What Crust Is Best For Pumpkin Pie?

The best pumpkin pie crust would be Graham Cracker. Period. The most satisfying thing for a baker is to make a pie from scratch from scratch.

A pie is often made for a special occasion, and there’s a reason: it takes a lot of time to make. There’s no need to be scared! You should find it intriguing.

You don’t need to be intimidated when making homemade pie crust because I am here to help you. What I can do, you can do as well.

Is It Possible To Make Pumpkin Pie With A Graham Cracker Crust?

If you love graham cracker crust, you’ll be happy to know that it works for pumpkin pie as well. Graham cracker crusts can be used in several pumpkin pie recipes.

When choosing this route, you have a few options. If you’d like to go the extra mile, you can make your own graham cracker crust using a recipe.

You can also purchase graham cracker crust in a grocery store. In order to give your pumpkin pie that truly homemade look, you might want to use a homemade crust.

A graham cracker crust and pumpkin pie combination might not appeal to everyone. Ultimately, it’s a matter of personal preference.

When using graham cracker crusts, people often approach pumpkin pie differently. For that style of crust, they use specific ingredients.

If Not, You’ve Got To Try Mealy Pie Dough Crust

There is no doubt that mealy pie dough makes the best pie crusts for pumpkin pies. The most common crust used to bake pumpkin pies is this one.

In most local bakeries, pumpkin pies have a mealy dough pie crust. For pumpkin pies, some people make flaky pie crusts, but these aren’t as good.

If you use a flaky dough crust, the crust will get soggy. It’s better to use a mealy crust when you’re baking pies filled with custard or liquid.

It is appropriate to use mealy dough crusts for pumpkin pies, apple pies, and various types of custard pies. There’s enough fat in the crust to prevent it from getting soggy easily.

Is there anything worse than pumpkin pie with gummy bottoms? There’s a good chance the pie crust was chosen incorrectly.

Mealy dough pie crust is easy to make. Mealy mixtures can be created by mixing flour, butter, and salt. Add cold water and eggs to the mix next. You need to do this until the flour is moist enough.

The crust can be flattened and shaped once everything looks good. Making this crust is no different from making any other type of pie crust that you might be familiar with.

Making The Best Pie Crust For Pumpkin Pie

To begin with, let’s make the pie crust. Pie crust is the foundation of every pumpkin pie. In my homemade pie crust, shortening and butter are combined to produce a buttery, tender, flaky (so flaky) pastry. You can make it easily.

Once you get comfortable making a crust, you’re opening up a whole new world of baking possibilities (plus savory desserts like quiches and pies).

That’s exciting! Pie crusts play a crucial role in the overall success of the pie regardless of its filling, whether it’s apple pie, banana cream pie, or even eggs & cheese.

You’re going to learn how to make a buttery, flaky pie crust today. There are so many pie crust recipes on this website, but this is my absolute favorite.

Here Are 5 Ingredients To Get You Started

There are only a few ingredients in pie crust:

1. Flour

The first step is to use quality flour. You may not be aware that all-purpose flours are not the same. For pie crust and everything else, I use King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour.

Just a fan! (Not connected to the brand.) Why? The high protein content. With 11.7% protein, it is nearly 2 percentage points more protein-rich than ordinary American all-purpose flour.

Why is this important? There is a higher rise in baked goods, and they stay fresh for longer periods of time.

2. Salt

Adding salt enhances the taste. Salt also acts as a preservative, preventing food from spoiling quickly. It also adds flavor and helps to bring out the flavors of other ingredients.

3. Butter

For its buttery flavor and flaky layers, butter is unmatched. Butter adds richness and flavor to baked goods. It also adds moisture and helps to create a more tender crumb. Finally, it also helps to create a golden-brown crust when baking.

4. Vegetable Shortening

Structural and stabilizing properties of vegetable shortening. Vegetable shortening is used to give baked goods structure and texture.

It also helps to retain the moisture in the baked goods and prevent them from drying out. Additionally, it helps to create a strong crust on baked goods.

5. Ice Water

The dough is brought together by liquid. Due to the fact that alcohol does not promote gluten formation, some recipes call for mixing half water and half vodka to keep the crust flaky and tender.

