Ingredient Alternatives For Interesting Pie Crusts Recipe

How to make it

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• Whole Wheat Flour: Substitute whole wheat for an equal amount of unbleached white. Start with about 1/2 cup until you find the ratio you like. Whole wheat flour produces crust with a "bite" and a hearty flavor that's great with savory fillings and is a wholesome alternative for sweet fillings too.
• Grains and Nuts: You can substitute extra bran or wheat germ. Rolled oats or oats that you've turned into "oat flour" in a blender or food processor can be substituted for an equal amount of wheat flour, again starting with about 1/2 cup until you find the ratio you like. Try rye and buckwheat flours or cornmeal the same way. Ground or chopped nuts can be substituted as well.
• When substituting any non-wheat alternatives for wheat flour, don't use pastry flour because they don't contain gluten, they will reduce the percentage of gluten in your dough, just as cornstarch does.
• Salt: a little salt brings out the flavor in a pie dough. If you are on a low or no-salt diet, leave it out, try a salt substitute or, for a savory crust, substitute one of the herbal salt substitute mixtures.
• Sugar: When you are making a dough for a sweet filling you can include a tablespoon of sugar with your dry ingredients but it's not necessary. The contract of a slightly salty pie crust with a sweet filling is very appealing.
• Herbs and Spices: A tablespoon of fresh or a teaspoon of dried herbs or spices can be added to the dry ingredients. Don't forget about Paprika, turmeric, curry powder, chilli powder, dry mustard , poppy or seasame seeds, etc. You can also add 2 or 3 tsp of freshly grated lemon or orange peel or even candied ginger to complement the flavors of fruit pies.
• Cheese: Add 1/2 to 1 cup grated cheese to the flour before cutting in the lesser amount of shortening. This is great with savory pies, but it's fun with apple pies too.
• Lard: produces flakiest pie crust of all because it physically breaks into larger flakes than vegetable shortening or butter.
• Vegetable Shortening: contains a certain amount of air so it's light by nature. When you cut it into your dry ingredients, it will produce a pie crust that is light as well as flaky.
• Butter: Butter has the best flavor, but because it contains some milk solids and water, a pie crust made soley with butter tends to be harder. You might decide to combine it with lard or vegetable shortening.
• Vegetable Oil: can substitute it for a solid fat.
• Milk Products: Using milk , or other milk products, you'll make a richer, mellower crust which browns very nicely.
• Eggs: Eggs both leaven and create structure. By using an egg as part of the liquid in making pasty, you will create a dough that will puff up a bit and will hold together better. This is useful when making meat pies. It also makes the crust brown more quickly.
• Lemon Juice or Vinegar: Old cooks books included lemon juice or vinegar in the ingredients list. The acid it either one tempers the gluten in the dough, helping achieve that tenderness which is the sometimes elusive (but attainable) goal of the pie crust makes.