Sweet Potato Pie

Step 2 Make the Pie Crust

Follow the Pie Crust instructions from Pumpkin Pie.  Or check out these other Instructables: Pie Crust, A Quick Pie Crust, or How to Make Pie Crust.

In abbreviated form:

-- mix these together first in a food processor --
3/4 cup flour (3/4 cup of the 1 1/4 cups total unbleached flour)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
-- next add these, and food process until it looks like cottage cheese, and there's no uncoated flour --
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut apart in a bunch of small pieces
1/4 cup vegetable shortening - non-hydrogenated palm oil if you can find it; Crisco or crisco-like shortening if you can't
-- next add this and process until it's fully incorporated --
remaining 1/2 cup flour
-- scrape the dough out of the food processor with a spatula and mix in these --
2 tablespoons cold vodka
2 tablespoons water

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 45 minutes.  Roll the dough out on a well-floured surface, or silicon work pad, and then place it in a pie dish and flute the edges.  Refrigerate for another 15 minutes at any point that the butter in the dough starts to melt or the dough feels greasy.

Dimple the surface of the pie with a fork -- this helps prevent the aluminum foil from tearing the crust when you remove it.  Line the crust with foil and fill it with pie weights, dried beans, or coins to keep the crust from changing shape as it bakes. 

Bake at 400°F in a pre-heated oven on the lowest rack setting for 15 minutes.  Remove the foil and pie weights, rotate the crust, and bake for another 5 - 10 minutes, or until the pie is golden brown.  This is called "blind baking."

Comments

[jrossetti]

I used two pie tins that were the same size instead of lining the inside of the crust with foil - I'm still a beginner-level aluminum foil user.  I still used weights.  It worked pretty well.

[ewilhelm]

Great idea.  I'll see if that works for me.

If you have any pictures, post a Slideshow or Instructable!