Dairy Free / Vegan Pie Dough
Photo by Mark Weinberg
MAKES
One 9 inch / 23 cm pie crust
TAKES
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: n/a
Total: 15 minutes
✻ ABOUT THIS RECIPE
If you’ve heard me talk about pie, chances are you’ve heard me discuss my All Buttah Pie Dough. But pie is for everyone, even if you can’t have butter! Shortening actually has a huge advantage when it comes to pie dough: it has a higher melting point than butter. This means, it’s more likely to stay the right texture while you work with the dough, and less likely to melt in the oven. While shortening doesn’t pay off in flavor the same way, it makes up for it by being more foolproof overall, resulting in an amazing texture! Besides, there’s plenty of ways to give your pie BIG flavor when it comes to fillings + toppings. So whether you’re lactose intolerant, vegan, or just focusing on a plant-based diet - tender, flaky pie crust is not out of reach!
INGREDIENTS
151 g / 1 ¼ cups all purpose flour
1 g / ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
113 g / 8 tablespoons cold shortening, cut into ½ inch / 13 mm cubes
60 g / ¼ cup ice water, plus more as needed
Make This Recipe With Me:
METHOD
1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. Add the cubed shortening, tossing the cubes through the flour until each individual piece is well coated. ‘Cut’ the shortening into the flour by pressing the pieces between your fingers, flattening the cubes into big shards. As you work, continue to toss the shortening through the flour, recoating the shingled pieces.
2. Continue cutting the shortening into the flour just until the pieces are ranging in size from walnut halves to peas. Take care that the pieces are as flat as possible - shards of shortening work better than pellets of shortening!
3. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Add the amount of ice water listed in the recipe to the well, but have more on hand. Use a tossing motion with your hands to start to mix the two together (this begins to combine them without creating too much gluten). As it begins to become hydrated, you can start to use more of a kneading motion – but don’t overdo it: this will make the dough tough. Add more water, about 15 g / 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough is properly hydrated: it should be uniformly combined and hold together easily, but it won’t look totally smooth. Dough that is too dry may have sort of a “dusty” appearance, or pockets of un-hydrated flour. It will not hold together and will appear crumbly. Dough that is too wet will feel sticky or tacky to the touch, and is often smoother and/or lighter in color.
4. Form the dough into an even disk (or into another shape if directed by the recipe – or if you are multiplying the recipe to make multiple crusts, divide the dough appropriately). Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes-1 hour.
5. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to about ½ inch / 1 cm thick (the exact shape and size doesn’t matter here, just the thickness). Brush away any excess flour from the surface of the dough, and fold it in half horizontally. Then, fold the dough in half again (you’ve now folded it into quarters).
6. If the dough feels sticky or soft to the touch, re-wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate it for 30 minutes before proceeding. If it doesn’t, repeat step 5.
7. Tuck the ends of your folded dough under itself to re-form the dough into a round disk shape about 1 inch / 2 ½ cm thick. Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, and up to 2 days before using.
NOTES
To Roll Out the Dough: Lightly dust a work surface with flour, and lightly dust a rolling pin, if desired. Roll out the dough to about ¼ inch / 6 mm thick, rotating it as you work to help prevent it from sticking. To transfer the dough to the pan, gently roll it up, wrapping it around the pin, then unfurl it into the pie plate.
To Prepare the Edge for Crimping: On a single crust pie, use scissors to trim away the excess dough, leaving about ½ inch / 1 cm excess all the way around the outside edge of the pie plate. Tuck this excess dough under, pressing gently to make it flush with the edge of the pie plate. On a double crust pie, gently press the top and bottom crust together to flatten the dough slightly, then trim the excess and tuck under ss directed for a single crust pie.
To Par-Bake the Dough: (To partially bake the crust , before filling and baking again - best for single crust pies.) Dock the crimped single crust pie dough with a fork and chill well (at least 30 minutes). Cut a square of parchment paper slightly larger than the diameter of a pie plate, and press it into the base of the pie plate. Fill with pie weights to the top inner rim of the pie plate. Bake in a 425°F / 220°C oven until the edges begin to lightly brown, 15-17 minutes. Remove the parchment paper and pie weights, and return to the oven until the lower portion of the crust appears dry and set, 2-3 minutes more. Cool completely before filling.
To Blind-Bake the Dough: (To fully bake the crust, prior to filling with a filling that doesn’t require baking - best for cream and cold-set pies.) Follow the instructions for par-baking, but bake until it is fully golden brown. After removing the pie weights, bake for 7-10 minutes more. Cool completely before filling.
To make a dairy free (vegan) + gluten free pie dough, substitute the flour for gluten free all purpose flour as directed in my Gluten Free Pie Dough recipe.
✻ HAVE YOU BAKED IT?
Tag @emcdowell on Instagram or use #happybaking. I’d love to see your bakes!
