corn coated in flour, really is what it's look like. So, this isn't really coming together all that well and as I look at it, now I realize it needs a little bit more water than the water component in the recipe. So, you add just a little bit of more, be very careful, little bit at a time and this is one of those things with baking this type of recipe, that there are variables and overtime you are going to realize what looks right, what isn't quite right and needs to be changed.
It's one of those things that -- just practice, practice, practice. I have got to tell you my first few were failures but you just keep making it and eventually you get the hang of it and it's just so simple. So, this is coming together. It's looking pretty good, so you just kind of put it on your counter-top, form it into a round. This recipe that I made is just for a one crust pie. So you get one round, again you wrap it up in plastic wrap, put it in the freeze and let it rest for at least an hour.
You can leave it overnight. You could actually leave it for a couple of days in the freeze. It's not going to spoil. It will still be good. Pull it out and roll it when you are ready to make the pie. So there you have it. Two different pie crust recipes. Essentially the same recipe just made with a different type of fat. The one with the butter had a little bit of sugar in it, so it's a little bit sweeter. And I would use it only for a dessert pies.
The one with the vinegar is a great dessert pie crust. But you could also use it with meat pies. It's very versatile in that way. And this is my Goto recipe, the one that I used most often. Very simple, very easy. Give it a try, and come on back and we will do some fillings.
Search Le Gourmet TV