Most of the recipes on my blog are for finished products, but sometimes, a product is complicated enough that part of it can be spun off into something of its own. I’ve done this before with things like my pumpkin pie spice mix and my berry compote recipes, both of which I reference in other recipes throughout the site.
Today’s post is a similar story; something that isn’t a finished item itself, but goes into many different finished recipes, so rather than write it out a dozen times whenever I make a recipe that uses it, I just made a post for it here.
As you can tell by the title, it’s just a pie crust. You’ll see what I did with it next week, but, hint, it’s a pie.
In this case, this is a cold water pie crust that benefits from a blind bake, which is when you partially bake the crust before you add fillings for the remaining bake. I don’t have baking beads or beans like a lot of people use, so I used a bunch of rice separated from the crust with aluminum foil. You can use whatever method works best for you, of course.
There’s not much to say about a pie crust. It’s simple, it’s basic, it can be filled with all sorts of delicious pies. Let me know in the comments what you make with it!
Simple Pie Crust
Equipment
- Pie Dish
- Food Processor
- Rubber Spatula
- Rolling Pin
- Plastic Wrap
- Aluminum Foil
- Uncooked Rice Or baking beads, beans, or another blind bake material.
Ingredients
- 1¼ Cup Flour
- 1 Tbsp Sugar
- ½ Cup Salted Butter Cold and cubed.
- 6 Tbsp Ice Water
Instructions
- Put half the flour and the sugar into a food processor and pulse to combine. Then, add int he cold butter and pulse until everything is mixed and the flour is no longer dry. You'll need to scrape down the sides a few times for thorough mixing. Add the remaining flour and pulse until it comes together into a crumbs but is fully mixed.
- Transfer this mix to a mixing bowl and work in two tablespoons of ice water. Your goal here is to add water while keeping the butter cold, turning it into a dough.Add water a tablespoon at a time, careful not to let it get too sticky (if so, add a bit more flour to adjust.)
- Form the dough into a ball, wrap it in plastic wrap, and chill for at least an hour.
- Use your foil to create a replica of the pie dish for blind baking.
- Remove the dough and let it sit for a few minutes to soften enough to roll. Flour a surface and roll out the dough to be a bit larger across than your pie dish.
- Transfer the rolled-out dough to the pie dish. Gently press it into the corners and flat across the bottom. Use excess dough around the edge to fold over and crimp into a decorative flourish. Chill this crust for another 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 375℉. Poke some holes in the bottom of the pie crust using a fork so air can escape when it bakes and not puff up the crust. Lay the foil on top and fill it with rice or baking weights for the blind bake.
- Bake the crust for about 15 minutes. This is where you would then add your filling and finish baking, but that's for another post.