Pie Crust with Egg and Vinegar
Easy to Make Pie Crust that is flexible and pliable when rolling out. It creates a tender, flaky crust.
Ingredients
- 2 ounces (1/2 stick) Salted Butter (melted then cooled slightly)
- 1 large Egg (lightly beaten)
- 1/2 cup cold water
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- 341 grams (2 1/2 cups + 3 Tablespoons ) all-purpose flour (I recommend Gold Medal)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 170 grams (3/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons) shortening
Directions
- 1
Whisk the lightly beaten egg, cold water, vinegar and cooled melted butter together (the butter should be room temperature or lukewarm at most, but not solidified). Stick this liquid in the freezer or fridge while you prepare the flour part of the dough so that it stays cold.
- 2
In a separate large bowl, whisk the flour and salt together. Add the shortening to the flour and use a pastry cutter to cut the shortening into the flour until the shortening is pea-sized or smaller.
- 3
Get your cold egg mixture from the fridge and whisk (it should feel very cold to the touch). If some of your butter has solidified, simply whisk it back into the mixture so that it is a uniform liquid.
- 4
Pour the cold egg mixture over the flour/shortening, and use a spatula to fold and combine the two mixtures just until it comes together into a dough and no flour remains. Do not overwork the dough. The dough will be sticky.
- 5
Refrigerate overnight if possible, or for at least 2 hours. Divide the dough in half and roll each out to 1/8 inch thickness to make two 9" crusts. I like to roll out the dough so that it is 4" larger than my pie pan, so that I have plenty of pie crust for the pan and the fluted edge.
- 6
Wrap and Freeze the pie shells until you are ready to bake them, or refrigerate at least 30 minutes before baking.
- 7
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- 8
Follow the instructions above for Blind Baking a pie crust, but continue to bake for an additional 5-10 minutes until the bottom of the crust is completely baked and lightly golden--keep the pie shield on (baking time will vary depending on the thickness of your crust and the pie tin you use). I prefer to bake my pie shells with the pie weights in them the whole time to avoid shrinkage.