Go to the Recipe: Perfect Pie Dough
I'm not seeing the video mentioned in step 2. Am I missing something?
Not seeing the video either
video added
The photo at the top of the page shows some hand pies/turnovers - I like the idea but I'm not clear how to make them when the activity talks about blind baking the pie crust, any tips welcome (or if there is an activity page forth coming that'd be cool to learn).
when i moved to denver, my pies became terrible. Any advice on how to adjust for altitude?
Just to triple check, you bake this for an hour total right (vs 20 hot and 20 uncovered and cooler). Can I freeze the unbaked shell if I clingfilm him properly? Tx
So the ingredients for 1x gives 38g sugar and you mention in the intro that you can add an egg or coconut oil for richness. Would that replace the mass of sugar or should I replace some of the butter mass. My guess is that an egg has more inherent water than butter and oil less (none?). Should I try to factor this in eyeball style? Do any of the other proportions change if I completely leave out the optional sugar?
Guys, temperatures! 204 oC infers that your oven is capable of holding a temperature to an accuracy of + - 1 degree Celsius.
Put a suitable thermometer into your oven set at say 350F ( or 180C) and watch how the temperature follows a sawtooth pattern as the thermostat kicks in and out. If your oven is holding to +- 10F you are doing bloody well as most domestic ovens cannot do twice that amount.
Please: 400F = 200C and 350F = 180C !. The same applies to liquid measurements - it is a kitchen, not a nuclear laboratory.
All the rest of your cooking I think is fabulous
If you want to add some eggs, I suggest adding only egg yolks rather than whole eggs to get a finer texture. They would replace some of the water. Although it is optional, sugar is critical in browning so I don't suggest you to leave it out (even in a savoury pie).
Those are just values directly converted from F to C, which does make the most sense. My oven has a setting for 205C so that would be more logical to use than 200C. Why introduce extra 4C error?
tho not mentioned, might one assume the sugar gets whisked in with the flour/salt in step 2 "cut in the butter"
I know these are direct conversions, they did not come down from Mount Olympus!
This comment of adding a 4C error means that you just do not grasp the concept!
Can you add instructions on how to bake with a top and filling?
In the picture, it looks like there is indvidual apple turnovers. Do you have a recipe for them?
Guys, I seriously love you for your meticulousness. But are you absolutely sure that a food processor could not have performed the flour/butter chopping to 99% of the result at 10% of the time?
what would be good Gluten Free flour(s) replacement?
If they did not use the exact numbers, they would have people complaining in the comments that 400F does not equal 200C, etc. They clearly were going for nice round numbers and can only optimize that for one unit of measurement. The reader is meant to adjust to a round number for celcius if that's an issue for them.
If you're referring to cutting the butter into the flour with a food processor, Serious Eats made a post where they justify why they have multiple pie dough recipes (one of which uses a food processor and one of which is done by hand--not quite as meticulously as outlined here, but similar). The main takeaway is that doing it by hand can make an improvement, but at the expense of convenience. That being said, next time I'm going to see if I can use a food processor to expedite the process of cutting butter and then mix it with the flour as outlined above.
Hi Daniel, if you check out the super apple pie recipe here it shows you how to do a filled pie. https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/super-apple-pie. There are some good tips and tricks on there for it too.
Yes, you can.
We are currently doing some testing on this so we can give a solid recommendation.
Hi toby, You are correct! The sugar is optional, but if you’re using it, add it in with the flour and salt in Step 2.
An hour for total baking is correct, Ayan.
Hi Dana, We don’t yet have a lot of high-altitude baking advice, but I’ll start a forum post soon, so we can have other community members weigh in with their experience. Here’s a book recommendation for high-altitude baking—Pie in the Sky Successful Baking at High Altitudes by Susan Purdy.
Hi Mark, There’s no need for blind-baking if you’re making hand pies or turnovers. Just roll out your pie dough, cut into a square, egg wash the edges, add your filling in the center, fold over and press down along the edges to seal. Cut some vents in the top and bake at 375 °F (20 to 35 min) until golden brown and delicious.
