No matter which pie dough recipe you use, the principles of making it will be the same: keep the ingredients cold, cold, cold . Let’s review:
Homemade Pie Dough
Purists will say that making a pie dough in the food processor is a no-no, but I find it works very well—so does Martha Stewart!—and if you are making a lot of dough, using a processor will save you a lot of time. (If you don’t have one, don’t worry: there are instructions below for making it without.)
The French Trick to Foolproof Pie Dough
Ten years ago I took a cooking class at Antoine’s Cafe in San Clemente, California during which the French instructor, Caroline Cazaumayou, wowed the audience with a tea towel.
After pulsing a few ingredients together in the food processor, she dumped the crumbly dough into the center of a tea towel. She then pulled up the corners of the towel and twisted it into a beggar’s purse. When she opened it up, the audience gasped: the crumbles had united to form a perfect round of dough.
This tea towel trick achieves two things:
- A tender crust, because the crumbly dough ensures it has not been over worked.
- A perfectly round shape, the ideal starting point for many a pie and/or tart.
This video demonstrates the process:
A few things to keep in mind:
- To start the pie-dough making process, cut your butter into smallish slices or cubes, place them in a bowl, and stick them in the fridge. Fill a large liquid measuring cup with ice and water. Set aside.
- If you want to make several batches of dough, rather than multiply the recipe and load up your food processor, make separate batches consecutively. No need to clean the processor in between batches.
- Chill the pie dough for 24 hours before using: this allows the flour to fully hydrate and allows the gluten to relax.
- Chill the crust for 30 minutes in the fridge before parbaking.
- When you are rolling out your dough, try to keep tools and ingredients cold — my aunt uses a marble rolling pin that she keeps in the freezer. (I never remember to freeze my rolling pins, but it’s something to keep in mind.)
This video shows how to roll out pie dough and make a simple fluted edge:
How to Make Foolproof Pie Dough: A Step-by-Step Guide
Measure your ingredients.
First pulse the flour, sugar and salt together.
Add the butter and pulse 10 times (about).
The butter should be the size of peas (about).
Add ice water.
Pulse again about 10 to 15 times or until the dough is still crumbly, but holds together when pinched.
Divide dough between two clean tea towels. I love these tea towels by Now Designs .
Gather towel into a beggar’s purse, and squeeze to form a round.
Transfer one to the freezer for a future use. Or transfer to the fridge for 24 hours before rolling out.
5 Recipes to Use Foolproof Pie Dough In
Bourbon Pecan Pie (No Corn Syrup)
Ronnie Hollingsworth’s Most Excellent Squash Pie
Apple-Frangipane Galette
Sister Pie’s Salted Maple Pie
French Apple Tart
Description
This is the pie dough I use for everything: galettes, tarts, etc.
Dough can be made up to three days in advance and stored in the fridge or made weeks in advance and stored in the freezer. To thaw, place dough in the fridge overnight before baking.
To make a double batch: do not load your food processor with double quantities. Make the dough in separate batches — no need to wash the food processor in between batches.
- 2½ cups ( 320g ) all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 16 tablespoons ( 227g ) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces and chilled
- ½ cup + 2 tablespoons ( 142g ) ice water
- In the bowl of a food processor , pulse the flour, sugar and salt together. Add the chilled, cubed butter. Pulse at 1-second intervals until butter is the size of peas — should be about 10 quick pulses. Add the ice water and pulse again about 10 times until the mixture is crumbly but holds together when pinched. ( To make without a food processor: In a large bowl, whisk flour, sugar and salt together. Add the butter to the flour mixture, and using the back of a fork or a pastry cutter, incorporate it until it is in small pieces. Add ice water and continue to stir with fork until mixture it crumbly but holds together when pinched.)
