Try this Easy Vegan Pie Crust recipe, or contribute your own.
- Carbohydrate 0.0108016666666667 g
- Cholesterol 0 mg
- Fat 0.000543333333333333 g
- Fiber 0.00441666666666667 g
- Protein 0.001825 g
- Saturated Fat 0.000163333333333333 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (1g)
- Sodium 290.692333333333 mg
- Sugar 0.006385 g
- Trans Fat 2.33333333333333E-05 g
- Calories 0 calories
Step-by-step
- Before you make your pastry, it works best if everything is cold. So put all of your tools, your bowl, fork or pastry cutter, and rolling pin in the fridge to chill.
- When you are ready to make your pastry, measure the flour, salt and sugar into a bowl and whisk to combine.
- Cut the vegetable shortening into cubes and sprinkle into the flour. Use a fork or pastry cutter to slice the vegetable shortening into the flour until you reach a crumbly texture.
- Drizzle the milk across the flour mixture and use the fork to combine. Mix until everything comes together and you will be able to form a ball of dough. Don't over mix.
- Spread a clean tea towel over your work surface and lightly sprinkle flour over it. Scoop the dough into a rough ball, and put it in the center of the floured tea towel. Roll it out until you have a rough circle that is several inches bigger than your pie dis, to allow room for the sides and edges of the crust.
- Use the tea towel to help you flip the dough into the pie dish. If some pieces fall of that's fine. Use a knife to cut off the excess pastry around the edges. If there are any holes, fill them with some of the extra pieces. Pinch the edges to form a pretty crust.
- To Pre-Cook Your Pie Crust: Only do this if the recipe requires a fully cooked crust prior to filling it. Preheat your oven to 450F (230C). Pierce the crust all over with a fork. Bake the crust for 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to 400F and continue cooking until the crust is lightly browned, just a couple more minutes.
Unlike a traditional butter-based pastry that relies on dairy fat to create steam pockets, a vegetable shortening crust depends entirely on physical temperature control to achieve structural integrity. Common failures usually stem from two sources: working with warm ingredients and over-incorporating the liquid. When shortening softens too much during mixing, it melts directly into the flour instead of remaining in distinct pockets, resulting in a dense, greasy product rather than a flaky one. Chilling bowls, forks, and rolling pins beforehand prevents this premature fat breakdown.
Achieving cohesion requires a light hand. Drizzling the non-dairy milk slowly and stopping the moment the dough forms a shaggy mass prevents gluten over-development, which turns pastry rubbery. Rolling the dough directly on a floured tea towel rather than a bare countertop provides a reliable transfer mechanism, allowing the fragile circle to invert neatly into the pie dish without tearing.
Multiplying this formula for multiple pies demands caution. Doubling batches often leads to uneven fat distribution when mixed by hand, so processing ingredients in separate single batches maintains the correct ratio.