It’s essentially a gift for people who accidentally overwork dough. For this recipe, use 1/4 cup (60ml) each of vodka and water if you want to try using vodka.

What’s Better For Pie Crust, Butter Or Shortening?

For the BEST pie crust, I use both butter and shortening together. There’s nothing better than a pie made with butter, flaky crust, and tender filling.

How does butter work? Flakiness and flavor are added by using butter.

How does shortening work? As you roll and shape the dough, shortening helps it remain pliable.

A high melting point of shortening makes the crust tender and helps it maintain its shape while baking. Is there ever a time when a butter pie crust completely loses its shape? The purpose of shortening is to provide “shape insurance.”

You can make this all-butter pie crust instead of using shortening. Here are some comparisons:

As a result of butter’s water content, using all butter produces lighter-textured crusts. By baking, the water in butter will turn into steam, which will lift the dough and create flaky layers.

Compared to the combination of shortening and butter, the crust with all this butter usually has a less neat edge/shape.

Flaky and buttery crusts characterize both crusts. While this butter-and-shortening crust is good in terms of texture and flavor, it also holds its shape if you follow the recipe precisely.

Cold Is The Key To A Perfect Pie Crust

In order to make a homemade pie, you need a refrigerator as well as an oven. Why is temperature so important?

It’s important to keep your pie dough as cold as possible before it hits the hot oven, so the fat won’t melt. The flakiness of the dough is lost if the butter melts inside it before baking.

During baking, the fat melts, causing steam to be released, which helps the crust separate into multiple flaky layers. Instead of a tender, flaky crust, warm fats produce a hard, crunchy, greasy crust.

If the ingredients are colder, you will be able to work with them more easily, and your pie crust will be better as well.

Here Are Two Tips For Starting Cold:

1. The butter that I keep in the freezer gets transferred to the refrigerator a few hours before I begin making the crust. In this way, it’s still very cold and a little bit frozen. Shortening should be kept in the refrigerator at all times.
2. Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl. Until the rest of the ingredients are ready, place the bowl in the refrigerator or freezer.

You Can Follow These Step-By-Step Guides

1. Put the butter and shortening in a bowl and place them in the refrigerator. Cold butter should be cubed, and cold shortening should be measured out.
2. Chop up the shortening, actually this isn’t necessary since shortening is quite soft even when it’s cold, so you can mix it in easily.
3. Let’s combine everything now. Cut in the fats with a pastry cutter (or two forks) after adding the butter and shortening to the dry ingredients.
4. You can use a food processor to cut up the fats into your dough, but I do not recommend it, as cutting them up too small will result in less water and your dough will fall apart.
5. It’s only at this step that you break up the cold fat into flour-coated pieces, not completely incorporate it.
6. Once the fats have been incorporated, the mixture should resemble coarse meal-crumbly with lots of lumps. After you finish, there should still be some butter and shortening that are larger.
7. Take 1/2 cup (120ml) from a cup of iced water since the ice has melted. One Tablespoon (15ml) of cold water should be added to the dough at a time, stirring after each addition.
8. Make sure you don’t accidentally add too much water by adding a little at a time. When the dough begins to clump together, stop adding water.
9. The amount of water I use depends on weather conditions. If it’s humid, you might not need much, and if it’s really dry, you might need more.
10. An excessive amount of water will make the pie dough tough and require more flour.
11. When you roll the dough out or handle it, you’ll notice it’s dry and crumbly if there is not enough water added.
12. If the dough is not too sticky, it will clump together. After the dough has clumped together, transfer it to a floured surface.
13. Make a ball of the dough by folding and smushing (yes, that’s the technical term) it into itself. As with homemade puff pastry, your hands are your best tool.
14. It should be easy to assemble the dough ball. To form the dough with your hands, dip your fingers in ice water if it feels too dry or crumbly. You can sprinkle on more flour if the dough feels too sticky, then continue forming it.
15. Slice your pie dough in half with a sharp knife after it comes together.
16. Two pie crusts can be made with this amount of dough. When making a double-crust pie, such as chicken pot pie or strawberry rhubarb pie, you can use both crusts.
17. Save the second pie crust for another pie if your pie doesn’t need a top crust, such as coconut cream pie, brownie pie, or lemon meringue pie.
18. The second dough can also be rolled out and cookie cutters are used to create easy pie designs, just like this one.

