Traditional Pie Crust Recipe
Make the dough, cover and chill it for an hour or two. Then use the flour method for rolling out this dough.
Flour Method for Rolling Pie Crust Dough
For the flour method of rolling out the dough, sprinkle your work surface lightly with flour. A stocking (or stockinette) for your rolling pin will aid this process. Flatten the dough gently, then sprinkle the top with flour too. Rub some flour into the stockinette covered rolling pin. Roll from center to edge, in all directions, forming a circle about 2" wider than an inverted pie crust. You can pinch cracks together. Turn the pie crust dough frequently while rolling to make sure it isn’t sticking to your work surface, dusting with flour occasionally. Then fold the pastry in half, then in half again to form a 1/4 circle, and lift into pie plate. Unfold and ease into the pan.
Gently press into the bottom of the pan, easing the dough down. Don’t pull or stretch the dough. Then fill it, and repeat the process with the top crust. Fold the edge of the top crust under the bottom crust and pinch to seal. Then pinch the edges together between your thumb and forefinger, or use a fork to press the edge down. Use your imagination to make a pattern! You can use your thumb and forefinger of one hand and forefinger of the other to make a scallop, or attach dough cutouts with an egg wash.
When making a single pie crust (no top crust), I use a tip I learned at a food styling session at Pillsbury and pop the crust into the freezer for 10 minutes before it is baked. That firms up the fat and when the pie crust is placed in the hot oven the fluted edge holds its pattern better. To bake a one crust pie to be filled with a chilled filling, line the crust with foil and pour unbaked dried beans into the crust. Remove the foil and beans for the last 3 minutes of baking time so the crust can brown.
For some super easy press-in-the-pan pie crust recipes, check out Nut Cookie Pie Crust Recipe and Cookie Pie Crust Recipe where you bake cookie dough crumbs and then press them into the pan.
For more information and pictures, see Step by Step: How to Make Pie Crust. And practice! Every time you make a pie crust from scratch, it will get easier. Soon it will take only a few minutes - less time than letting a refrigerated crust soften at room temperature. And the cost savings are really tremendous. Have fun experimenting!