Hi Terri, We don’t have an official recipe on the site yet, but here are instructions to get you started. Roll out your pie dough, cut into squares, egg wash the edges, add your filling in the center, fold over and press down along the edges to seal. Cut some vents in the top and bake at 375 °F (20 to 35 min) until golden brown and delicious.
Did you trial the addition of apple cider vinegar to see how pH changes the final results?
Sister Pie Cookbook uses it in their crust recipe(pie shop in Detroit) ( www.bonappetit.com/recipe/sister-pie-crust )
How long ahead can I chill the pie shell before the baking step? Trying to get the timing right for Thanksgiving.
Hi @Giovanni Logrono,
You have several good options. First of all, whichever option you choose, be sure to wrap the crust securely to keep it from drying out or becoming stale. If you are chilling the pie shell in the refrigerator before the baking step, it will be good for about two days. If you freeze the pie shell before the baking step—you can easily go for two weeks or longer. You can blind-bake directly from the freezer (depending on the kind of pie you’re making) or add your filling to the unbaked frozen crust and go directly to the baking step. If you blind-bake the crust early and wrap it up tightly, it will be good for 3 or 4 days left out at room temperature.
Hi @Greg Nelsen,
We didn’t use apple cider vinegar in our pie trials. Have you tried it? If so, did you notice any different results?
Awesome - thank you!
Thanks for the heads-up, Ben. The video has been added.
Matt, could you comment on how this recipe compares to ChefStep's previous Pâte Brisée recipe? What are the advantages or disadvantages of one over the other? When would you preferably use one or the other? Or is this new one the ultimate pie dough and we should stick with it?
https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/buttery-flaky-all-purpose-pie-crust-pate-brisee
How long can the blind-baked pie shell be kept before filling and final baking? Do you recommend freezing after blind-baking, freezer storage, or counter-top?
What are your thoughts on silicone pie shields instead of aluminum foil?
I've had good luck with this aluminum pie shield (recommended in "The New Pie" by Taylor and Arguin). Fits Anchor Hocking 9.5 inch pie pans.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00004S1BU/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Maybe I missed it but I didn’t see any information about choosing bread flour over all purpose. How does the extra protein in the flour effect it’s overall consistency and flakiness? Thanks
Any shield that works is okay by us, @matthew shiel.
If you blind-bake the crust early and wrap it up tightly, it will be good for 3 or 4 days left out at room temperature.
Hi Sheryl, The extra protein helps increase the flakiness.
Hi @BostonBestEats,
The ultimate pie dough is very forgiving. It’s easier to hydrate the dry ingredients—and doesn’t require a stand mixer—mixing the dough by hand makes it easier to know when to add the liquids. The recipe was developed to be super-flaky and versatile—a real working dough that can be used in many applications.
I've made the Pâte Brisée previously for the old quiche recipe, and it was really excellent; best pie crust I've ever had. Though I noticed you didn't mention that the Ultimate Pie Dough is better per se... I intend on trying it out regardless, but purely on better/worse; which would you choose? Also I wonder how the Pâte Brisée compares to the Ultimate when it comes to intensely wet fillings like the new corn pie; that some people are having trouble with.
Please add in a step where you separate the dough in 2 to make 2 pie shells. I didn't see where it said this recipe yields 2 shells, which resulted in me using the whole recipe for 1 shell. As you can imagine, the crust was too thick.
Hi, Giovanni, we’ve added that. Apologies.
Hey there! Is it better to blind bake the pie crust for an apple pie?
Hello Miguel, It all depends on the filling. If the filling is pre-cooked then a blind baked shell will reduce baking time and improve bottom crust. A raw filling inside a blind baked shell will need a shield on the rim during the longer bake. That said baking on the bottom shelf of the oven will give you a crispy bottom crust from raw. Do not be afraid to bake the pie a little longer than expected with raw crusts. You want to start with a high temp and drop temp low to finish baking.
Thank you for helping out. I was planning to: 1. Make a caramel, cook the apples (grannysmith and braeburn half and half )a bit( with lemon, butter , nutmeg, cinnamon and apf), strain the apples, reduce the juice, add it back then chill overnight. 2. Maybe blind bake the crust then add the cold filling/bake the pie straight out of the fridge with the classic streusel crumble on top.
Which would be better?