Specks And Swirls Of Fat In Pie Dough Are A Sign Of Success

You just sliced the dough, so check the inside. The pie dough should have flaky layers and butter pieces.

You will get a flaky pie dough by adding butter and shortening specks and swirls. It’s a good thing to have them!

After resting in the refrigerator, your pie dough is ready to be baked. Use your hands to flatten each half into 1-inch-thick discs. It is easier to roll out due to its disc shape. Make sure each disc is tightly wrapped in plastic wrap.

Keep refrigerated for at least 2 hours or up to 5 days.

Can I Freeze Pie Dough?

It’s absolutely fine, and I encourage it! Making pie crust in advance is a great idea since it freezes well. Pie dough discs can be frozen for up to three months if tightly wrapped.

You can cut down the amount of time it takes to make pies from scratch by making several pie crusts in advance and freezing them if you know you’ll need several pies around the holidays, or when your favorite fruit will be in season (cherry pie, anyone?).

Roll out the pie crust dough after it has been frozen overnight in the refrigerator. This will be a great start because it will be extra cold.

Pie Crust Rolling Instructions

1. You can roll out the dough after it has chilled for at least two hours. You should work with one crust at a time, storing the other in the refrigerator until you are ready to roll it out.
2. Flour, a rolling pin, and a clean work surface are all you need. Sprinkle some flour on the dough and lightly flour the work surface, rolling pin, and your hands.
3. You don’t need to press down hard on the dough; you’re not mad at it! Just use gentle-medium pressure with your rolling pin.
4. Whenever rolling out the dough, start in the center and roll out in all directions, turning the dough with your hands along the way.
5. The pie crust should be rotated between rolling pin passes, and even flipped if necessary, to avoid sticking. You may need to add a little more flour if it is sticking. Turn, roll. Turn and roll.
6. The butter and shortening are beautifully marbling throughout the dough, don’t you think? Here come the flaky layers!
7. You can use your hands to help shape the dough back into an even circle if the dough becomes lopsided during rolling.
8. To fit a 9-inch pie dish, roll the dough into a 12-inch circle. It’s useful to have some overhang for your pie crust so that you can make a decorative edge.
9. Approximately 1/8 inch of pie dough will be needed for your pie.
10. When transferring the pie crust to the pie dish, use your rolling pin because the dough is so thin.
11. Once you have rolled the dough onto the rolling pin, slowly peel the dough off the work surface by rolling it backwards. Roll it out again over the pie dish, and then pick it up again.
12. It’s good to have some overhang all around the sides of the pie dish. Be sure to place the pie crust fairly well in the dish. Make sure the crust is tucked into the pie dish all the way around without leaving any air bubbles.
13. Depending on where there is excess dough, trim it around the edges. You want about 1-inch overhang.
14. You will need to fold overhang back over and pinch the top and bottom crusts together after adding pie filling and top crust (such as a lattice pie crust).

How To Crimp And Flute Pie Crust

By fluting or crimping, you can give the edge a pretty appearance. Here’s a quick overview of how to crimp and flute pie crust:

Fluting with fingers: Use two fingers and a knuckle to flute the edges, like this apple pie, to make them look beautiful and classic.

Crimping with fork: When I make this peach pie, I use a fork to crimp the edges.

Now you can bake your pie crust! Depending on the pie recipe, a partially baked (par-baked or blind baked) crust may be called for, while a fully baked crust may be called for in another.

Because blueberry pie bakes for so long, some recipes do not require the crust to be baked beforehand; just spoon in/pour in the filling right away.

Depending on your pie recipe, you may need to use a pastry brush to wash the dough with egg wash.

Troubleshooting Pie Crust

A pie dough falling apart & crumbling when rolled: Too much fat, not enough flour, and not enough water are likely to cause the dough to crumble.

If the ingredients were not cold enough, this can easily happen because fat has been worked in too much.

