I made pie crust

Arguably not the best pie crust in all the land, that I have yet to try but it is far more involved, contains more ingredients and is considerably more effort than has been currently manageable while caring for three small humans. So, basic pie crust comin' at ya!

When making pie I recommend investing in some baking beans or beads, measuring spoons and a good pie or tart dish. Grease your dish with butter, kick some flour around the dish to lightly coat the base and sides and finally place a circle of baking paper into the base of the dish.

First thing's first, take your 110g of unsalted butter out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature ahead of baking. Next you want to combine it with 260g of plain flour and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Mix it in a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or by hand until you are left with a sandy consistency.

Once it's all combined you'll want to add a tablespoon of water, beat until well mixed. Add a second tablespoon of water and continue beating until your dough starts to resemble the below.

At this point I opt to turn off the mixer and knead the mixture by hand in the bowl to see what kind of consistency it's at. If it comes together nicely to form a dough then you'll know it's ready, but if it's falling apart and feels dry you'll want to add a little more water, just be careful to add a little at a time, beating after each addition so you don't overdo it.

Once the mixture has come together you should have a nice smooth dough. Wrap in cling film and leave to rest for an hour.

Preheat your oven to 170˚C.

Place a large sheet of baking paper onto a flat work surface and armed with a rolling pin place your dough in the centre. To avoid adding excess flour to your dough and thus drying it out, you can place a second sheet of baking paper over the dough and start rolling out your dough. You want to aim for about a 1cm thickness.

Once you're happy with it, you can literally lift it up on the baking paper and then invert it into the pie dish leaving the baking paper where it is. Press the dough into the dish and then trim the excess. Fill the base of the pie dough with baking beads or beans.

The next step depends on the type of filling you're using in your pie. For a no-bake filling you can blind bake your pie as follows:

Bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes or until the edges are light golden and partially cooked. Remove the baking paper and beans/beads and bake for a further 15-20 minutes . Don't overcook it, take it out when the edges are golden.

Personally I think my crust is a tad under-baked and I didn't roll it out thin enough but this should give you a general idea of what you're looking for. It could stand to bake a little longer, a couple more minutes at most. Once it's cooled completely it's ready for your filling. I filled mine with lemon curd (click for recipe).

If your filling needs to be baked then you will only partially blind bake the pie crust. This means reducing both baking times (as described above) to 10 minutes each. The dough should still be pale and slightly raw in the centre.

I'd love to hear what you like to fill your pie crust with... feel free to comment below!

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