Flaky Pie Dough Recipe
This flaky pie dough is perfect for all kinds of baked pies.Flaky and mealy pie doughs differ in the size of the fat globs. Flaky dough uses bigger globs of shortening, usually around the size of peas, while mealy doughs will resemble corn meal.
Why use one or the other? Mealy crusts don't tend to get as soggy as flaky crusts, making them ideal for the bottoms of fruit or custard pies. Flaky doughs are used for top crusts and for making prebaked pie shells.
Tip: Unless you're making a large quantity (more than 10 lbs) of dough, mixing by hand is best. For maximum flakiness, mix very gently.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Ingredients:
- 5 cups pastry flour (or 4½ cups all-purpose flour), sifted
- ¾ lbs butter (3 sticks), shortening or lard
- 2 tsp salt
- ¾ cup cold water
Preparation:
- Dissolve the salt in the water.
- Cut shortening into flour until the shortening blobs are about the size of peas.
- Add the salted water and gently mix with a wooden spoon until just combined.
- Wrap the dough in plastic and chill for 3-4 hours before using.
Note on the review from MaVinci: You've hit upon one of the key issues in baking, which is that how you measure the flour makes a huge difference in how your product turns out.
If you scoop the flour straight out of the bag, you can end up with 30 percent extra flour in the recipe, which will definitely cause the problem you described. Here's a great article by Busy Cooks Guide Linda Larsen on how to measure flour.
