With Thanksgiving right around the corner, I am going to do a series of very helpful tips that will help you as you work with pie dough. A new tip every Tuesday until the big turkey day! I know it can be a very hard and frustrating thing if you don’t know exactly what to do. Dough that cracks, breaks up when you transfer it to the pie dish, crust that shrinks when you bake it and the list goes on and on! But never fear… I am here to help you and give you the confidence to make your own pies!
First and foremost, I posted a new recipe from my last class (Thanksgiving Feast) and it is an “out of this world” pumpkin pie with a detailed recipe for the best pie dough. So be sure to try that recipe if you want a really good one!
This week I am going to teach you how to best handle and roll out the dough so it is circular and the perfect shape for your pie dish. I am also going to show you how to best transfer the dough to your pie dish without it falling apart on you. This is a long post, but I need to show you every step!
Here is what you need to start. A nice large working surface (I love to use my big silicone mat), a light rolling pin (Marble is too heavy), and a little mesh strainer that will work as a little sifter for the flour. With the flour filled strainer, cover a nice, big, circular area with flour.
Here is your mound of dough right after it is mixed and ready to be rolled out.
The first thing you need to do is gently (you never want to over work or over handle your dough or it will be tough.) form a disk and seal the edges as best as you can to prevent the edges from cracking when you roll out your dough.
Lay the disk down on the well floured surface and generously sift flour on top of your disk.
When you roll out your dough, it is important that you roll from the center out. Imagine a dot in the middle of the disk. That will always be your starting point.
I rolled out from the center and will go back to the center again and roll out to another side of the dough (going around the whole dough) making my disk a bigger circle.
Once I have rolled it out about half the size I want it to be, I will re-flour the top of the dough and flip it. Then I will flour the top side.
Now I will repeat the steps. Start from the center and roll out increasing the size of the circle. Going around the dough in all directions; always starting back at the center point.
Once I have reached the right size, I am done rolling. Your dough should not be too thin. Now to transfer the dough to the pie dish.
Make sure to have your pie dish nearby. By the way, I highly recommend ceramic pie dishes. They bake more evenly and give the best flakey finish to the pie crust!
Start by taking one end of the pie dough and wrapping it over the top of your rolling pin.
Without putting much weight on the dough, lightly roll the dough over the rolling pin towards you until it is all rolled up around the rolling pin.
Without pushing the rolling pin on the pie dish (Or the weight of the rolling pin will tear the dough), gently unroll the pie dough off the rolling pin onto the pie dish.
A light touch is so important! See how easy that is? Now we are ready for the next step! Next week’s tips will help you through that. Stay tuned!
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