What is the secret to a good flakey crust? Have a reciepe?

Question

What is the secret to a good flakey crust? Have a reciepe?

Answer 1

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tablespoons sugar

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

2/3 cup vegetable shortening, frozen, then cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1/2 cup chilled unsalted butter or margarine

6 tablespoons ice water

2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

Directions

1) Blend flour, sugar and salt in processor.

2) Add shortening and butter and cut in using on/off turns until mixture resembles coarse meal.

3) Transfer mixture to bowl.

4) Mix 6 tablespoons ice water and vinegar in small bowl; pour over flour mixture.

5) Stir with fork until moist clumps form, adding more ice water by teaspoonfuls if dough is dry.

6) Gather dough into 2 balls; flatten each into disk.

7) Wrap each in plastic and chill 30 minutes.

8) (Can be prepared ahead and refrigerated up to 2 days or frozen up to 1 month. If frozen, thaw overnight in refrigerator. Soften slightly at room temperature before using).

Answer 2

Use lard, not crisco, and mix as little as possible.  Mixing toughens the crust.  Crisco is just plain nasty.  Apply these to any recipe you already have.

Answer 3

Basic Pie Crust

dough for three 9" crusts

4 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

2 tablespoons fine white sugar (optional)

1 cup chilled butter

1/2 cup chilled shortening

1/2-3/4 cup ice cold water

Prepare 3 large pieces of plastic wrap or wax paper by misting lightly with baking spray.

Mix the flour, salt and sugar, if using. Cut the butter into fine chunks with a knife. Shake into the bowl with the flour. Drop the shortening in by teaspoons. Using the tips of your fingers, quickly work the fat into the flour, pinching and squeezing and rolling each piece of butter lightly.

When most of the butter and shortening is no larger than a large pea or lima bean, stop. Some chunks will still be irregular, but it should mostly be all rubbed together. All fat should be coated with flour.

In drips and drops, pour in the water, stopping after the first half cup. Quickly with your hands try to draw the dough together into a ball. If big clumps still fall off or crumble, add water just until it comes together and you can pick the whole lump up in your hands. Do not mix it any more than this - just draw it together gently.

Separate into three pieces and gently press into thick disks. Wrap each in the prepared paper and put in the fridge for at least an hour, or in the freezer until chilled through.

To pre-bake, roll out a disk of dough between two sheets of waxed paper. Press into a greased pie dish. Trim off the edges and pinch close to the rim. Put back in the refrigerator or freezer until chilled, and heat the oven to 375°F. Take the pie shell out of the fridge and prick the bottom several times with a fork. Bake on the bottom oven rack for 18-20 minutes or until baked but not browned.

Dough can be well-wrapped and frozen until needed.

Answer 4

Use good cold butter and cut it in to the flour with very little mixing.