Choose the right fats:
“ Good-quality butter for its delicious
flavor, and a bit of lard for flakiness
and a wonderful melting quality.”
f o o d
AMERICAN CLASSICS
CLASSIC FRIED PIES
PREP:
50
MIN. FREEZE:
10
MIN.
CHILL:
2
V
2
HR. COOK:
3
MIN./BATCH
1
cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
V
a
cup lard
3
cups unbleached all-purpose
flour
2
tsp. kosher salt
i
tsp. sugar
8
to 12 Tbsp. ice water
i
recipe Sweet Potato-Fig Filling,
page 2io
Peanut oil for deep-fat frying
Sugar
■ Place b u tter and lard in th e freezer
for 10 m inutes.
■ Place flour, salt, and the 1 teaspoon
sugar on a large cutting board. M ix
them w ith your fingers to blend. Place
cold b u tte r and lard on flour m ixture.
Use a pastry scraper or large kitchen
knife to roughly c u t b u tte r an d lard
into the flour m ixture. (Som e b u tter
and lard will be finely cut in, and som e
will be in
l/
2
-
to 3/4-inch pieces.)
■ W orking quickly, g ath er th e flour
m ixture in a m ound. Use your fingers
to shape a lengthw ise trench through
center. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon o f th e ice
w a ter along th e length o f the trench.
W ith u p tu rn ed fingers toss and fluff
together flour m ixture and water.
R epeat to reshape, sprinkle ice w ater,
and toss and fluff. A fter incorporating
8 tablespoons o f ice w ater, dough
should begin to clum p. If necessary,
repeat to add m ore w ater.
■ G ather rough dough w ith a pastry
scraper. W orking quickly, use the heel
o f your hand to sm ear (push away)
egg-size pieces o f dough, one at a tim e.
R egather dough and repeat process.
■ G ather dough in m ound. W rap in a
double-thickness o f plastic w rap. Press
w ith palms of hands to flatten. Refrigerate
at least 2 hours and up to 24 hours.
■ On a lightly floured surface roll
chilled dough about
l/ 2
inch thick.
Brush excess flour from surface of
dough. Fold dough in thirds, brushing
flour off th e underside o f dough as it is
folded over. Lightly press layers
together w ith a rolling pin. W rap
dough in plastic. R efrigerate at least
30 m inutes or up to 24 hours.
ADD WATER GRADUALLY
“Mound the flour mixture. With
your fingers, draw a trench in
the center to sprinkle ice water
a tablespoon at a time.”
FLUFF IN THE WATER
“Quickly and confidently fluff
the flour to incorporate the
water. Redraw the trench and
repeat until the mixture begins
to clump.”
SMEAR FOR FLAKINESS
“With the heel of your
hand, press egg-size
portions of rough dough
away from you, flattening
and pressing the chunks of
fat into the flour paste.
This technique creates a
layered, flaky crust.”
WRAP AND CHILL
“Wrap the dough in a double
thickness of plastic wrap.
Then press firmly with both
hands to flatten into a disk,
forming a cohesive dough.
Refrigerate at least 2 hours or
up to 24 hours.”
GATHER TWICE-SMEARED
DOUGH 'This dough, as
unpromising as it may look,
is exactly how it should be at
this step. It is now ready to
wrap and chill.”
2 0 8
SEPTEMBER 2009 BETTER HOM ES AND GARDENS
