All-Purpose Pie Dough {blind-baked}

I don’t have a lot to say about this pie dough recipe other than it worked out great in my Thanksgiving day pie. I failed to take pics before the finished product above (my blind-baked pie shell). Whoops-a-daisy!

I found this recipe in Bon Appetit and have to say I was intrigued by it–mainly because of the apple cider vinegar. Pie dough recipes by nature are putzy to me. But this one seemed even more putzy given the dissolving of the sugar in the apple cider vinegar and water on top of the 10 minute wait before you can use the concoction.

But I liked the promise of a “flaky” pie crust sans the normal bits of butter (or cream cheese) to aerate the dough while in the oven. My pie filling (more on that later) was so fabulous, I’m not sure the crust mattered much. But I will say that I ate all the crust on my piece of pie–even the part that didn’t have any pie ingredients sticking to it. Good enough for me!

ingredients.

¼ c. granulated sugar
1 T. apple cider vinegar
2 T. hot water
3 ½ c. all-purpose flour
1 ¼ c. (2½ sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
¾ tsp. kosher salt

directions.

Stir sugar, vinegar, and hot water in a small measuring glass to dissolve sugar. Add ⅓ cup ice water and stir to melt ice; chill in freezer until very cold, about 10 minutes (do not let it freeze).
Mix flour and salt together in a medium-sized bowl. Add butter using a pastry cutter or two knives, cut the butter into the dry mixture until largest pieces of butter are pea-size. Using your fingers, rub the butter pieces between your fingers to incorporate into the flour mixture. Continue doing so until the mixture is pale yellow and resembles coarse meal.
Gather into a mound and make a well in the center. Pour in sugar mixture, using your fingertips to slowly incorporate into flour; work in until only a few dry spots remain. Knead until no dry spots remain and dough holds together when pressed.
Divide dough in half, flatten into disks, and wrap each in plastic. Chill until firm, at least 2 hours.

*Dough can be made 3 days ahead. Keep chilled, or freeze up to 1 month.

If you need to blind bake your crust, follow these instructions found at thekitchn.com:

equipment.

1 9-inch pie plate
aluminum foil
pie weights, dry beans, or pennies
baking sheet

directions.

Heat the oven to 425°F with a rack in the lower-middle position. Roll out the pie crust and transfer it to your pie plate as normal. Trim the edges and crimp.
Cut off a large square of aluminum foil and use it to line the pie. Snug the lining right up against the edges and sides of the pie.
Pour the pie weights or beans, etc. into the pie dish. Make sure they cover the bottom of the pie and press against the sides of the pie. This will keep the pie from puffing up and the sides from sagging as the crust bakes.
Place the pie on the baking sheet and bake until the edges of the crust are just starting to turn golden, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove the crust from the oven.
Grasp the corners of the foil, and lift the weights out of the pie. Transfer them to a bowl or plate to cool. The bottom of the pie will still look wet and un-cooked at this point. (Here’s where I accidentally stopped the process and my crust turned out fine for my pie!)
Return the crust to the oven. Bake until the bottom looks dry, another 5 minutes. If the pie will not be cooked again with the filling, bake for another few minutes until the edges of the crust have browned and the bottom is lightly golden. The bottom crust will puff a bit as it bakes, but will deflate again when you remove the pie from the oven.
Check your recipe — some pies are assembled while the crust is still warm, others need the crust to be completely cooled.