Wednesday, September 19, 2007

How to make a great crust

This is the recipe I used for making a great crust. I have used this for apple pie and chicken pot pie. It is not sweet and works everywhere.

4 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
1 stick Crisco vegetable shortening (cut into small pieces and chilled)
1 stick unsalted butter (cut into small pieces and chilled)
1 cup ice cold water

Sift the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl. Mix for a minute. Add the butter and Crisco until it looks like little pebbles. While still mixing, slowly add the very cold water. Stop when it has turned into a ball of dough. Divide dough into pieces. Form into discs and keep in plastic wrap in the fridge for an hour to overnight. It is easier to work with when well chilled.

When you go to use it, let it sit out for 5-10 minutes, then work on a floured workspace to roll out.

I had a little dough left over after making pies. I rolled it out, sprinkled some cinnamon on it, spread some chocolate chips down, then rolled it back up into a long tube. Then I baked it at 375 degrees for 20-30 minutes and had a very nice doughy chocolate snack.

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