Pie Crust

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling

• 1 cup (2 sticks or 8 ounces) unsalted butter, very-cold, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon sugar

• 6 to 8 tablespoons ice water

DIRECTIONS:

1. Mix flour, sugar, and salt

2. Put flour, sugar, and salt into the bowl of a food processor and pulse a couple times to mix

3. Add butter, half at a time, pulsing several times after each addition 

4. Add about half of the butter to the food processor and pulse several times. 

5. Then add the rest of the butter and pulse 6 to 8 times until the largest pieces of butter are about the size of large peas.

6. Slowly add ice water

7. Sprinkle the mixture with about 1/4 cup of ice water (make sure there are no ice cubes in the water!) and pulse again

8. Then add more ice water, a tablespoon at a time, pulsing once or twice after each addition until the dough just barely begins to hold together

9. You know that the mixture is ready if when you pinch some of the crumbly dough together with your fingers, it holds together. Be cautious with the amount of water you add, too much and the crust will be tough

10. Make two dough disks

11. Carefully empty the crumbly dough mixture from the food processor on to a clean, dry, flat surface. Gather the mixture in a mound

12. Divide the dough mixture into two even-sized mounds

13. Use your hands and knead each mound just enough to form each one into a disk. Do not over-knead! Kneading develops gluten which will toughen the dough, not something you want in a pastry crust. You should just knead enough so that the dough holds together without cracks.

14. If you started with cold butter you should be able to see small chunks of butter speckling the dough. This is a good thing. These small bits of butter will spread out into layers as the crust cooks so you have a flaky crust!

15. Sprinkle each disk with a little flour, wrap each one in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for one hour or up to 2 days.

16. Remove dough from refrigerator and let sit for a few minutes: Remove one crust disk from the refrigerator. Let sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes in order to soften just enough to make rolling out a bit easier.

17. Roll out dough, place in pie dish: Roll out with a rolling pin on a lightly floured surface to a 12-inch circle; about 1/8 of an inch thick. As you roll out the dough, check if the dough is sticking to the surface below. If necessary, add a few sprinkles of flour under the dough to keep the dough from sticking

YIELD:

• Eight (8) mini pies (top and bottom crust)

NOTES:

• Excellent with Chicken Pot Pies

SOURCE:

• https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/perfect_pie_crust/