It's dough time

Pie dough, it seems is deceptively simple.

There are three basic ingredients: flour, a fat (butter or shortening) and water. Some recipes also call for a pinch of salt.

How hard can it be?

The last time I asked that question, my son walked around here with a crooked haircut.

I decided to start my journey of self-education with the pie crust because I figure the crust is the foundation of any pie. It's the base on which all other ingredients must stand.

And so after reading up on the finer art of pie dough -- imagine my husband coming to bed to find me under the covers reading The Pie and Pastry Bible -- I decided to jump in and give it a shot.

I settled on a basic dough recipe and all sorts of useful nuggets from the book:

• Don't stretch the dough.
• Don't touch it too much.
• Keep the butter cold.
• Add only ice water to the dough.

After overcoming a minor setback...

Damn! Expired!

...I ran to the store, regrouped and started the dough.

All the books I've consulted thus far, stress the importance of keeping the dough cold. So much so, that I was totally freaked out to even touch it.

Seeing as it was 90 degrees this past weekend, I cranked the AC and measured 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter, careful to not touch it with my hands, lest I inadvertantly warm the butter.

I made three batches of dough, using the same recipe, but different mixing devices: I used a small hand-powered mixer, a fork and my food processor.


Fork method. Exhausting, but gave me the best feel for the dough.

Funny thing about that food processor. It's sat unused in a box for more than 10 years. It always seemed a little silly to lug it out for small jobs and I guess it never occurred to me to use it for the big jobs either. And so, when I read about using a food processor to make pie crusts, I rescued it from a box labeled "garage sale," cleaned it up and put it to use.



My new (old) best friend.

Just as the books said, you can make the same recipe over and over and it'll turn out different every time. Factors like heat and humidity in the air can impact if a crust will be light and flaky or hard as a rock.

And sure enough, they were right. My first two batches took more water, but were still dry and difficult to form into dough. But my last batch (made a day later) used less water and yielded a moist, pliable dough.

In the end, I much preferred using my food processor. It was quicker and cut the butter into the flour way better than I could have by hand.

Rather than making full-sized pies for testing purposes, I'm making individual-sized tarts. They're adorable, easily torn to pieces for proper inspection and their dainty sizes make me feel less guilty tasting recipes.

Because my focus is only on the crust, I made a batch of fresh strawberries in a light, sugary syrup and topped each tart with the sweet berry mixture and whipped cream. (Not that low-fat crap I typically buy, but the creamiest whipped cream I could find.)

I figured it was best to not scrimp.



Strawberry Cream Tarts

I shared the tarts with my husband and the older couple next door, asking them to rate the crust for taste and texture. 

It's important to note that I cannot rely on my husband's feedback alone to help me find the winning pie crust recipe. For starters, he's obligated to say nice things to me. Giving his honest opinion could backfire, which is why when I ask him how I look, he always responds, without hesitation, "You look great."

The man cannot give me his objective opinion. I won't allow it.

And so I must recruit additional taste testers, like my neighbors -- people who can be honest without fear of sleeping on the couch for suggesting I bake my pie shells a little longer.

At any rate, this past weekend, I learned a lot about the fundamentals of dough. I think I've got the general basics down and now need to keep practicing to yield consistent results, regardless of the dew point.