Martha Stewart Pie Crust Recipes

CLASSIC CHICKEN POTPIE

Steps:

• Make the crust: In a food processor, pulse together flour, sugar, and salt. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal, with a few pea-size pieces of butter remaining. Sprinkle with 3 tablespoons ice water. Pulse until dough is crumbly but holds together when squeezed (if necessary, add up to 2 tablespoons ice water); do not overmix.
• Form dough into a disk, wrap tightly in plastic, and refrigerate until firm, 1 hour or overnight (or freeze, up to 1 month).
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Make the filling: In a large pot, melt butter over medium-high. Add onion and carrots and cook until softened, 8 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, 30 seconds. Add flour and stir to coat vegetables.
• Slowly add broth, whisking constantly until sauce is smooth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until thickened, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in peas. Season with salt and pepper, then stir in chicken and parsley. Pour filling into a 2-quart baking dish.
• On a floured work surface, roll out dough to 1/8-inch thickness. Place dough over dish and fold overhang inward while pinching to crimp edge. Cut vents in dough. Place dish on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbling around edge, 45 to 50 minutes. Let cool 15 minutes before serving.

MARTHA STEWARTS FOOLPROOF PIE CRUST

Steps:

• Put the flour, salt and sugar into a food processor and pulse once or twice.
• Add the butter and process until the mixture looks grainy.
• Then slowly, while pulsing, add the water until you can form the dough by pressing it between your fingers.
• Decant the loose dough onto a piece of plastic wrap.
• Using the wrap, fold the loose dough towards the middle and press with the back of your hands to form dough.
• Split into two pieces and wrap each and chill for at least 4 hours before using.
• Dough can be made ahead for up to one week.

OUR FAVORITE PIE CRUST

Steps:

• In a food processor, pulse flour, salt, and sugar several times to combine. Add butter. Pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal, with just a few pea-size pieces remaining.
• Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons ice water. Pulse until dough is crumbly but holds together when squeezed with fingers (if needed, add up to 2 tablespoons more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time). Do not overprocess.
• Turn dough out onto a work surface; form dough into a 3/4-inch-thick disk. Wrap tightly in plastic, and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour.
• Before baking, unwrap dough; place on a large piece of floured waxed paper. Roll dough to a 14-inch round. Using paper, lift and wrap dough around rolling pin (discarding paper); carefully unroll over a 9-inch pie plate. Gently fit into bottom and up sides of plate.
• Trim overhang to 1 inch; fold overhang under itself. Pinch between thumb and forefinger to make a uniform edge around the rim. Crimp edge; refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hour.

APPLE PIE WITH CHEDDAR CRUST

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Divide dough into two pieces. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out each to a 13-inch circle.
• Fit one circle into a 10-inch pie plate; transfer plate to a baking sheet. Put other circle on another baking sheet. Refrigerate dough until cold, at least 30 minutes.
• Stir together apples, sugar, flour, lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and cloves. Spoon into bottom pie crust. Dot filling with butter. Cover with top crust. Fold edges over; crimp decoratively to seal. Cut a steam vent. Chill in freezer until firm, about 30 minutes.
• Brush with egg. Bake pie 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.bake until golden brown, about 45 minutes. Tent with foil; bake until juices are bubbling, about 45 minutes more. Let cool at least 1 1/2 hours before serving.

BOTTOM CRUST PLUM PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into a 14-inch round that is 1/8 inch thick. Fit the dough into a 9-inch pie plate. Transfer to refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes.
• In a large bowl, combine plums, sugar, flour, nutmeg, and lemon juice. Toss to combine. Mound plums in the lined pie plate. Dot with butter, and fold the pastry up over the fruit. Transfer to refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes.
• Brush the pastry with cream, and sprinkle with granulated sugar. Bake until the plums are tender, the juices in the center of the pie are bubbling, and the pastry is golden brown, about 40 minutes. Let cool slightly before dusting with confectioners' sugar for serving.

PIE CRUST

Steps:

• To make dough by hand: Sift flour and salt onto work surface. Using your fingertips, mix butter very quickly into flour mixture until crumbly. Form a well in the center and add water. Using a bench scraper, quickly incorporate water into dough, taking care not to overwork the dough. Add more water if dough seems too dry.
• To make dough using a food processor: In the bowl of a food processor, pulse together flour and salt. Add butter and mix until it resembles a coarse meal. With the machine running, slowly add water and process until a dough comes together. Add more water if dough seems too dry.
• Break dough into walnut-sized pieces and, one at a time, flatten each piece against your work surface with the heel of your hand (this creates flaky layers of butter inside the crust). Reincorporate dough into two equal size balls and flatten into disks. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and chill at least 1 hour before rolling out.

PERFECT PIE CRUST

Steps:

• Cut each stick of butter into 8 pieces, and refrigerate until needed. Place the flour, salt, and sugar in a large mixing bowl, and mix to combine.
• Add the chilled butter. Using a pastry blender, incorporate the butter into the flour mixture; the mixture should resemble coarse meal with small pieces of butter, the size of small peas, remaining visible.
• Drizzle 2 tablespoons ice water over the flour-butter mixture, and blend. Repeat with an additional 2 tablespoons water. At this point, you may have to add more water: When a handful of dough squeezed together just holds its shape, you've added enough; if the dough crumbles, continue incorporating water, 1 tablespoon at a time, checking the consistency after each additional tablespoon.
• Turn the dough out onto a clean work surface. Divide into two equal pieces, and place on two separate sheets of plastic wrap. Flatten, and form two disks. Wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
• Lightly dust a clean, dry work surface with flour. Place the chilled dough in the center of the work surface, and dust the dough as well as the rolling pin with flour. Position the rolling pin on the center of the disk, and begin rolling the dough away from you. Give the disk a quarter turn, and roll again. Continue turning and rolling until you have an even 1/8-inch thickness. Turning the dough as you roll will prevent it from sticking to the work surface. A dry pastry brush is handy to remove any excess flour during and after the rolling process.
• Lightly butter the pie plate. To minimize stretching when moving the dough, roll it around the pin, lift up, and unroll over the buttered pie plate. Using your fingers, gently pat the dough into place. Trim any excess dough with a paring knife or kitchen shears, leaving a 1-inch overhang; then fold dough under to reinforce the edge.