Since I have started on this pie mission, I have had to make a decision about the kind of fat I use in my crust: butter? Crisco? lard? oil? Now pie crust is both a science and an art. I could go into the different fat properties like melting point etc but I've decided that I prefer butter for my crust. In fact, I use the Martha Stewart Pate Brisee recipe. I think you could argue that lard or Crisco are much easier to work with because they are more solid than butter at room temperature. I have good friends that swear by an oil crust as the flakiest. The main reason I use butter is that I think it simply tastes the best - as a plain ingredient and in the crust. I like the taste of butter and it just seems like a clean and pure ingredient. What is a must in your crust? Do you have a treasured recipe with butter or lard or oil or Crisco?
1 comment:
I like butter in my crust as well, but a little pinch of crisco never hurt either. In your quest to perfect pies, I'd suggest you check out the 'Pie and Pastry Bible' by Rose Levy Beranbaum (also author of my favorite baking book - The Cake Bible). Her signature crust is made with cream cheese, which is actually quite good and rich once you get past how putsy it is to make.
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