Today I made pie for the second time ever. I enjoy cooking / baking and have fond memories of my mom baking pie. I've long wanted to try it out but was always concerned it would be difficult. I was afraid I would mess it up.
I've been told I am a pretty good chef however and I've always said that it boils down to timing and following the recipe correctly.
Anyhow, this recipe is so easy and I can honestly say I have never had a better pie crust. I thought I would share it with anyone who would like to give it a shot.
The recipe for one pie crust is as follows:
Two cups of all purpose flour
2/3 cups butter or coconut oil ( Must be cold and hard but not frozen )
Half a teaspoon salt
About 3-8 tablespoons of ice cold water.
Simply add the flour and salt into a large bowl and stir. Then make 1 inch squares of butter or coconut oil. Use a fork to break the chunks up into the flour but don't break them up completely. It's best if there are small chunks in the mix.
Mix it until it begins to clump up. If you squeeze a handful it will start to form dough but it will be too crumbly still. Next you can add one table spoon of water at a time and mix it with a spoon. Continue to do this until it's just barely workable enough to roll out a nice pie crust. You want it to be as flaky as possible without being too difficult to work.
If it's hot, you can set the dough in the freezer for twenty minutes, if it's cold you can break the dough into two equal piece's. Dust the counter with flour and roll one out using a bit of flour as needed. Roll it about 1/8 inch thick.
Gently center the pie crust over the tin. Lift the outer edges towards the center to form the crust to the tin.
I used vine peaches I grew here on the homestead to make filling for my first pie and had some left over so I used it mixed with strawberry filling for one pie and made another with just strawberry filling. I used a sharp knife to fillet the fruit away from the skin. I poured the juice from the bags the fruit was in, into a measuring cup and added some sugar to make a filling.
Then I poured a canned strawberry mix in both pies. Next year I should be able to make my own from the homestead.
I rolled out two tops for the pies. I cut one into 1 inch slices. If you lay them across the pie and fold them back half way, you can then lay other piece's in and weave them back and forth and do the same for the other side.
The other pie is simply a flat top with three slits in it. I pinched the edges of one and used the fork for the other.
I heated my Coleman oven up to about 300 degrees and cooked the pies for 66 minutes.
I'm really happy with the way they came out. My first pie was really good but I was trying so hard to make it flaky that I should have added a bit more water. This time I added just the right amount to make working the crusts much easier.
I'm sure I'll get better at making them look more appealing but I can honestly say I have never had a better pie in my life.
If you'd like to learn more about my homestead, you can visit my website and scroll down to the bottom for a FREE copy of my Amazon Best Seller. Please leave a comment below. I'll try to respond to them all.
11 comments
Hey Joe, Thanks for following along!
Buzzy, the first time I made pie I didn’t have butter cause it’s not something I usually buy so I had to figure out how to make it another way. I couldn’t tell a difference in the taste between the two ways of making it really. They’re both great.
Your doing such a great job on all you do, keep up the great work.
Joe from mo
Thank you, John! I never thought of using hard coconut oil, I’m going to try that!
Thank you, John! I never thought of using hard coconut oil, I’m going to try that!