Pie Crust

The key to good pie crust is not to work the dough too much. Vinegar in this recipe retards gluten development, and keeping the butter and water cold help to avoid over-mixing, encouraging flakiness.

Cut butter into ¼‑inch cubes. Place about 10 tablespoons of cubed butter in the refrigerator, and place the rest in the freezer for about 20 minutes. Add ice to a half cup of water, and stir in the vinegar.

Measure flour, sugar, and salt into the bowl of a food processor. Pulse to mix. Add the refrigerated butter to the flour. Pulse a few times just until the largest butter chunks are no larger than peas. Add the frozen butter chunks and pulse a few times again until the butter chunks are pea-sized.

Sprinkle vanilla and 5 tablespoons of ice water over top. Pulse a few times until distributed. Dough should remain crumbly in the bowl, but it should hold together when squeezed. If it doesn’t hold together, add more water a teaspoon at a time and pulse again.

Empty crumbles onto a lightly-floured work surface. Gather and press the crumbles together until the dough forms a ball. Divide in half, and flatten each portion into a thick disk. Fold in half and flatten a few times to form layers. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight.

Take dough from refrigerator and let rest until pliable enough for rolling, about 30 minutes. Unwrap a disk, flour a surface and the top of the disk. Start rolling the dough into a circle a few inches larger than the pie plate, turning frequently to prevent sticking. Drape the dough into the pie plate. Trim excess dough, and roll the rest under to form the edge, and crimp.

Blind Baking

Some pies need a pre-baked crust. Pre-heat oven to 375° F. Crumple a large square of parchment paper, unfold it, and set it in the pie plate on top of the crust. Completely fill the crust with pie weights or dry beans. Bake about 15 minutes until crust-edge is starting to brown.

Lift out the parchment and pie weights. Prick the bottom several times with a fork, and return to the oven. For a fully-baked crust, let it bake for another 12 to 15 minutes. But if the pie goes back in the oven after filling, just another 5 or 6 minutes is enough.