Easy Pie Crust - 6"

A 6 inch pie crust in a deep pie plate

Loraine and I are just learning the techniques and secrets of baking pies and cakes. The biggest challenge, to date, has been making the pie crusts. After a lot of experimentation (read as failures) we can now successfully make this very easy 6" pie crust recipe.

The image shown is for a blind baked pie shell. Blind baked means that you cook the pastry prior to adding the filling. Some recipes want a blind baked pie shell. We have included the instructions for blind baking the pie crust following the directions for the pastry shell.

We used this specific pie shell in our wild mushroom quiche.

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Place flour, butter, salt, and sugar in the bowl of a small food processor. Process on pulse until fat is cut uniformly into the flour in very small pieces.
  2. Add water all at once, and process just until dough holds together. If dough is too dry to stick together, add more water by teaspoon increments.
  3. Place dough in a heavy 2 to 3 gallon sized sealable plastic bag and press into a round thick disk. Chill in refrigerator or freezer until stiff.
  4. Leaving the dough in the plastic bag, roll the dough out into a large circle (for a deep 6" pan, the circle should be about 10 inches in diameter; the dough should be about 1/4" thick). Return the bag to the freezer for about 10 minutes or until dough is stiff.
  5. Cut the bag apart along the seams and peel it from the plastic. Without stretching the dough, fit it into the bottom of your pie dish and up the sides (you may need to let the dough soften a little; it should be malleable but cold).
  6. Trim excess crust, leaving about 1/4" extending over the edge of the pan. Patch any holes or thin spots.
  7. Chill for 15 minutes and use as directed in recipes that call for uncooked pie crust.
  8. Dough can be frozen at this point for up to several weeks: after it's chilled, cover the surface with plastic wrap.

Directions for blind baking

  1. Preheat oven to 350° F.
  2. Using a fork, poke the bottom of the pie dough.
  3. Place the pan in the freezer for 15 minutes or so, until dough is very stiff.
  4. Line the crust with a piece of aluminum foil (not heavy duty) and pour in enough pie weights, dried beans, sugar or rice to reach about halfway up the sides.
  5. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and carefully lift the foil out of the crust. The crust should be set but not browned.
  6. Return pan to the oven and bake for another 10 minutes.
  7. Remove from the oven and let cool.

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Bon Appétit