Do you need tallow for this recipe? YES! An all butter pie crust is super firm, and the tallow really softens the crumb to a nice fork tender bite. It is very neutral in flavor, it isn't beefy. But this crust is not a sweet crust, it really is for savory baking : chicken pot pie, quiche, savory tarts, ect. It is so delightful. Soft, tender, savory...it's great.
And a French pastry chef said I could use a food processor, so that was all the permission I needed. It's much easier in the food processor than making by hand!
Fresh Milled Savory Pie Crust
Makes 2 Crusts
Ingredients:
2 cups of soft wheat grain milled on the finest setting ( about 3 cups of flour)
1 tsp salt
1 stick of cold butter (8 tbsp)
2 tbsp beef tallow
2 eggs
6-8 tbsp cold water
Directions:
Mill the grain into flour on the finest setting. Add the flour and salt to a food processor. Pulse together. Slice the butter into tablespoons. Add it to the flour. Add the tallow next.
Pulse together again until mostly combined. Add the eggs. Pulse together. Add the cold water one tbsp at a time until it comes together. Pulse together. Dump the dough out on a counter and use your hands to split it in half and shape the halves into disks. Wrap the disks in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
This would be the time that you would make your filling.
After 30 minutes, preheat oven to 350 degrees.
DUST THE COUNTER with flour where you will be rolling the dough out.
Take one of your disks, and begin rolling it out. To roll it out in a circle, you need to roll the same amount each direction : North to South, East to West. If you roll 3 times North to South, Roll 3 times East to West. Be patient, I find that tearing happens when I rush this process. If the dough tears, use your finger to press and mend it back together. Hold your pie plate over the dough to make sure it's rolled out enough. I always roll the dough about an inch past my pie plate edge.
Use the rolling pin to roll the dough onto the rolling pin. A dough scraper is super helpful at this stage just in case the dough is sticking to your work surface at all. I roll very slowly, and use the dough scraper to help guide the dough off the counter. You are rolling it up how paper towels are rolled on the cardboard. This will help you lift the dough in one piece. Get your pie plate, and center your dough on the edge and unroll it so that it gently lies inside the pie plate.
Don't press the dough into the plate. Just encourage the dough to fall into the shape of the plate. Bring the pie dough over the edge and use a knife to knock off the excess. Use a fork to crimp the edge.
Add your filling, and bake. This pie dough can handle 350 degrees for 35 minutes without burning the crust. IF your pie needs to bake longer than that, you may need to cover it.
If you are making a closed pie, roll the second disk out and place it on top of your filling. Knock the excess off with a knife and crimp the edge down with a fork.
This recipe will make 2 "open" pies or quiches.
Here is a video for a little more instruction! I'm a very visual learner, so just in case you are too! Videos are always so helpful for me!