My Favorite Pie Crust

 

I used to make an all-butter pie crust (pate brisee or shortcrust), but at some point I decided I didn't want to eat all that butter.

I tried several non-butter crusts, and found this delicious, easy recipe from King Arthur. It's flaky and crisp and so simple and quick to make.

It gets its fat from vegetable oil and milk. And a little lift from some baking powder. A bowl and fork are all you'll need to make the dough. There's no need to chill the dough before rolling. Or, even better, if you have any rolling-out-dough phobias, you can just press this dough into the pie pan! Finally, it's versatile; I've used it for chicken pot pies (omitting the sugar), tarts and in my favorite Apricot Crostata.

Notes: 

1. I find it easiest to roll dough out on a sheet of parchment paper with a sheet of plastic wrap on top to prevent sticking. 

2. Make it vegan by replacing the milk with water!


King Arthur's Oil Pie Crust
Adapted from KingArthur
Makes one single 9" pie crust

Prepare Crust:
In a medium bowl, sift together:
2 cups all-purpose flour (260g) 
1 1/4 tsp sugar
1/2 rounded tsp salt
1/4 rounded tsp baking powder

Pour into a measuring cup, but do not mix together (the milk will settle to the bottom):
7 tablespoons (1/2 cup less 1 tablespoon) vegetable oil
1/3 cup milk

Make a well in the flour mixture and pour in the oil/milk mixture. Mix together with a fork until evenly moistened.

Scrape out the dough onto a piece of parchment paper, 15" x 15" or so. Using your hands, gather up the dough into a ball, then flatten into a 6" diameter disk.

Center the disk on top of the parchment paper, then place a sheet of plastic wrap on top of disk. Roll by pivoting the rolling pin from the center of the disk and making a 90° arc, i.e., rolling the pin from 12 o'clock to 3 o'clock. Give the parchment paper a quarter turn counterclockwise, i.e., the 3 o'clock position moves to 12 o'clock. Continue in this manner until dough is approximately 12" in diameter. Reposition the plastic wrap as needed as the pastry round gets bigger.

Peel off the plasic wrap. Gently roll dough around the rolling pin, pulling away the bottom parchment paper. Lift the rolling pin over the pie plate and unroll it into the pie pan. Gently lift dough edges and allow dough to settle into the pie plate. Trim edges to a 3/4" overhang. Tuck under and press edge with a fork tine or flute/crimp as desired. This dough is very forgiving, so if you have any tears, simply patch it using some of the trimmed off dough.

Refrigerate the pie shell while you prepare your filling.

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