Pie Crust Help Needed

[OldGuy43]

I decided to try making a pie crust from scratch. I found this "No Fail" recipe:

Quote:

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Rated:

Servings: 24
Submitted By: Lenn
"Cut shortening into flour, stir in egg, water, and vinegar, and form into a ball. Wrap, chill -and when you 're ready -roll out into three perfect pie crusts."
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup shortening
1/4 teaspoon salt

1 egg
1/4 cup cold water
1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
Directions:
1. In a large bowl, combine flour and salt. Cut in shortening until it resembles coarse crumbs.
2. Mix egg, water and vinegar together. Pour into flour all at once and blend with a fork until dough forms a ball.
3. Wrap with plastic and chill in refrigerator.

It didn't fail exactly. It came out golden and flaky, and I was really proud of it, until we started to eat it. It had no flavor. It was just like eating flaky cardboard.

Help!

 

[canesisters]

Paula Dean would point out that there was NO butter in that recipe.... What would happen if you replaced the shorting with butter??

 

[punk-a-doodle]

I tend to use apple cider vinegar...a lot of it. Sometimes vodka or lemon juice. Lard or butter will give you much more flavor, but a different texture for each. I find shortening tends to make for tasteless pastries myself.

I am surprised it had no flavor with egg in it...that makes for a richer crust and one I personally reserve for tarts. You might want to try more salt if that is what is lacking. I often sprinkle mine with sugar and cinnamon on top too.

 

[1muttsfan]

A little sugar goes a long way to improving a crust. I agree more salt might be needed, I usually use 1/2 t or more if for a larger pie

 

[3 NH reds]

I have a recipe from a 1900s White House cook book that got passed down. I love it my wife and others love it. This is a flaky crust and it is great to use the left over dough baked in strips with sugar and Cinnamon on it

21/2 c flour 1/2c lard 1/2c butter 1tsp baking powder 1tsp salt. cut this in well until mixed and I just add water as needed chill it and roll it. Cook book is fascinating, it uses terms like fast oven, no temp an egg size piece of butter ect. Problem is it is falling apart and the pages are all yellow and fragile.

 

[punk-a-doodle]

NH Reds, you can download it here to save your pages if you want. http://archive.org/details/whitehousecookbo00ziemrich

 

[Eznet2u]

I have tried to replicate my Mother's pie crust recipe forever. It always came out tasting like Playdoh...
A friend sent me this one...Never going with anything else. It's very easy, and comes out perfect every time.

EASY AS PIE......PIE CRUST

2 C flour
1/2 tsp SALT
1/2 C oil
1/4 C cold milk

MIX INTO A BALL...DIVIDE IN HALF
ROLL BETWEEN TWO PIECES OF WAX PAPER
SINGLE SHELL: 450 DEG. OVEN FOR 8-10 MIN.

I have made several pies with this recipe, and they all come out great. The cooking instructions are for cream pies.
The Apple pies I made, I just put everything into the unbaked shell, and cooked at 450 degrees until golden.
Crispy, Flakey and Delicious.

(Side note: Tastes better than Mom's.)

 

[wyoDreamer]

I use the pie crust recipe from my Betty Crocker cookbook that is 20 years old, but I'm sure the new ones have the same recipe - flour, salt, shortening and water. Very basic. But the secret is to use 1/2 shortening and 1/2 butter. You get a nice flakey crust with a buttery flavor.

I don't use Butter flavored Crisco - I don't know what kind of butter those people eat but that ain't how my butter tastes!

 

[VA Susan]

Old Guy,
I use the old Crisco recipe for two pie crusts. My friend added vinegar to her crusts and it does make them flaky.

1 cup crisco
2 and 2/3 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
ice water , enough to make a ball that holds together.
(OR you can also add sour cream instead of the water. It makes it wonderful.)


If you forget to add salt to bread it is tasteless, so my guess is that is what is the problem. You will need at least 1 tsp of salt