Rose Levy Beranbaum: My Preferred Pie Crust - Bake from Scratch

      Photo by Matthew Septimus

      A Recipe That Has Endured for Three Decades

      I’ve made some updates to my favorite piecrust since it was published in The Pie and Pastry Bible (currently in its 12th printing), and I have new tips to share. While the book includes numerous pie and tart recipes, the one I consider my go-to is the Flaky Cream Cheese and Butter Pie Crust. For pies or tarts that need refrigeration, I prefer the crumb or cookie crust (also known as pâte sucrée) as it retains its tenderness when chilled.

      This crust was developed because I enjoyed the flavor of the original 1-2-3 (equal parts cream cheese, butter, and flour) crust, which is ideal for mini tartlets but too delicate and crumbly for larger tarts and pies. By incorporating water, I was able to strengthen the flour enough to make it flaky, but it turned out a bit tough. I then substituted it with heavy cream to achieve the perfect texture. To facilitate rolling, I added vinegar to relax the dough, allowing the lattice strips to be transferred without tearing. Lastly, I included nonaluminum calcium phosphate-based baking powder like Rumford to enhance tenderness by providing a slight rise during baking.

      The flour type significantly affects the crust's quality. For many years, I only used pastry flour, but due to its limited availability in supermarkets, I began experimenting with all-purpose flour. To my surprise, I found that adding 1 tablespoon (12.5 grams) of sugar to either bleached or unbleached all-purpose flour resulted in the same tenderness as pastry flour, making it perfect for a single-crust pie! Since double-crust pies take longer to bake, the slightly higher protein content caused them to brown faster, necessitating a tent partway through the baking process.

      I recommend refrigerating the crust for 45 minutes before rolling to ensure it’s chilled yet pliable enough for easy rolling without breaking. When fitting the pie plate or tart pan, carefully ease the crust in without stretching it to prevent shrinking. For a single crust, freezing it overnight and blind-baking it by lining it with parchment and adding pie weights is ideal for achieving crispness. You can easily create a foil ring to shield the rim, and it's best to place it from the start of baking as it will still brown underneath the foil.

      Although I’m primarily known for cakes, I equally enjoy pies and tarts; my favorites are those with fruit filling for their delightful combination of a crisp crust and juicy fruit, sometimes enhanced with a layer of pastry cream. One of my proudest achievements is mastering the art of reduction for fruit. I even designed Rose’s Reduction Spatula, created by the amazing precision-focused company ThermoWorks. It features markings that allow you to track how much you’ve reduced the liquid. Allowing the fruit to macerate with sugar helps it release more liquid, and reducing that liquid means needing far less starch thickener, resulting in a cleaner flavor and improved texture.

      You can find my favorite piecrust recipe on my blog at realbakingwithrose.com.

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      Discover Rose’s Reduction Spatula here.