Description
Southern charm meets buttery perfection in Paula Deen’s legendary pie crust. Flaky layers promise delicious pastry memories that melt in your mouth, inviting you to savor classic comfort with each delightful bite.
Ingredients
Scale
Main Ingredients:
- 2 ½ cups (300 grams) all-purpose flour
- 12 tablespoons (170 grams) cold and cubed butter
- ¼ cup (57 grams) cold vegetable shortening
Secondary Ingredients:
- 3 tablespoons (38 grams) granulated white sugar
Seasoning:
- ¼ teaspoon fine salt
Liquid:
- ¼ to ½ cup (60–120 milliliters) ice water
Instructions
- Sift the dry ingredients thoroughly in a spacious mixing vessel, blending flour, salt, and sugar to create a uniform base for your pastry foundation.
- Introduce cold vegetable shortening to the flour mixture, methodically breaking it down using fingertips or a specialized pastry utensil until the texture resembles coarse breadcrumbs.
- Integrate cold butter cubes into the mixture with swift, deliberate movements, maintaining a light touch to preserve delicate pockets of fat that will generate flaky layers.
- Carefully introduce ice-cold water (60 milliliters or 1/4 cup) into the crumbly mixture, gently folding and pressing until the dough begins to cohesively bind without becoming overly saturated.
- Shape the dough into two symmetrical disks, avoiding excessive manipulation that could compromise its tender structure. Encase each disk securely in plastic wrap and refrigerate for a minimum of 30 minutes to relax the gluten and solidify the fat.
- Prepare a lightly dusted work surface and roll each chilled disk into a circular shape measuring 25–28 centimeters (10–11 inches), ensuring consistent thickness that will comfortably line a 23-centimeter (9-inch) pie dish.
- Delicately transfer the rolled dough into the pie dish, smoothing it against the contours and trimming excess edges while leaving a modest overhang for potential decorative crimping.
- The prepared crust is now ready for your chosen filling. For blind baking, perforate the base with a fork, layer with parchment paper, and stabilize with ceramic pie weights to prevent unwanted rising and ensure a crisp foundation.
Notes
- Freeze butter and shortening for extra flakiness, ensuring your pie crust will have those delicate, melt-in-your-mouth layers that everyone craves.
- Add ice water sparingly and gradually, watching the dough’s texture carefully to prevent sticky or crumbly disasters that could ruin your perfect pastry.
- Handle the dough minimally when mixing, stopping as soon as ingredients combine to maintain that incredible tender texture bakers dream about.
- Refrigerate the prepared dough for at least half an hour, allowing gluten to relax and making rolling out smoother than spreading soft butter on warm toast.
- Roll pastry with gentle, consistent pressure from center outwards, rotating occasionally to create a perfectly circular shape without unwanted cracks or tears.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Desserts, Snacks
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 8
- Calories: 120
- Sugar: 0 g
- Sodium: 97 mg
- Fat: 7 g
- Saturated Fat: 2 g
- Carbohydrates: 12 g
- Fiber: 0 g
- Protein: 2 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg