This pie crust is flaky, tender, easy to handle, and made with whole wheat! King Arthur Golden Wheat Flour adds a subtle nutty flavor that pairs beautifully with flavors like chocolate, fruit, and spices. Make this pie dough the next time you want to switch up your pie crust game!
To make the crust: Whisk together the flour, buttermilk powder, sugar, salt and baking powder in a medium bowl.
Add the shortening, working it in until the mixture is evenly crumbly.
Add the butter to the flour mixture, and work it in roughly with your fingers, a pastry cutter, or a mixer. Don't be too thorough; the mixture should be very uneven, with big chunks of butter in among the smaller ones.
Sprinkle the orange juice over the dough and toss to moisten. Add ice water a tablespoon at a time, mixing until the dough is nearly cohesive. If you grab a handful, some of it will hold together, but some will crumble away.
Scoop the mixture out onto a piece of parchment or waxed paper, and flatten it out a bit. Take a spray bottle of water, and spritz the dry parts with the water.
Using the parchment or waxed paper, fold the dough over on itself — first from one side, then from the other. You'll find that the dry crumbs are becoming incorporated with the cohesive dough. If there are still dry areas, spritz them with additional water, and fold the dough in on itself again. Keep folding and gathering until just a few dry crumbs remain unincorporated; this should only take a few folds.
Shape the dough into a disk about 1" thick, and refrigerate it for 30 minutes or longer; this rest period allows the flour to absorb the water, making the dough easier to roll out.
When you're "ready to roll," remove the dough from the fridge. If the dough has been refrigerated longer than 30 minutes, let it rest at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes before rolling, to allow the butter to soften up a bit.
Roll the dough to the size needed (about 12" to 13" for a 9" pie). Place it in a pie pan, and refrigerate it while you prepare your filling. Fill and bake as directed in your recipe.
Yield: one crust for a single-crust pie. Store unbaked pie dough, well-wrapped, in the refrigerator for 2 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months.
We like using orange juice with whole wheat, as it tempers the wheat's potential strong flavor, while not adding any orange flavor of its own. However, feel free to substitute water for the orange juice, if desired.
Learn how to make pie crust like a pro with this quick video, Four Tips For Fail-Proof Pie.
Never mind the pastry blender; did you know your stand mixer does a great job with pie crust? See the details in our blog post, How to make pie crust in your stand mixer.
