Pie Crust For Longer Cooking Times

This crust is formulated for fillings that take a long time to bake and
pose the potential problem of an overbrowned crust. If this crust is too
pale even after 25 to 30 minutes of blind baking and 45 minutes to an hour
of baking time, go to 25 percent cake flour and 75 percent all-purpose
and/or 10 percent shortening by volume and 90 percent butter.

What this recipe shows:

Using half cake flour, with its acidity and low protein content,
reduces browning.
Using half shortening limits browning.
Omitting sugar limits browning.
Using water instead of a dairy product limits browning.
Acids like cider vinegar tenderize and limit browning.
Chilling the dough allows the moisture to distribute evenly.
Chilling the shaped crust in the freezer firms the fat for
flakiness and to hold crust shape.
Baking blind produces a crisp crust.

1. Stir together both flours, the salt, and the butter lumps in a medium
mixing bowl and place in the freezer for 10 minutes.

2. When the flour-butter mixture is cold, dump it out onto a clean counter.
Roll over the mixture with a rolling pin to flatten the butter and coat it
with flour. Some butter will stick to the pin. Scrape it off and scrape the
mixture together. Roll over the mixture again. Rapidly continue rolling and
scraping together three times. Scrape back into the bowl and place in the
freezer for 5 minutes. Add the pieces of shortening to the mixture and roll
in, scraping and rerolling two or three times. Scrape the mixture back into
the bowl and return to the freezer for 10 minutes. If the butter becomes
very soft at any time during the rolling immediately return the mixture to
the freezer for 5 minutes.

3. Stir together the water, vinegar, and vanilla in a small bowl. Then
gently stir the water mixture into the flour-fat mixture. Pull the dough
together into a round, wrap well in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30
minutes to several hours or overnight.

4. Preheat the oven to 400F (204C).

5. Shape the dough into a 6- to 8-inch disk about 3/4 inch thick. Lightly
flour the counter, place the disk on counter, sprinkle lightly with flour,
and roll out evenly. Place the rolling pin in the center of the dough disk,
rolling forward and back (taking care not to roll off the dough and thin
the edges), rotate the dough 45 degrees, and roll again. Keep a little
flour on the counter to one side. If the dough tends to stick when
rotating, drag it through the flour. When the dough is nearing the desired
thickness, place one spacer or ruler at each side of the dough, rest the
rolling pin on the two spacers or rulers, and roll it across the dough.

6. Place the dough in a shiny metal (not black) removable-bottom 9 x 1
1/2-inch tart pan and bake blind. Glaze with egg white and bake 3 to 5
minutes to set.

Variation: Orange Crust — Stir 2 teaspoons finely grated orange zest into
the crust with the water in Step 3.

MM format by Manny Rothstein, 5/25/98