298953 Mon Oct 25 20:01:15 -0700 2004 9 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 1654444 I made a pie last weekend with my five year old and she had a great time but we used a ready made pie crust. I think she would like making a pie crust from scratch. Any simple recipes out there. Thanks. Mon Oct 25 20:01:15 -0700 2004 0 hm 1 1654498 I use the Little Pie Company recipe: 2 1/2 cup ap flour 1/2 cup butter 1/2 cup lard Pinch salt 1 egg ice water, as needed Toss the salt into the flour. Cut in the butter (chilled) first for a bit, and then the lard (frozen and cut into chunks). I like to use my fingertips - cold hands. Other people use a pastry cutter, or two forks. The overall looks should be very crumbly, with some quite large bits remaining (pea-sized, at least, maybe a couple chickpeas.) Then toss in the egg mixed with the ice water. I start with about 1/2 cup ice water mixed into the egg, then dribble it in until it just comes together - you might need more water, depends on your flour. Be gentle. Separate into two halved, then push the dough, which should still be pretty rough and scrappy, together with the heel of your hand (gently) to make two circles. Just a few pushes. Then wrap in waxed paper or cling wrap and chill for at least 2 hours. When you're ready to roll it, let it sit at room temp for about 10-15 minutes. This makes a decent sized batch of dough - enough for decorative cutouts and such, and enough to have your daughter roll out her own mini-pie. I like to brush the crust with and egg/cream mixture, and sprinkle with sugar. The egg in the recipe is optional - you can certainly do without it, but it makes the dough more forgiving, which is nice for a youngster. Just use more water. Some people like to add a tablespoon of vinegar to the crust, which does seem to mke it crisper. Others add a tablespoon of sugar, which seems unnecessary to me - the pie is likely sweet enough. But it may help with browning, I don't know. Pastry flour can be used - I might inch up the quantities just a bit. The colder everything is (rolling surface, the ingredients, the room), the better off you will be. You can substitute Crisco for the lard if you prefer that. Enjoy. Tue Oct 26 13:30:28 -0700 2004 1654444 0 curiousbaker 2 1654564 Worth noting- on the lard, don't use the cheap stuff from the supermarket unless you want the crust to taste like pork. There is a specific kind of lard you want, called leaf lard. It's definitely worth hunting down. Wed Oct 27 05:25:01 -0700 2004 1654498 0 JK Grence (the Cosmic Jester) 3 1654570 Hi, Leaf lard comes from the fat wrapped around the kidneys of a pig. Usually you have to render it yourself. However, you will still have a porky flavor. I have linked below to a thread where someone rendered leaf lard and made a pie crust according to Saveur. Note, he did comment the crust, in contrast to the fruit filling, did have a porky flavor. Just recently, I used beef lard to make a crust for an Upper Penninsula Pastie. I was quite impressed by the quality and flakiness of the crust. Since I had a savory filling, I really could not distinguish any flavor. I bought the lard at the grocery store where I had them grind it twice to make it easy to work with. My everyday 9-inch double crust is: 2 cups all purpose flour 1 teaspoon salt Mixed together in a bowl, then cut in 2/3 cup Crisco with a pastry cutter. Try the pastry cutter method, it will be fun for your child to do. Once it is the texture of cornmeal, then add 5 tablespoons of ice water spread around the mixture. Take a fork and within a few stirs you should have most of the dough clumping. I then use my hands to press it together and make a ball. If I making a double crust, then 60% of the dough is rolled out between lightly floured wax paper with the remaining 40% for the top. I do not chill, I proceed to rolling out the crust immediately. Regards, Cathy2 This is a picture of the Ritz Cracker Mock Apple Pie: Link: http://lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=8 Image: http://members.aol.com/cal60035/mockapple.jpg Wed Oct 27 10:20:34 -0700 2004 1654564 0 Cathy2 4 1654590 Your pie looks beautiful!! Wed Oct 27 15:20:59 -0700 2004 1654570 0 Butters 4 1654592 I don't think there is any such thing, in strict terminology. Isn't beef fat either 1), tallow, or 2), suet? I have never seen "beef lard" for sale anywhere! Wed Oct 27 22:12:20 -0700 2004 1654570 0 peg 5 1654594 Hi Peg, I am confusing terms in my mind, then pass it on. I just looked in the dictionary: Lard: solid or rendered fat from pig Suet: solid or rendered fat from beef or lamb I made the pasties from suet. I have leaf lard in the freezer from Mike G. I've used the suet and was pleased with the result. I haven't use the lard yet, though Mike warned it may taste porky. Since I use the terms suet or lard so rarely, and maybe recognized both as fats but not so attuned to the animals they derived from. Thanks for obligating me to look it up and learn. Regards, Cathy2 Wed Oct 27 22:47:02 -0700 2004 1654592 0 Cathy2 3 1654580 I'm a New Englander - I like a touch of lard flavor underscoring the sweetness of my pie. Particularly good with apple. The flavor is pretty strong if you taste the dough, but once baked, it's very subtle. Personally, I think it adds character to the pie, but I could see where someone who liked his sweets really sweet might not care for it. I would say if you would use chicken fat in your gingerbread (a la John Thorne) or think very sharp cheddar goes better with pie than ice cream, you might prefer a lard crust. Although, honestly, no one has ever known it was a lard crust without my mentioning it. It's a pretty subtle distinction in terms of flavor. The lard makes a very crisp crust, though. Wed Oct 27 13:06:27 -0700 2004 1654564 0 curiousbaker 4 1654583 Hi, What type of lard do you use? Pork? Beef? The stuff called lard sold in blocks in the shop? Regards, Cathy2 Wed Oct 27 14:30:19 -0700 2004 1654580 0 Cathy2 1 1654575 All pie crust recipes are easy. Some flour and salt a form of fat and some water. That's it really. There is plenty of debate about lard v. butter v. shortening. I just use shortening and get good results, I just can't force myself to buy lard, something about the name... And there is the long running controversy over the use of an egg or egg whites. My point is this, every decent cookbook has a pie crust recipe. Pies should be simple, easy to make items. If you are having a hard time or spending hours making a single pie there is something wrong. Start with an easy, simple recipe and experiment from there. The beauty of this system is that you get to make lots of pies! I have several tips: *I got this from America's Test Kitchen, use plenty of water. You can add flour to prevent sticking, but adding water to too dry dough is messy and discouraging. *Refridgerate the dough for a while (15 minutes to several hours), this allows the water to be evenly ditributed in the dough and it is easier to work with. *If making a two crust pie, brush the top with milk and sprinkle with sugar, this will make the tip crispy, and your child will like painting on the milk. Wed Oct 27 12:07:13 -0700 2004 1654444 0 Tubadave