- Lay two clean tea towels on a work surface. Dump half of the crumbly dough mixture into the center of each. Grab the four corners of the towel together and twist to create a beggar’s purse, pressing the dough into a round. Use your hands to pack and flatten the round. Wrap in plastic wrap or parchment paper, place in ziplock or other airtight bag/vessel, and stash in the fridge for 3 days or in the freezer for months.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Food Processor
- Cuisine: American
No matter which pie dough recipe you use, the principles of making it will be the same: keep the ingredients cold, cold, cold . Let’s review:
Homemade Pie Dough
Purists will say that making a pie dough in the food processor is a no-no, but I find it works very well—so does Martha Stewart!—and if you are making a lot of dough, using a processor will save you a lot of time. (If you don’t have one, don’t worry: there are instructions below for making it without.)
The French Trick to Foolproof Pie Dough
Ten years ago I took a cooking class at Antoine’s Cafe in San Clemente, California during which the French instructor, Caroline Cazaumayou, wowed the audience with a tea towel.
After pulsing a few ingredients together in the food processor, she dumped the crumbly dough into the center of a tea towel. She then pulled up the corners of the towel and twisted it into a beggar’s purse. When she opened it up, the audience gasped: the crumbles had united to form a perfect round of dough.
This tea towel trick achieves two things:
- A tender crust, because the crumbly dough ensures it has not been over worked.
- A perfectly round shape, the ideal starting point for many a pie and/or tart.
This video demonstrates the process:
A few things to keep in mind:
- To start the pie-dough making process, cut your butter into smallish slices or cubes, place them in a bowl, and stick them in the fridge. Fill a large liquid measuring cup with ice and water. Set aside.
- If you want to make several batches of dough, rather than multiply the recipe and load up your food processor, make separate batches consecutively. No need to clean the processor in between batches.
- Chill the pie dough for 24 hours before using: this allows the flour to fully hydrate and allows the gluten to relax.
- Chill the crust for 30 minutes in the fridge before parbaking.
- When you are rolling out your dough, try to keep tools and ingredients cold — my aunt uses a marble rolling pin that she keeps in the freezer. (I never remember to freeze my rolling pins, but it’s something to keep in mind.)
This video shows how to roll out pie dough and make a simple fluted edge:
How to Make Foolproof Pie Dough: A Step-by-Step Guide
Measure your ingredients.
First pulse the flour, sugar and salt together.
Add the butter and pulse 10 times (about).
The butter should be the size of peas (about).
Add ice water.
Pulse again about 10 to 15 times or until the dough is still crumbly, but holds together when pinched.
Divide dough between two clean tea towels. I love these tea towels by Now Designs .
Gather towel into a beggar’s purse, and squeeze to form a round.
Transfer one to the freezer for a future use. Or transfer to the fridge for 24 hours before rolling out.
5 Recipes to Use Foolproof Pie Dough In
Bourbon Pecan Pie (No Corn Syrup)
Ronnie Hollingsworth’s Most Excellent Squash Pie
Apple-Frangipane Galette
Sister Pie’s Salted Maple Pie
French Apple Tart
Description
This is the pie dough I use for everything: galettes, tarts, etc.
Dough can be made up to three days in advance and stored in the fridge or made weeks in advance and stored in the freezer. To thaw, place dough in the fridge overnight before baking.
To make a double batch: do not load your food processor with double quantities. Make the dough in separate batches — no need to wash the food processor in between batches.
- 2½ cups ( 320g ) all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 16 tablespoons ( 227g ) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces and chilled
- ½ cup + 2 tablespoons ( 142g ) ice water
- In the bowl of a food processor , pulse the flour, sugar and salt together. Add the chilled, cubed butter. Pulse at 1-second intervals until butter is the size of peas — should be about 10 quick pulses. Add the ice water and pulse again about 10 times until the mixture is crumbly but holds together when pinched. ( To make without a food processor: In a large bowl, whisk flour, sugar and salt together. Add the butter to the flour mixture, and using the back of a fork or a pastry cutter, incorporate it until it is in small pieces. Add ice water and continue to stir with fork until mixture it crumbly but holds together when pinched.)
