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{VIDEO} THE BEST All Butter Pie Crust & Pre-Bake (Blind Bake)

Welcome back to PIE WEEK, where every day this week I'm sharing a new pie video!  Today we are making the best easy pie crust.




If you love this recipe, you are going to love the rest of my Pie Week videos, so be sure to check those out too just in time for the holidays! I am going to be sharing everything from THE BEST Easy All-Butter Pie Crust, to how to make fun and amazing Decorative Pie Crust Designs, my fave Cherry Pie with Braided Lattice TopPumpkin Pie with Pie Crust LeavesTHE BEST Apple Pie with Pie Crust RosesTHE BEST Lemon Meringue Pie with Ruffled Pie Crust and THE BEST Chocolate Cream Pie, just in time for the holidays! 


 I am such a sucker for a good pie crust. Since pie doesn't have loads of frosting or sprinkles or anything like that, I need a great crust to go with every bite of filling, that's my thing and this is my all time favorite pie crust. It comes out tender, buttery and perfectly flaky every time. 




If you guys give this a try be sure to tag me in a picture on social media @LindsayAnnBakes!


I promise once you try this, you will never go back to the store bought kind again and you're totally going to catch someone getting their little fingers in there and breaking off pieces of the edge, which I am totally guilty of.


The first thing I want to tell you, is do not be intimidated to make pie crust from scratch! I know it's easy to buy the pre-made crust from the store, but it literally takes like 5 minutes to whip together this pie dough and the outcome is so worth it.





The main trick to making this all-butter pie crust is making sure everything is cold, cold, cold. You want your butter in the freezer before you start and you can even put ice cubes in your liquid. That is what's going to ensure those nice flakey layers!


After you add the butter, those big pea-sized clumps that aren't completely incorporated into the flour area a good thing when it comes to pie. That's what's going to melt during baking to create the flaky layers in your crust. This is why it is important to use ice cold butter, so you do not melt or break down the butter too much before it gets to the oven. 




You can definitely just use ice water, instead of buttermilk, I just love to use buttermilk because it gives the crust this amazingly rich flavor and the acidity makes the crust extra tender. So my all-butter, buttermilk pie crust is my go-to every time.






I like to use a food processor because it just makes it really easy to whip together, but you can also make this by hand, using a pastry blender or even 2 knives to cut the butter into the flour mixture. 





Be sure to chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least an hour or two before you roll it out to use in your recipe. Chilling the dough allows the flour to absorb the liquid and dry out the dough for a less sticky, more easily handled dough that has more elasticity to hold its shape better so it does not shrink as you stretch and roll it and press it into your pan.




If your recipe requires a pre-baked crust, press the edges of the crust into a fluted design or crimp with a fork. Place in the freezer for at least 20 minutes, while you preheat the oven to 375°F (this helps ensure the crust does not slide down the sides during baking). Line your pie dough with parchment paper and fill with pie weights, dry rice or dry beans. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove the pie from the oven, and lift out the parchment and weights. Prick the bottom of the crust all over with a fork, to release steam, so it doesn't bubble up. To create a golden flaky layer on your pie crust and prevent it from getting soggy, brush egg wash over the top of the crust with a pastry brush. Tent the edges of the pie with aluminum foil if the edges from getting too brown.


What can happen if you don't fill your un-baked crust with pie weights: FAIL 

Bake for an additional 15 to 20 minutes, until the crust is golden all over. Cool completely before filling.


If making a pie with a top crust, prepare the pattern, cut-outs or designs for your top-crust and set aside while you prepare the filling. Fill pie crust with filling and add top crust on top, pressing down to seal the edges. To create a golden flaky layer on the top of your pie crust, brush egg wash over the top of the crust with a pastry brush before baking.


You can also just cut out pie dough shapes with a small cookie cutter, roll in cinnamon sugar if desired, and bake on a parchment lined baking sheet at 350°F for about 7-10 minutes. Let cool and use to top your pies, or eat them as a yummy snack!





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Perfect Pie Crust

Yield: One 9" pie crusts (double recipe for a double pie crust, enough for a top and bottom crust)

Ingredients
  • 1 1/4 cups (150g) all-purpose flour 
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar 
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt 
  • 1/2 cup (1 sticks/4oz) unsalted butter, cut into little cubes and chilled
  • 2-4 tablespoons ice cold buttermilk (or ice water)
  • egg wash: 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon milk or cream

    Directions
    Cut butter into cubes. Chill butter cubes and buttermilk, in the freezer, for at least 15 minutes. 

    Combine flour, sugar and salt in food processor. Pulse 2-3 seconds to mix. Add the cubed butter and pulse 6-8 times, until the mixture is crumbly, with large pea-sized balls of butter. (Alternately, whisk in a large bowl if you are not using a food processor and cut in butter by hand using a pastry blender or 2 knives.)

    Add half of the buttermilk and pulse a about 6-8 times, adding more liquid, one tablespoon at a time if needed, until dough just starts to come together. It will be slightly shaggy, not a perfect looking dough ball and definitely not wet or sticky at this point. You know that the mixture is ready if when you pinch some of the crumbly dough together with your fingers, and it holds together. 

    Turn dough onto a piece of plastic wrap. Form dough into a disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill in the fridge for at least 1-2 hours or up to 5 days (or freeze up to 2 months).


    Once chilled, let the dough soften to room temperature for about 5-10 minutes and roll out on a piece of parchment paper, into a circle, 1/4" thick and 2" larger than your pie dish (13" for a 9" pie dish), sprinkling with flour as needed and rotating dough 1/4 turn as you go, to eliminate sticking.

    Roll dough around your rolling pin and unroll onto the top of your pie dish, pressing it into the bottom and up the sides. Use kitchen shears to trim dough around pie dish, leaving a 1-2 inch overhang. Fold edges under to form a rim around the edge.


    Single Crust: If you're making a pie with crust only on the bottom, press the edges of the crust into a fluted design or crimp with a fork and refrigerate while you prepare the filling. To create a golden flaky layer on the top of your pie crust, brush egg wash over the top of the crust with a pastry brush before baking.

    Blind Bake/Pre-Bake Bottom Crust: If your recipe requires a pre-baked crust, press the edges of the crust into a fluted design or crimp with a fork. Place in the freezer for at least 20 minutes, while you preheat the oven to 375°F (this helps ensure the crust does not slide down the sides during baking). Line your pie dough with parchment paper and fill with pie weights, dry rice or dry beans. Bake for 20 minutes.  Remove the pie from the oven, and lift out the parchment and weights. Prick the bottom of the crust all over with a fork, to release steam, so it doesn't bubble up. To create a golden flaky layer on your pie crust and prevent it from getting soggy, brush egg wash over the top of the crust with a pastry brush. Tent the edges of the pie with aluminum foil if the edges from getting too brown.
    Bake for an additional 15 to 20 minutes for a fully pre-baked crust (for cream pies or no-bake pies, etc) OR 6-10 minutes for partially blind-baked crusts (for pies that continue to bake in the oven once you add the filling, like quiches or pumpkin pie). Cool completely before filling.

    Double Crust: If making a pie with a top crust, prepare the pattern, cut-outs or designs for your top-crust and set aside while you prepare the filling. Fill pie crust with filling and add top crust on top, pressing down to seal the edges. To create a golden flaky layer on the top of your pie crust, brush egg wash over the top of the crust with a pastry brush before baking.


    Decorative pie shape toppers: Cut out pie dough shapes with a small cookie cutter, roll in cinnamon sugar if desired, and bake on a parchment lined baking sheet at 350°F for about 7-10 minutes. Let cool and use to top your pies, or eat them as a yummy snack!