with these tips from the Duchess Bake Shop’s Giselle Courteau
by Mary Bailey
Use a stand mixer: For a short time, we mixed our pie dough at the bakery by hand until we could not keep up. We introduced the mixer and haven’t looked back because the piecrust is just as good. To mix, put the flour, butter, shortening and salt in your mixer with a paddle attachment and, on speed 1, mix just enough for the fat to be small chunks. This should only take 10-15 seconds and the mixture should still look slightly dry. Still on speed 1, add your ice-cold water all at once. Mix only long enough for a dough to form.
The shortening versus butter debate: My mom made an all-lard dough, and the more research I did, I realized that butter gives it flavour but shortening makes it flaky. I like to use a fifty-fifty mix. Pies are the only item we use shortening for at Duchess.
Pre-bake anything without a top: (otherwise known as par-bake) When you make a pie with a crumble topping, it’s a good idea to par-bake the shell first, which means baking it not all the way through. To do so, roll out the dough, place in the pie plate and poke with a fork. Next, line it with parchment and weigh it down with pie weights, beans or rice on top. Place it in the oven and when it is almost done, pull out the pie and remove the weights. Place the shell back in the oven and bake until golden brown (about 5 minutes).
Use a pie wash and don’t be stingy: To give your pie that shiny, golden look, mix egg whites and a little bit of cream, and brush the egg-wash all over the top and sides. Don’t forget the little nooks and crannies! The same goes for the sugar: sprinkle it on generously and it will caramelize beautifully.
Freeze pie dough in balls: Dough can last in the freezer for up to six months, so make your dough in batches and freeze what you don’t use.
Baking times: When baking pies, always position your oven rack in the middle of the oven. Baking times may vary depending on your oven, the depth of your pie plate, and whether you’re using disposable aluminum pie plates or glass/ceramic ones. All of our recipes are tested using glass pie plates, but even if that’s what you’re using too, you should use our baking times as a guideline only.
Getting the perfect pie crust is really about checking the pastry during baking for the right colour. For a blind-baked shell, it should be a light golden brown; for covered and lattice-top pies, it should be a medium to darker golden brown. Place pies directly on the oven rack for baking rather than on a tray. If you’re concerned about dripping, place a piece of aluminum foil on the rack below.
Experiment with fillings: Sweet or savoury, open or closed, pies, tourtières, quiches or tarts—once you master pie dough there are no limits on what you can do with it.