Making Perfect Pie Dough

A Chef Tip from Chef Jim Dumars, Lakeside Central Kitchen

Julian is famous for its apple pies but you can also make your own!

Begin by gathering up the equipment you will need:  a mixing bowl, a pastry cutter or two knives, a liquid measuring cup and a rolling pin.

Next, gather your ingredients.  You will need 2 ½ cups pastry flour, ½ teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon sugar, 8 ounces cold butter and 3 ounces ice water.

Julian Apples
Photo Credit: Laura Russell

Combine the pastry flour, salt and sugar in the mixing bowl.  Cut the butter into small pieces, about ½-inch cubes.  Add the butter pieces to the dry ingredients and cut it in using the pastry cutter or two knives.  Your goal is to keep the butter as cold as possible so that is why you should avoid using your hands to work the butter into the flour.  To achieve perfect pie dough the trick is to work most of your butter into small pieces that are smaller than a pea and keep a portion about the size of corn flakes.

When all the butter is properly cut into the dry ingredients, add the water to finish the dough.  Be sure to keep the water over some ice cubes so you can have the coldest water possible.  Adding cold water will keep your butter cold and not undo your work of getting the butter into small particles.  Add just enough water to achieve a rough dough, a little bit of flour at the end of mixing is fine.  You can use your hands at this time to mix the dough together but be careful not to overmix as you want to keep your dough flaky.

Cut your dough into two pieces and use the rolling pine to shape them into circles.  Wrap each pieces of dough and refrigerate it for at least an hour to relax the gluten and firm up the butter.  Roll your pie crust out on a lightly floured surface until it is about ¼” thick.  Only reroll your pie scraps once to reuse as the dough will become too tough.

This will make enough for 2 9” pie shells.