- Lay two clean tea towels on a work surface. Dump half of the crumbly dough mixture into the center of each. Grab the four corners of the towel together and twist to create a beggar’s purse, pressing the dough into a round. Use your hands to pack and flatten the round. Wrap in plastic wrap or parchment paper, place in ziplock or other airtight bag/vessel, and stash in the fridge for 3 days or in the freezer for months.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Food Processor
- Cuisine: American
No matter which pie dough recipe you use, the principles of making it will be the same: keep the ingredients cold, cold, cold . Let’s review:
Homemade Pie Dough
Purists will say that making a pie dough in the food processor is a no-no, but I find it works very well—so does Martha Stewart!—and if you are making a lot of dough, using a processor will save you a lot of time. (If you don’t have one, don’t worry: there are instructions below for making it without.)
The French Trick to Foolproof Pie Dough
Ten years ago I took a cooking class at Antoine’s Cafe in San Clemente, California during which the French instructor, Caroline Cazaumayou, wowed the audience with a tea towel.
After pulsing a few ingredients together in the food processor, she dumped the crumbly dough into the center of a tea towel. She then pulled up the corners of the towel and twisted it into a beggar’s purse. When she opened it up, the audience gasped: the crumbles had united to form a perfect round of dough.
This tea towel trick achieves two things:
- A tender crust, because the crumbly dough ensures it has not been over worked.
- A perfectly round shape, the ideal starting point for many a pie and/or tart.
This video demonstrates the process:
A few things to keep in mind:
- To start the pie-dough making process, cut your butter into smallish slices or cubes, place them in a bowl, and stick them in the fridge. Fill a large liquid measuring cup with ice and water. Set aside.
- If you want to make several batches of dough, rather than multiply the recipe and load up your food processor, make separate batches consecutively. No need to clean the processor in between batches.
- Chill the pie dough for 24 hours before using: this allows the flour to fully hydrate and allows the gluten to relax.
- Chill the crust for 30 minutes in the fridge before parbaking.
- When you are rolling out your dough, try to keep tools and ingredients cold — my aunt uses a marble rolling pin that she keeps in the freezer. (I never remember to freeze my rolling pins, but it’s something to keep in mind.)
This video shows how to roll out pie dough and make a simple fluted edge:
How to Make Foolproof Pie Dough: A Step-by-Step Guide
Measure your ingredients.
First pulse the flour, sugar and salt together.
Add the butter and pulse 10 times (about).
The butter should be the size of peas (about).
Add ice water.
Pulse again about 10 to 15 times or until the dough is still crumbly, but holds together when pinched.
Divide dough between two clean tea towels. I love these tea towels by Now Designs .
Gather towel into a beggar’s purse, and squeeze to form a round.
Transfer one to the freezer for a future use. Or transfer to the fridge for 24 hours before rolling out.
5 Recipes to Use Foolproof Pie Dough In
Bourbon Pecan Pie (No Corn Syrup)
Ronnie Hollingsworth’s Most Excellent Squash Pie
Apple-Frangipane Galette
Sister Pie’s Salted Maple Pie
French Apple Tart
Description
This is the pie dough I use for everything: galettes, tarts, etc.
Dough can be made up to three days in advance and stored in the fridge or made weeks in advance and stored in the freezer. To thaw, place dough in the fridge overnight before baking.
To make a double batch: do not load your food processor with double quantities. Make the dough in separate batches — no need to wash the food processor in between batches.
- 2½ cups ( 320g ) all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 16 tablespoons ( 227g ) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces and chilled
- ½ cup + 2 tablespoons ( 142g ) ice water
- In the bowl of a food processor , pulse the flour, sugar and salt together. Add the chilled, cubed butter. Pulse at 1-second intervals until butter is the size of peas — should be about 10 quick pulses. Add the ice water and pulse again about 10 times until the mixture is crumbly but holds together when pinched. ( To make without a food processor: In a large bowl, whisk flour, sugar and salt together. Add the butter to the flour mixture, and using the back of a fork or a pastry cutter, incorporate it until it is in small pieces. Add ice water and continue to stir with fork until mixture it crumbly but holds together when pinched.)
- Lay two clean tea towels on a work surface. Dump half of the crumbly dough mixture into the center of each. Grab the four corners of the towel together and twist to create a beggar’s purse, pressing the dough into a round. Use your hands to pack and flatten the round. Wrap in plastic wrap or parchment paper, place in ziplock or other airtight bag/vessel, and stash in the fridge for 3 days or in the freezer for months.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Food Processor
- Cuisine: American
Description
This is the pie dough I use for everything: galettes, tarts, etc.
