All-butter Pie Crust

Prep Methods/Techniques
Cuisine
Servings 1
Description
This is the only recipe I use for pie crusts. Noted on: 3/5/2012
Ingredients
  • 1 1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 10 tbsp unsalted butter (1 1/4 sticks - preferably a high-fat, European-style butter like Plugra, chilled and cut into a 1/2-inch dice)
  • 2 tbsp ice water (up to 3 additional tablespoons, if needed)
Method
  1. In a food processor, briefly pulse together the flour and salt. Add butter and pulse until mixture forms chickpea-size pieces (3 to 5 one-second pulses). Add ice water 1 tablespoon at a time and pulse until mixture is just moist enough to hold together.
  2. Form dough into a ball, wrap with plastic and flatten into a disk. Refrigerate at least 1 hour before rolling out and baking.
  3. To pre-bake the crust: Preheat oven to 375ºF. On a lightly floured surface, roll out pie crust to a 12-inch circle. Transfer crust to a 9-inch pie plate. Fold over any excess dough, then crimp edges. Prick crust all over with a fork. If you have time, freeze crust for 15 to 30 minutes; otherwise skip this step. Cover pie with aluminum foil and fill with pie weights (you can use pennies, rice or dried beans for this). Bake for 15 minutes; remove foil and weights and bake until pale golden, 5 to 7 minutes more. Cool on rack until needed.
Cook's Notes
Yield

Makes 1 crust for a 9-inch tart or pie

Variations

Experiment with textures and flavors by substituting 3 to 4 tablespoons, lard, duck fat or an unsweetened nut butter, such as hazelnut butter, almond butter or mixed nut butter, for 3 to 4 tablespoons regular butter. All should be well chilled before using.

I always use rendered leaf lard for some of the butter (if I have some), it makes the best pie crust ever.
Ingredient Notes

Leaf lard can be purchased on line. Get rendered lard and save yourself a step. If the lard isn't rendered it is an easy enough process: Grind or finely chop the fat and place it in a pot with water to just cover. Bring to a boil, turn down the heat and simmer until all the water has cooked off and the bits remaining in the pot are a golden brown. Be patient, this takes some time. Rendered duck fat is available online at dartagnan.com