Pie Crust 101

The directions for making a pie crust sound ridiculously simple: “Combine flour and salt, cut in shortening, add water, and shape into a ball.” But the reality is that making pastry can be tricky. Granted, it’s not as complicated as boning a duck or making a swan out of spun sugar, but for many home cooks, alone in their kitchens, the process of transforming flour, shortening and water into a 9-inch pie crust is a culinary nightmare.

“Experienced cooks are afraid of pastry,” says Marion Cunningham, author of many cookbooks, including The Fannie Farmer Baking Book (Knopf, 1984), which has a whole chapter on pies and tarts. “People are so worried about adding too much water that they don’t use enough. Instead of trying to work with a bowl of crumbs that will never come together to form a dough, they should add more water,” she says.

We make pies all the time and know that some days the dough seems to come together by itself and other times adding the right amount of water and flour is a juggling act. But we keep at it and do whatever it takes to get it right because nothing beats homemade pie.

Without its flaky crust, buttermilk pecan pie would just be a pecan custard. Made with pecans and a small amount of buttermilk, it’s a cross between two famous Southern pies: pecan pie, invented around 1930 to promote Karo syrup, and chess pie, based on 17th-century English custard pies. This buttermilk pecan pie is from Pearson Farm in Fort Valley, Ga., and is guaranteed to make anyone want to get the hang of making a pastry crust.

Buttermilk Pecan Pie

Mark Boughton

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Ingredients

Pie Crust:
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
3 to 3 1/2 tablespoons ice water

Filling: 3 eggs, beaten
1 1/3 cups sugar
2 tablespoons flour
8 tablespoons (1 stick) melted unsalted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup buttermilk
1 cup pecan pieces (or chopped pecans)
1 unbaked 10-inch pie crust

Instructions

1. To prepare the crust, combine flour and salt in a bowl; cut in shortening with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse meal. Sprinkle surface with ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time; toss with a fork until moist and crumbly. Press mixture gently into a 5-inch circle; wrap in plastic wrap. Chill 15 minutes. Flour dough lightly. Roll into circle between sheets of waxed paper on dampened countertop. Peel off top sheet. Flip into pie plate. Remove other sheet and press pastry to fit. Fold edge under. Flute.
2.Preheat to 275F.
3. To prepare the filling, beat eggs with a whisk. Add sugar and flour; beat well. Add melted butter, buttermilk and vanilla.
Stir well.
2. Sprinkle pecan pieces evenly into the pie crust; pour in egg mixture.
3. Bake about 1 hour or until golden brown and set.

Recipe courtesy of Pearson Farm, Fort Valley, Ga.

"Relish America's Harvest," December 2006.

Nutritional Information

Per serving: 410 calories, 29g fat, 5g prot., 38g carbs., 1g fiber, 200mg sodium.

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