Basic Pie Dough

One can never have enough pie dough recipes in their arsenal. This an easy recipe that is great for the beginner. It yields a standard, all-purpose dough that is perfect for all single-crust pies and galettes.

Basic Pie Dough
Yields enough dough for 2 single-crust pies

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
  
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar**
• 4 ounces cold non-hydrogenated shortening, cut into small cubes
  
• 2 ounces cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
• 2/3 cup cold water

Whisk flour, salt, and sugar together in the bowl of a standing mixer. Add the shortening and butter, and using the paddle attachment, mix together on low speed until the ingredients look like coarse corn meal. Be sure that there are no large lumps of shortening or butter that have not been thoroughly blended into the flour. With the mixer on low speed, add the cold water and mix until the dough just starts to come together. If the dough is still too dry, add more water, 1 tablespoon at a time until the dough begins to stick together.

Remove the dough to a lightly floured surface, and gently knead it a couple of times until it is smooth and uniform. Divide dough in half and flatten into circles. Wrap circles separately in plastic wrap and allow to rest in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour before using in your recipes.
Dough can be kept in the refrigerator for 3 days, or frozen for up to 2 months.

** if using dough for savory pies or quiche, omit the sugar.

Back to Basics: Flaky Pie Dough

This is the basic pie dough recipe that I use for my pies and galettes. It is a very versatile dough that works well with both sweet and savory preparations. This recipe makes enough dough for 4 single-crust pies or galettes, or 2 double-crust pies. I usually try to have this dough in my freezer so that pie making is quick and easy.

Flaky Pie Dough

• 51/2 cups pastry flour
• 1 tablespoon sea salt
• 8 ounces unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 9 ounces non-hydrogenated vegetable shortening, cut into small pieces
• 1 cup ice-cold water

Place the flour and sea salt in the bowl of a standing mixer. Turn on lowest setting, just to blend. Add butter and mix until well incorporated, the mixture should look like large grains of couscous. Add the shortening, and mix just well enough to blend, but you should still see large pieces of shortening. This will give you a flaky crust. Finally, add the water all at once and mix just until the dough comes together. Divide the dough into 4 equal portions and wrap in plastic, flatten into a disk, and chill for at least 1 hour before using. Unused dough can be stored in the refrigerator for 2 days, or frozen for 1 month.