Always Perfect Pie Crust or Pastry
"Before you get rolling, with floured hands, shape dough into a disk. Sprinkle with just a little flour. This makes rolling easy. The cooking time is chill time!"
photo by virginiabean
- Ready In:
- 2hrs 20mins
- Ingredients:
- 8
- Yields:
-
3 single crust pie shells
ingredients
- 3 3⁄4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1⁄2 - 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1⁄2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 3⁄4 cups unsalted butter, cold and cut up
- 2⁄3 cup water, ice cold
- 2 tablespoons sour cream
- 1 teaspoon vinegar
directions
- In a very large bowl combine flour, sugar, salt and baking powder. Cut in butter leaving pea sized chunks.
- In a 2 cup glass measure whisk water, sour cream, and vinegar; pour, all at once into flour mixture, and quickly distribute. Stop!
- Make sure dough is slightly crumbly. Divide dough mixture into 3 equal portions (about 12 to 13 ounces each) Refrigerate for 2 hours and best overnight (finish by hand). DO NOT OVER MIX- the finished dough should break, not stretch.
- Gently knead in bag to bring dough together. Form into discs.
- Use at once or wrap and store in refrigerator for several days or in freezer for up to 1 month. Thaw overnight in refrigerator if frozen.
Questions & Replies
Got a question?
Share it with the community!
Reviews
-
This is Alan Carter's recipe for Better Homes and Gardens. It is the PERFECT pie crust. I have always had trouble finding a recipe that I can roll without sticking or crumbling and this is IT! The vinegar and sour cream may scare some folks away -- don't let it! I have a nephew that hates both of these ingredients and he LOVES this pie crust. You cannot tell it's in there. I think it just helps hold everything together and gives a wonderful texture.<br/><br/>The recipe calls for up to a whole tablespoon of kosher salt and I prefer only using half a tablespoon. It gives the perfect mix of salty-sweet without overpowering. I have also used up to half a stick of shortening to replace butter and it comes out perfectly flaky and delicious. This is definitely the only pie crust I will ever use again. -
This crust worked perfectly for me. It was wonderful and easy to work with. Thanks for sharing. -
Perfect! I used this as a pastry crust for a chicken pot pie and it was crunchy and flaky even on the bottom! Nice! Thanks for sharing- -
I finally made a pie crust that was edible, thank you Annacia!! Made in my food processor so this was super easy and did use 1/2 tablespoon of kosher salt. Refrigerated overnight and froze the other two discs. Made an apple pie with crumble topping and flaky delicious pie crust. Made and reviewed for the 1-2-3 Hits Tag Game.