Cold filling, Blind baked crust, Streusel topped, Baked until bubbling and streusel is golden. Remember to shield the rim. Happy baking Miguel. Your filling sounds great.
The water to flour hydration is around 45% in this recipe as compared to 22% in the Pate Brisee recipe. Just an observation as I only add enough liquid for dough to come together regardless of hydration called for in pie doughs. I find that differences in different flours and the fat to flour ratios used, calls for the baker to use the amount of cold liquid that looks and feels right when making pie doughs.
True, much different in mixing techniques. Pie doughs that are mixed by hand will vary in the amount of ice water added. All depends on how coated the flour is. It's better to have more liquid than less. The Pate Brisee recipe has the butter fully worked into the flour which doesn't allow for much more hydration from water since the flour is married with the fat.
Hi guys, is it better to use this recipe over the Pate Brisee for the Wellington recipe?
Howdy Tim, Any pie dough made well will work. The Pate Brisee may be more consistent in results since the recipe above depends on how much you cut in the butter. If you use above recipe just make sure you cut in the butter well. Above is my standard pie dough recipe I have been making for years and a personal favorite for texture and workability. At the end of the day you are in control and pie dough is an art and a feeling.
Thanks a lot, Matthew!
Is this the dough I would use for hot pockets? Like ham and cheese? Or Pizza? Or? Thanks
This dough will make great "hot pockets". Make sure you cut the butter in as fine or as small as you can.
How does this method compare with grating in cold hard butter? Wouldn't the results be identical?
Comparable, not identical. Its really about the irregularity of having small and larger pieces of butter dispersed. Grating tends to allow the butter to warm up/soften too fast, even when ice cold.
There is no audio on that YouTube video lol. Is there a fixed video with audio somewhere you can link in a reply perhaps?
My dough is in the fridge two days at step 4 because I can't make the actual pop tarts until tomorrow. How long can the dough stay in the fridge from step 4? and could I take it straight from fridge and freeze? Otherwise, 3rd day I can take it from the fridge, roll it out and make pop tart shapes, yes? praying so!
I keep this dough well wrapped in the fridge for about 5 days. I also vacuum seal dough discs and freeze them for up to 6 months. Then I just pull it from the freezer a couple of hours before I want to roll it out. I've even rolled out the dough and frozen it flat. If it's flat you can pull it and put in on the counter. It will be pliable in about 15-20 minutes and you can proceed with your pie making.
Does the protein content of the flour affect how the fat incorporates into the dough? I used a high quality Canadian all-purpose, which is not bread flour but tends to have a higher protein content as I understand. when I did a blind bake there was a huge pool of butter in the pan below. Wondering if it was because of the flour or if I just didn't mix the butter in well enough.
The bleeding of butter is from under mixing in the butter. It is normal to have a touch of butter release from the dough while baking but if the butter chunks are too large and not worked into layers then you risk pooling. Properly made dough will barely release butter.
What are your feelings of using lard in pie dough? I recently purchased Tenderflake to try this season...maybe a combo of butter and lard? Any pointers?
Audio is still in and out. Pretty frustrating. Doesn’t really inspire to pony up for the subscription.
So my crust baked up well for the blind but it shrunk more than expected (my first time making a pie crust or pie). I want to make the perfect pumpkin pie recipe but worried that the low spot will make the pie really shallow. Any suggested fixes/rescue hacks?
I've tried this recipe 2-3x holidays in a row, with 5-6 pies (pumpkin & apple), and it's never turned out -- always too tough, dough is glued to the pan, not flakey at all. I know this means I have too much gluten, too much water, or too much working, etc -- but I've basically given up & decided I'm not a good enough baker to pull off this recipe. I switched to ATKs Foolproof All-Butter by Andrea Geary that mixes half-flour into a paste, with a 50/50 AP/cake flour mix (emulating pastry flour), and I've got the best pie crust I've ever made. It's actually soft. Actually flakey. This sort of "an amateur can get pro-ish results" is what originally got me into ChefSteps, i.e. all the OG sous vide content, and so fwiw/for me, this recipe is too much raw skill / not enough "just works" design like the ATK recipe, which is what I personally look for/expect from ChefSteps.