When attempting to roll out your pie dough, add both more water and more flour if it crumbles as you do so. (Refrigerate the dry ingredients before you begin!)

With your fingers, gently work a tiny bit of ice water and flour into the cracks and crumbled pieces. Try rolling out again after waiting a minute.

The pie dough is dry and cracking around the edges when it is prepared. Use enough ice water during the preparation process.

When the fats are too much worked into the dry ingredients, the dough feels too wet before enough water can be added.

Keep the fats in the dry ingredients from being overworked. (And your dough will be thirsty.) Don’t overmix the dry ingredients because you still want the crumbly texture.

Dip your fingers in ice-cold water if you find that the edges of your pie crust are cracking after you roll it out. Let it rest for a minute, then roll it out again.

The crust shrinks down the sides of the dish when it is baked: This can happen when the crust is par-baked.

Do not worry if you do not have enough pie dough: This recipe yields two pie crusts. Make a 12-inch circle with about an eighth-inch thickness of pie dough. This will ensure that there will be enough overhang and pretty topping for the pie.

There are two reasons pie crust is tough: there is not enough fat in the crust and the dough has been overworked. Don’t handle the dough too much and use a recipe with plenty of fat.

FAQs

1. Is There A Reason Why My Pumpkin Pie Separates From The Crust?

During the cooling process, the pumpkin pie separates from the crust because of shrinkage. Blind baking the pie crust can limit issues such as these.

Pumpkin pie shrinks slightly. It doesn’t mean you did anything wrong if the filling separates from the crust after it cools.

2. Do Pumpkin Pies Have Top Crusts?

There can be a top crust on pumpkin pie, but it’s not very common. There aren’t many people who do it.

Although top crusts have been made with pumpkin pies, some bakers prefer not to use them. There are recipes that suggest using a lattice-top crust, for instance.

If you are interested, you can give this type of pumpkin pie a try. Baking pies with top crusts for the holidays looks very festive.

3. Do I Need to Blind Bake a Pumpkin Pie Crust?

When baking a pumpkin pie, it is best to blind-bake the crust first. So that the crust can dry out a bit, bake the crust a little ahead of time.

As a general rule, this is how pumpkin pie should be baked. The dough is mixed, the crust is formed, and then it is blind baked.

After that, you’ll layer your pumpkin pie filling on top of the crust and bake it just as you would expect. A better pumpkin pie can be made by blind baking.

It should be noted, however, that some people don’t blind bake the crust for pumpkin pie. Although blind baking isn’t recommended, you might still get good results without it.

The crust will turn out better if it’s blind-baked, as it makes everything more likely to go smoothly. Following the instructions of whatever recipe you choose is usually a good idea.

You will be able to achieve the expected results this way. It’s best to follow a recipe if it’s your first time making pumpkin pie.

Pie Crust Success Tips

To prevent the edges of the pie crust from burning, use a pie crust shield. Shields protect the edges, while leaving the center of the pie exposed.

Aluminum foil is usually all I need for pie shields. Fold a piece of aluminum foil in half. Make a half circle out of the paper.

The foil will be cut into a square with a circle in the center when you open it back up.

Place a piece of foil over the top of the pie centered over the cut-out hole if you see the edges of the pie crust are browning before the pie is completely baked.

You will need to carefully tuck the edges of the foil around the crust edges (it is very hot!) and leave the pie to bake for the remainder of the time.

When rolling out pie dough, keep it cold: Warm pie dough will not roll out properly. As you’re rolling the dough out, if it becomes too warm, stop, pick it up gently, and place it on a plate or small baking sheet. Cover and refrigerate for 10-20 minutes until it becomes cold again.

Pie dough loves the refrigerator. Every step of the way, including rolling the dough, should be done with cool ingredients, a cold bowl, and a cold rolling pin.

If you are going to roll out and fill the pie crust, make sure the pie filling is ready. In that case, place the pie crust in the refrigerator until it is ready.

Glass pie dishes are recommended. When I make pie, I prefer to use a glass pie dish. The reason?

The bottom of the crust bakes evenly due to the even conductivity of the heat in glass dishes. Also, you’ll be able to tell when the bottom and sides of the crust have browned.