5 Minute Pie Crust
This spring, I took an amazing pastry class out in LA from Pastry Chef, Clemence Gossett. So while Pillsbury may have a place in my
freezer, this 5 Minute Pie Crust has become a fantastic addition to my culinary arsenal when the ingredients are too perfect not too dote on just a little extra! Yesterday morning, with a pot of hot coffee and “Wait! Wait! Don’t Tell Me!” on NPR, I pulled out the rolling pin and got to work. While the dough chilled, I mixed up the filling. We still had close to 2lbs of fresh rhubarb left over from Rick’s, so I diced up the stalks and macerated them with coarsely chopped strawberries, lemon zest and a healthy splash of Cointreau. I also mixed in fresh thyme from our little herb garden into the dry ingredients of the pie dough for a mild herbal essence. For those of you who have made pie crust before, you know that pastry can be rather “particular.” To avoid frustration, you will need a scale as this recipe is based in grams. I am having a slice for breakfast this morning as I write this up…my favorite time of day for pie:)
Thyme Lattice
INGREDIENTS:
yields 1 pie crust, top and bottom
355g all purpose flour, (I like King Arthur’s)
14g sugar
6g salt
325g butter, cold and diced into 3/4″cubes, (I like Land O’Lakes)
104g ice cold water
PREPARATION:
Combine the flour, sugar and salt in Cuisinart and pulse 10 times in 1 second intervals to incorporate. (If you are going to season the dough, do it in this step. I added fresh thyme)
Add cubed butter and pulse until mixture becomes mealy and resembles small pebbles, about 4-6 pulses at 2 second intervals. Do not over mix.
Add water and pulse until just incorporated.
Turn out onto lightly floured work surface and divide in two, approx 60/40 split as the bottom will need to be larger than the top to travel up the sides.
Place dough on plastic wrap and gently press into a round disk approx. 1″ thick. Do not work dough. Perfect dough will have a beautiful “marbling” of butter (see top image). This is the visual indicator that you will have perfect, flaky crust. Wrap disks completely in plastic wrap and chill in fridge for as long as possible. You may also expedite the chilling process in the freezer while you mix your filling.
Preheat oven to 375F
After dough has chilled, roll out on lightly floured surface 1/8″ thick. Roll back onto pin to transport sheet to the pie dish and lay loosely over allowing to form to surface.
Fill with desired filling* and chill for 30 minutes.
Cover with second sheet of dough. I wove a lattice for the top of this pie, but if you are using a solid sheet of dough, slice a few decorative wholes or use a cookie cutter to create a release for steam. Trim and bind neatly with knuckles.
Bake approx. 1 1/2 hours. Pull out after 1 hour and baste with egg wash (1 egg yolk whisked with 1 Tbs milk) and sprinkle with granulated sugar.
Allow to cool 2+ hours before serving.
*Filling: I mixed 1 1/2lbs rhubarb chopped 3/4″ thick, 1lb quartered strawberries, 1 1/2 cups sugar, 1/4 cup cornstarch, lemon zest, 2Tbs Cointreau, pinch of salt.
Strawberry Rhubarb Pie with Thyme Lattice
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