Cooking from Scratch: Pie Crust

I tend to be a lazy cook.  Martha Stewart on the other hands has quite a few fantastic recipes that I use and tweak to my liking.  Pie crust is not one of my favorite things to make.  To be honest, I use store-bought (organic) whenever possible.  

There, I said it...Martha Stewart I am not!  I feel better already.  This Pie Crust recipe...totally Martha!

Pie Crust a la Martha

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for rolling dough

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon sugar

8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

2 tablespoons ice water, plus 2 more, if needed

Directions

In a food processor, pulse flour, salt, and sugar several times to combine. Add butter. Pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal, with just a few pea-size pieces remaining.

Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons ice water. Pulse until dough is crumbly but holds together when squeezed with fingers (if needed, add up to 2 tablespoons more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time). Do not overprocess.

Turn dough out onto a work surface; form dough into a 3/4-inch-thick disk. Wrap tightly in plastic, and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour.

Before baking, unwrap dough; place on a large piece of floured waxed paper. Roll dough to a 14-inch round. Using paper, lift and wrap dough around rolling pin (discarding paper); carefully unroll over a 9-inch pie plate. Gently fit into bottom and up sides of plate.

Trim overhang to 1 inch; fold overhang under itself. Pinch between thumb and forefinger to make a uniform edge around the rim. Crimp edge; refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hour.

Cook's Note

Always start with chilled dough and a well-floured work surface. Chilled dough does not soften as quickly as warmer dough; flour absorbs any moisture and prevents sticking.