Can anyone w/experience tell me which appliance is better for making crust for two crust pies, food processor or stand mixer? Have looked recently @ latest more powerful models from Kitchenaid and Quisinart. Would like to save time w/crust making and retire my pastry blender! Thanks in advance for any info!! Brad
The KitchenAid would be a better choice than a food processor, which tends to overwork pie crusts and break the fat particles into too fine a crumb. This causes the pie dough to be "short" rather than flaky. It also can help to incorporate more water than is needed, which overdevelops the gluten making for a tough crust.
You can cause the same types of problems with a KitchenAid mixer, but it takes a longer time to do this because of the slower mixing. A mixer also leaves larger chunks of fat which is what you're trying to accomplish.
The best method for mixing pie crust is by hand, using the well method, such as what is used for making pasta. Make a circle with the flour on a board or clean surface. Scoop out a circular well in the center and add the wet ingredients. Blend in with a pastry scraper by turning in the flour from the outer edges into the center well and "cutting" the cold butter chunks into the flour. Leave large chunks of fat, the size of walnuts. Flick your thumb against your fingers, as you would when snapping your fingers, spreading the butter between the flour. The object is to coat some of the flour with butter to create flaky pockets in the dough which form when the water in the butter creates steam in the oven. The butter keeps the layers separated. Don't overmix - the mixture should barely come together. If you overmix and your dough resembles something more like cornmeal, then the dough will be more cookie-like in texture than flaky. Press it all together and put in a ziploc bag to rest in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes and for as long as overnight.
PS - this technique is similar for making flaky biscuits!
-Belle
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