Vegetable Oil Pie Crust

[BakerAunt]

I decided to bake an apple streusel pie, using the "No-Roll Vegetable Oil Pie Crust in the King Arthur 200th Anniversary Cookbook (p. 399). I made the dough, patted it into the pan, put it in the refrigerator, then looked at the baking instructions. I missed where it said in the second paragraph of the headnote that "this type of dough is best baked "blind" or without a filling to make it as crisp and as short as possible." (When I find where I packed the highlighters, this sentence will be highlighted in yellow.)

Uh, oh.

I'm thinking of cooking up the apples, then blind baking the crust, throwing in the apples and putting the topping on, and hoping it will bake properly. The original recipe calls for 15 minutes at 425F, then 375F for 45 minutes. With the apples pre-cooked, I'm thinking that I could bake at 375 for around 30 minutes, or maybe less. I'll have to keep an eye on it.

There is another oil pie crust recipe on p. 399 that is very similar to the first, except that it uses more flour and milk. It seems to suggest that the filling can be baked with the crust.

Any suggestions?

Spread the word

      

  

  

[Mike Nolan]

I always pre-cook my apple pie filling, though that doesn't seem to cut much time off how long the pie has to bake. Blind baking the crust probably would, though.

[BakerAunt]

I did blind-bake the crust. Before adding the cooked filling, I sprinkled Panko on the bottom to try to keep the bottom crisp. I baked it for 35 minutes at 375F in a deep-dish Emile Henry pie plate.

[BakerAunt]

We cut into the pie today, and both my husband and I pronounced it delicious! The crust is actually flaky! While it does not have the buttery flavor, with a pie with a strong filling, such as the apple pie, I don't miss it. I might try it for our Christmas pumpkin pie.

The canola oil does, to my taste buds, leave a slight aftertaste. I noted that with my crackers, but in that case it helped to add some special dried milk.

Note: I substituted in 1/3 cup of white whole wheat flour for that much KAF flour. I used low-fat evaporated milk for the 2 Tbs. milk the recipe specifies, in part because I need to use it up. I might try buttermilk next time.

[skeptic7]

I've tried the second recipe with an apple pie and didn't blind bake it before hand. I've added 1 tsp of baking powder to most oil based pie crust recipes to keep it light and crisp.

[BakerAunt]

The blind-baking really made for a crisp, flaky crust. The recipe also recommended whisking the milk and the oil well before adding it to the flour.

I'm not sure how that would work with a pie with a top crust, since the top could not be blind-baked.

[skeptic7]

The top crust would turn out nice and crisp as it doesn't have a heavy moist filling weighing it dow. I've made pot pies with only a top crust and they always had a good texture.

[Mike Nolan]

I've often made individual sized pot pies with laminated dough for the top (and no bottom crust), but when I make larger ones I lean towards using a hot water crust, which comes out remarkably flaky.

[Author]

Posts