Perfect Pie Crust
Recipe by Michelle Gayer
Michelle Gayer, a dear friend and brilliant pastry chef, is here to teach us how to make the perfect pie crust. It’s flaky, buttery and slightly chewy. Even better, it’s forgiving and easy to work with.
Watch Michelle make this recipe:
Andrew Zimmern Cooks: Pie Crust with Michelle Gayer
Ingredients
- 9 ounces cake or pastry flour
- 9 ounces high gluten flour
- 1 pound cold butter
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1/2 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- 2 1/2 ounces water
Instructions
Combine the flours, salt and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Cut butter into 1/2-inch cubes and work into flour with fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the vinegar and water and draw the dough together with your fingers. Flatten into a four disks. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough to about 1/8-inch thick. Using your pie plate set on the dough as a guide, cut out a roughly 12-inch circle and place in a 9-inch pie plate, you will have an overhang. Trim the excessive overhang to 1 inch. Fold the excess dough under itself and crimp decoratively as desired. You can roll out the remaining dough and cut into 1- or 2-inch strips for a lattice topping, or roll out into another 12-inch circle for a double-crust pie. Chill the dough while you prepare your filling. Fill and bake the pie according to the instructions of your favorite recipe.