Dough can be made up to three days in advance and stored in the fridge or made weeks in advance and stored in the freezer. To thaw, place dough in the fridge overnight before baking.
To make a double batch: do not load your food processor with double quantities. Make the dough in separate batches — no need to wash the food processor in between batches.
- 2½ cups ( 320g ) all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 16 tablespoons ( 227g ) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces and chilled
- ½ cup + 2 tablespoons ( 142g ) ice water
- In the bowl of a food processor , pulse the flour, sugar and salt together. Add the chilled, cubed butter. Pulse at 1-second intervals until butter is the size of peas — should be about 10 quick pulses. Add the ice water and pulse again about 10 times until the mixture is crumbly but holds together when pinched. ( To make without a food processor: In a large bowl, whisk flour, sugar and salt together. Add the butter to the flour mixture, and using the back of a fork or a pastry cutter, incorporate it until it is in small pieces. Add ice water and continue to stir with fork until mixture it crumbly but holds together when pinched.)
- Lay two clean tea towels on a work surface. Dump half of the crumbly dough mixture into the center of each. Grab the four corners of the towel together and twist to create a beggar’s purse, pressing the dough into a round. Use your hands to pack and flatten the round. Wrap in plastic wrap or parchment paper, place in ziplock or other airtight bag/vessel, and stash in the fridge for 3 days or in the freezer for months.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Food Processor
- Cuisine: American
Find it online : https://alexandracooks.com/2018/11/13/favorite-all-purpose-pie-dough-recipe-all-the-pies-i-use-it-with/
Friends! One week + one day till Thanksgiving. Are you ready? Are you hosting? I’m hosting a smallish gathering of 9 adults and 8 children. I can’t wait.
Menu: Thanksgiving 2018
To prepare, in the next few days I’ll make a double batch of my favorite all-purpose pie dough , which I’ll freeze till next week and which I’ll use in all three desserts. At some point, I’ll juice the lemons, make the simple syrup, and freeze the ice ring for the punch. I’ll make bread to use for the stuffing, and I’ll make a large-batch shallot vinaigrette for the salad. All of the sauces will be made in the days leading up to Thanksgiving, and I’ll assemble and freeze the stuffing early next week as well.
I like to bake my desserts the morning of Thanksgiving, before the turkey goes in the oven. This year I have the luxury of having a second oven, so I’ll assemble the gratin while the turkey roasts.
Friends, what do you like to do? How are your preparations going? Are you trying anything new? I feel it’s fun to try one new dish every year. Not sure what it’s going to be this year…
Hope all of your Thanksgiving preparations are going well.
More: Thanksgiving Ideas Here | Desserts Here | Side Dishes Here
Turkey
As noted above, I’ll be wet-brining a turkey using a recipe I used years ago and loved. I will be sure to report back.
Drink
Philadelphia Fish House Punch . I highly recommend this Fish House punch if you’re looking for something festive. I’ve made it for every major holiday since discovering it about 4 years ago now. It calls for 1.5 cups of freshly squeezed lemon juice. Lemons can be juiced several days in advance; simple syrup can be made in advance; ice ring must be made in advance. Of course, there will be Prosecco on hand, too.
ON THE SIDE
Alice Waters’s Potato Gratin : I could totally skip the turkey. Love these potatoes so much:
Ina Garten’s Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Balsamic : These Brussels sprouts are not a staple, but I love them. I also recently made them without the pancetta, and they were still completely delicious. If I were to make these for Thanksgiving, I would omit the pancetta:
Stuffing
No matter what stuffing I make, I always follow the same method, the essential steps for me being to remove tough crusts from whatever loaf of bread I am using and to toast (as opposed to stale) the bread with a generous amount of olive oil. Stuffing, I think, is personal, so add what you like. I’ve bulleted the basic method below, but for more detailed quantities and instructions, see this post: Stuffing Two Ways , which has the two stuffing recipes from Bread Toast Crumbs .
