Page 14 - Sept Oct 2015 flipbook

Perfect Non-Dairy Pie Crust
There are two keys to making delicious, flaky non-dairy pie crust: Make it quick, and make it with hydrogenated vegetable oil. Yes, I said hydrogenated vegetable oil, (Crisco). We all know it is bad for us. Filled with trans fats, banned in Europe . . . and it makes the best non-diary pie crust. I have tried every other kind of non-diary fat
to make a pie crust: coconut oil, vegetable oil, the trans fat-free Crisco, and lard. The last, lard, makes a perfect crust for savory pies. But when used as a crust for a sweet pie, one can taste the beefiness. Yuck. Nothing makes a delicious, flaky crust for sweet pies like hydrogenated vegetable oil (HVO). Butter works well for pie crusts, although it must be well-chilled, but my family and I have severe dairy allergies, so butter is out!
So my rule is, I ONLY use HVO to make crust for sweet pies, and I only make sweet pies for very special occasions. I use coconut oil for most every other dish that requires a solid fat. So my family’s consumption of HVO amounts to the crust of a few pieces of pie a year. And after anyone has tasted my “perfect pie crust”, they will have no other. I try to make every other ingredient in the pie healthy, by using whole, organic ingredients, and healthier sweeteners, like honey and coconut sugar.
HVOs aside, the other key, make it quick, is essential! It boggles my mind when I watch cooking shows in which pastry chefs use all sorts of extra ingredients to make their pie crusts keep a perfect crimped edge, and they
roll, and roll, and roll, and roll to make a perfectly round circle of dough. Adding all sorts of ingredients and overworking the dough will guarantee the crust will turn out tough. Keep it simple and roll the dough out quickly! Don’t spend lots of time making perfect crimped edges. This pie crust recipe is so short that it will not hold crisp crimped edges anyway. So don’t fuss over the fancy edges. Roll, place and crimp that piecrust quick as a bunny!
Method
1. In large bowl, stir salt into flour thoroughly. 2. Cut in shortening until thoroughly combined.
3. Drop 4 tablespoons of cold water onto flour/shortening mixture and stir until soft dough forms.
4. Divide dough in half.
5. Roll out one half of dough between two sheets of waxed paper to form rough circle about 2” larger than pie plate.
6. Peel waxed paper from one side, then lay it gently back down on the dough.
7. Pick up bottom sheet of waxed paper along with dough and flip over to other side. 8. Peel waxed paper off this side, also.
9. Using waxed paper under dough, flip dough over into pie pan.
10. Press dough lightly into pie pan.
11. If making a one crust pie, flute edges.
12. If blind baking, press a large sheet of foil into the crust-lined pie dish, pressing up the sides to hold fluted edges and keep them from sagging while baking, and fill the foil halfway full with dry beans. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes at 400 degrees, then fill pie. Remove foil and beans and bake crust 5 min.
13. If making a two crust pie, roll out dough as for bottom crust, above. Flip top crust over, using waxed paper as before, onto top of pie. Flute edges, pinching the two crusts together. Trim excess dough from edges, and prick top with fork in several places. Bake per directions for your chosen pie recipe.
Ingredients
(makes 2 crusts)
ɶ 2 cups unbleached flour
ɶ 1 teaspoon salt
ɶ 1 cup vegetable shortening ɶ 4 tablespoons cold water
I make half again as much pie dough to use to make quick, thick crimped pie edges.
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