Puff Pastry vs Pie Crust: What’s the Difference?

How to Make Handmade Puff Pastry?

Ingredients

• One teaspoon of granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup (1.5 sticks; 170g) unsalted butter, very cold and cubed
• 6–8 Tablespoons (90-120ml) of ice-cold water

Instructions

Making the dough:

1. Mix the flour, sugar, and salt in a large mixing bowl. On top of that lay the cold and cubed butter. Using your hands, gently combine the flour and pieces of butter until they are combined. You do not want to break down the slab of butter too much in this step.
2. At this point, the butter is still in large cubes/chunks. Begin adding 1 Tablespoon (15ml) at a time of ice-cold water until you form 1 huge shaggy clump in your bowl with your hands. After each Tablespoon, use your hands to mix the dough.
3. As the dough begins to hydrate after 4 Tablespoons (60ml) of water, you may start lightly squeezing or clumping it together with your hands to help it come together. The mixture will still be rather rough or shaggy.
4. Remove the dough from the bowl, then turn the shaggy clump out on a lightly floured surface. There will still be large chunks of butter at this stage, which is excellent.
5. Using lightly floured hands, pat the dough down until it’s 3/4 – 1 inch thick, forming a 5×8 inch rectangle. Fold the dough in half lengthwise, as though folding a business letter. Any cracks in your dough should be smoothed and flattened using your hands.
6. Wrap it up tightly in plastic wrap, parchment paper, or aluminum foil, or place it into any tightly sealed container.

1st Refrigeration:

1. Refrigerate dough for at least 2 hours and up to 24 hours.

Roll & Fold:

1. Take the dough out of the refrigerator to begin rolling and folding it. If you chill the dough for longer than about 3 hours, it’s most likely frozen stiff, so give it a 5-minute rest before starting to roll.
2. Flour a work area lightly. Gently flatten the dough into a tiny square with your palms. The dough becomes sticky, so make sure you have some additional flour on hand as you roll and fold it.
3. With a rolling pin, roll the dough into a 6-inch by 12-inch rectangle that is 1/2 inch thick. The exact size isn’t critical, although the thickness must be precise. Flipping the dough over once or twice while rolling it to ensure it doesn’t stick to your work surface is a good idea.
4. Fold the rectangle into thirds like a business letter. Roll it out into a 6×12 inch 1/2 inch thick rectangle again, then turn it clockwise or counterclockwise. Then repeat the rolling and folding four more times for a total of 6 cycles. So you’re left with dozens of layers of thin dough, with very thin layers of butter between them.

2nd Refrigeration:

1. Wrap tightly and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes but no more than 24 hours before using in a recipe.
2. You can also freeze the dough at this point.

How to Make Homemade Pie Crust

This is how to prepare our simple flaky, all-butter pie crust, which produces consistent pie dough every time and is a joy to roll out.

Ingredients

• 2 ½ cups (325 grams) of all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt or use 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 tablespoon sugar, optional
• 1 cup (230 grams) of very cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (2 sticks)
• 4 to 8 tablespoons of ice water

Instructions

Method When Using Food Processor:

1. In a food processor, combine 2 1/2 cups flour, salt, and sugar (optional)—pulse 2 to 3 times until combined. The final cup of flour will be added at a later time.
2. Scatter the cold butter over the flour mixture and process until a dough or paste begins to form, around 15 seconds. (There should be no uncoated flour.)
3. Place dough in a well-oiled bowl, add oil and melted butter (1 tablespoon for 8 ounces of flour), and turn once to combine. Scrap the bowl before redistributing the flour-butter mixture; then add the remaining 1 cup of flour: pulse 4 to 5 times until all of the flour has been dispersed and is a little crumbly.
4. Place the crumb-like dough in a large mixing bowl, add ice water to about half of the mixture (4 tablespoons), then work your way up. With a rubber spatula, press the dough down into itself. The crumbs should start to clump together. It’ll be ready if you pinch a piece and it holds together. Add 2 to 4 additional tablespoons of water if the dough breaks and press until the dough comes together.
5. Remove the dough from the bowl and place it on a clean surface in a mound. Work the dough just enough to form a ball.
6. Cut the dough in half to make two discs with a pastry cutter. Wrap each disc with plastic wrap and refrigerate it for at least an hour but no more than two days. It can also be frozen for up to three months (unwrap it before use).

Method When Making By Hand:

1. In a medium mixing bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups flour, salt, and sugar (if using). Stir 2 to 3 times until combined.
2. Carefully pat the butter into the flour using a fork or spatula until fully coated.
3. Cut the butter into the flour with a pastry blender until the flour has a coarse, mealy texture comparable to fresh bread crumbs—approximately 1 – 2 minutes.
4. Add another 1 cup of flour. Combine the butter and flour with the pastry blender until thoroughly blended—about 20 seconds (Dough should look crumbly with pea-sized pieces).
5. Sprinkle ice water over the top, then add four tablespoons at a time. Using a rubber spatula, press the dough into itself. The crumbs should begin to form larger clusters after pressing. If you pinch some of the dough and it holds together, it’s ready. Add 2 to 4 more tablespoons of water if the dough breaks apart.
6. Remove the dough from the bowl and place it on a clean surface in a mound. Form the dough into a ball by working it only enough.
7. Cut the dough ball in half, then form each piece into a disc. Cover each disc with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour but no more than two days. It can also be frozen for up to 3 months (thaw it overnight in the fridge before using it).

Rolling Out Dough:

1. Remove one of the dough discs from the refrigerator and sit at room temperature for 5 minutes.
2. Flour the counter, top the dough, and lightly roll the pin. Add a little flour to the surface below to ensure the dough does not adhere. Then use the rolling pin to roll the dough into a 12-inch circle (about 1/8 inch thick).
3. To transfer the dough into the dish, start at one end and roll it around the rolling pin before unwrapping it over it. Invert the pie dish over the dough round to check for size. The edge of the pie dish should be at least 1 inch thick.
4. Carefully press down the dough to line the bottom and sides of the dish. (Use caution not to pull or stretch the dough). Then, using a knife or pair of kitchen scissors, trim the dough to within 1/2 inch of the edge of the dish.
5. Fold the dough’s edge underneath to give it a thicker, 1/4-inch border on the plate’s lip. Then, using one hand as a pointer and two knuckles of the other hand as a lever, crimp the edges by pressing your pointer finger from within the dish while softly pushing with two knuckles from outside.
6. Refrigerate dough for at least 20 minutes or freeze for 5 minutes before baking.
7. Then, after putting the pie filling inside the pie, top it with a second dough round. After that, trim the edges and crimp them. Don’t seal the edges yet when making a double-crust pie dough recipe.