Rose Levy Beranbaum: My Preferred Piecrust - Bake from Scratch

      Photo by Matthew Septimus

      A Recipe That Has Endured for Thirty Years

      I have made some updates to my favorite piecrust featured in The Pie and Pastry Bible (now in its 12th printing), and I want to share several new tips. While the book includes numerous pie and tart recipes, I rely on the Flaky Cream Cheese and Butter Pie Crust as my go-to. For tarts or pies requiring refrigeration, I prefer the crumb or cookie crust (also known as pâte sucrée) because it maintains its tenderness when chilled.

      This crust was developed because I enjoyed the taste of the original 1-2-3 crust (equal parts cream cheese, butter, and flour), which was perfect for mini tartlets but too delicate for larger tarts and pies. By adding water, I was able to enhance the flour’s strength for a flaky texture, but it turned out a bit tough, so I substituted it with heavy cream for the ideal consistency. I then introduced vinegar to relax the dough for easier rolling, which allowed me to transfer lattice strips without tearing. Finally, I included nonaluminum calcium phosphate-based baking powder like Rumford to add tenderness by causing a slight rise during baking.

      The choice of flour significantly impacts the crust’s quality. For years, I relied solely on pastry flour, but due to its limited availability in stores, 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 produced the same tenderness as pastry flour, making it excellent for a single-crust pie! However, since double-crust pies take more time to bake, the higher protein content caused them to brown more quickly, so tenting was necessary partway through the baking process.

      I recommend chilling the crust for 45 minutes before rolling to achieve the right balance of coolness and softness for easy handling. When lining the pie plate or tart pan, gently ease the dough in without stretching to prevent shrinking. For the best crispness in a single crust, it’s advisable to freeze it overnight and blind-bake it by lining with parchment and using pie weights. Making a foil ring yourself to protect the rim is simple, and adding it at the start of baking ensures the edges brown properly beneath the foil.

      Though I am primarily recognized for my cakes, my passion for pies and tarts is equally strong. I particularly enjoy fruit fillings for their combination of crisp crust and juicy fruit, sometimes complemented by a layer of pastry cream. One of my proudest achievements is mastering the art of reduction for fruit fillings. I even designed Rose’s Reduction Spatula, produced by the excellent, precision-focused company ThermoWorks. It features markings that help you track how much liquid has been reduced. Allowing fruit to macerate with sugar releases a significant amount of liquid, and reducing this leads to needing much less starch thickener, enhancing both flavor and texture.

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

      Follow Rose on Instagram at @realbakingwithrose and visit realbakingwithrose.com.

      Check out Rose’s Reduction Spatula here.