- Remove the crusts from loaf of bread (unless using the peasant bread ).
- Tear into pieces or cut into cubes, toss with a generous amount of olive oil and a good pinch of salt, and toast until golden.
- Add mix-ins of choice. Sautéed onions are essential for me, and I love greens, like chard or kale. I also prefer to keep stuffing meatless, but if you like sausage or oyster or whatever (a little bacon or pancetta never hurts), go for it.
- Taste and make sure the mixture of bread and mix-ins is well seasoned. Whisk a good amount of stock with 1 egg, which helps bind the stuffing, toss with your stuffing mix, then bake until golden.
Also, you can make stuffing ahead of time, freeze it uncooked, and bake it directly from the freezer. I wrote about this method for Food52. Notes here . Recipe here .
Salad
Do you make a salad for Thanksgiving? I do, and I’m a believer for two reasons: 1. It offers an element of fresh in a sea of cooked and 2. Logistically it’s very practical, requiring not an oven to reheat or much prep or forethought in general. Last year, I made this one — Shaved Cabbage, Fennel, and Greens with Citrus Vinaigrette, Manchego and Candied Pepitas — and I’m making it again this year.
Sauces
Cranberry Sauce Two Ways: On the left: No-Cook Cranberry Relish (this is a new one for me, love it); On the right: Sally Schneider’s Red Wine Cranberry Sauce (old favorite; recently made it with Port and loved it)
We always have applesauce on the table, too. I forget which apples I used to get the beautiful hue in the photo below (pink lady?), but I make applesauce just as my mother does with unpeeled apples and nothing but water — no cinnamon, sugar, lemon, spices, etc. Here is the recipe: Homemade Applesauce . (Note: The picture below is from this post for Applesauce Yogurt Cake , which is such a good one to have on hand for the holidays.) Applesauce and cake can be made ahead of time.
And if we’re making ham, we always make my grandmother’s mustard sauce, also known as — wait for it — the ham sauce !
Bread
These No-Knead Thyme Dinner Rolls (left) are a variation of the peasant bread with the addition of thyme and baked in muffin tins instead of bowls. They can be baked ahead, cooled, and frozen, then reheated on Thanksgiving, but another easy thing to do is this: mix* the dough in the morning (because what else will you have to do?), let it rise on the counter all day, punching it down as needed if it gets too high, then, during the last 20 minutes of the turkey’s cooking time, transfer the dough to buttered muffin cups, and bake the rolls when the turkey is resting. Easy peasy. You can do it! | You could do the same thing with the peasant bread (right) recipe. Let me know if you have any other bread questions. *To get a jump start on the mixing, you can measure the flour, salt, and sugar the night before, and stick it in a ziplock bag or covered bowl until the morning, at which point you’ll just have to add the instant yeast and water.
If you are yeast averse — which you should not be! — biscuits are a great option. Here are two: Joanne Chang’s Buttermilk Biscuits | Buttermilk Cheddar Biscuits
Dessert
I’m making three desserts: Apple-Frangipane Galette (left), which is super easy (video guidance on that one—dough comes together in seconds with the food processor) and Ronnie Hollingsworth’s Most Excellent Squash Pie (right), which I love. This one is also easy (though you do have to roast a butternut squash as opposed to open a can of pumpkin), and I do not blind bake the crust anymore, which helps simplify the process. The third one is a bourbon pecan pie (no corn syrup) from David Lebovitz, which I made recently and really loved. I left out the fresh, dried, and candied ginger. Hoping to post about that one before Thursday. Will keep you posted.
Vegetarian
If you’re hosting any vegetarians, I highly recommend this Butternut Squash Lasagna , an old Gourmet recipe that my aunt’s friend introduced the family to when she brought it to Thanksgiving in Vermont a few years ago. It’s one of my favorites. I repeat: I could skip the turkey.
Four Nice Cakes To Have Around
Each of these four cakes gets better by the day, so don’t be afraid to bake them ahead of time. Teddie’s Apple Cake | Orange and Olive Oil Cake | Chez Panisse Almond Torte | Applesauce Yogurt Cake
