Description
Grandma’s classic pie crust, known as Ruth’s Grandmas Pie Crust, delivers flaky, buttery perfection passed down through generations. Bakers can create this simple yet delicious pastry with just a few pantry ingredients and minimal preparation time.
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups (315 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (225 g) cold unsalted butter
- ¼–½ cup (60–120 ml or 2–4 fl oz) ice water
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp granulated sugar (optional, for sweet pies)
Instructions
- Dry Ingredient Fusion: Whisk flour, salt, and optional sugar in a spacious mixing bowl, ensuring uniform distribution of dry components.
- Butter Integration: Incorporate chilled butter into the flour mixture using a pastry cutter or fingertips until the texture resembles coarse, gravelly crumbs with occasional pea-sized butter fragments.
- Dough Consolidation: Gradually introduce ice-cold water, folding gently until the dough coheres without excessive manipulation. Compress to test structural integrity.
- Dough Preparation: Divide the dough into two equal disks, wrap individually in plastic, and refrigerate for 60 minutes to 48 hours to enhance flavor and texture.
- Crust Shaping: Roll one dough disk to 1/8-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface, carefully transferring to the pie dish. Press gently to conform to the dish’s contours, trimming excess edges.
- Filling and Sealing: Add desired filling, and if using a double crust, roll the second disk and drape over the filling. Crimp edges to create a tight seal, and score small vents for steam release.
- Baking Finalization: Bake according to the specific recipe’s temperature and time guidelines, watching for a golden-brown finish that signals perfect doneness.
Notes
Chill Ingredients Strategically: Keep butter and water extremely cold to guarantee a flaky, tender pie crust with perfect layered texture.
Handle Dough Minimally: Use light, gentle touches when mixing and rolling to prevent gluten development, which can make the crust tough and dense.
Customize Dough Flexibility: Experiment with half butter, half shortening for enhanced flakiness or substitute part whole wheat flour for nutty, rustic flavor profile.
Master Moisture Balance: Add water gradually and stop mixing immediately when dough just begins to hold together, preventing potential dry or overly wet consistency.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Category: Desserts
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 9
- Calories: 282
- Sugar: 2 g
- Sodium: 170 mg
- Fat: 20 g
- Saturated Fat: 12 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 8 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 24 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Cholesterol: 40 mg