Description
This traditional roll-out Easy Vegan Pie Crust is actually oil and butter-free, made from a simple swap and all the normal ingredients.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 550g unbleached AP flour (about 4 3/8) (see note 1, measure properly for success)
- 1 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 3 tbsp sugar, optional
- 1 cup coconut cream (see note 2)
- 1/3 - 1/2 cup non-dairy milk (start with 1/3)
Instructions
- Sift flour: A flour sifter is not that expensive--you can also use a fine mesh strainer--and it doesn’t take but a few minutes. It makes a world of difference in keeping lumps out of your crust. You’re rolling out your crust fairly thin, so it’s ideal to have a smooth textured dough.
- Make the dough: Whisk sifted flour with the salt and sugar (if desired). Make a well in the center with a wooden spoon or a spatula and add both the coconut milk and the non-dairy milk. Mix well until it comes mostly together. It should be lightly tacky, but not sticky.
- Prep work surface: Line your work surface with wax paper. I was able to find vegan waxed paper (using soybean wax) at my local chain grocery store). Shiny side up. You may want to do two side by side layers, slightly overlapping to make a large enough crust depending on the size of your pie dish.
- Divide dough: Place your dough on there and cut it in half. I like to use my scale again to make sure I divide it perfectly in half (i.e. if my dough ball weights 800g, I make sure each piece is 400g). If you’re not going to use it right away, tightly wrap the other ball in cling wrap and set aside. For the ball you're going to roll out, place it on the shiny side of the wax paper, make it into a sphere and flatten it with the palm of your hand.
- Roll out the dough: Cover the top of the dough with another sheet (or sheets) of wax paper, this time shiny side down. You want to make sure nothing sticks. Use a rolling pin to roll out the dough. Use the wax paper to turn the dough as you roll it out, trying to maintain a circular shape and an even thickness.
- Transfer: Now we can transfer it into the pie dish. If you want your pie crust to stay nice and dry, it’s recommended that you don’t grease the dish. However, the pie is harder to get out of the dish if you don’t grease it, so your call. I personally did grease my pie dish. Flip the paper holding the pie crust into the pie dish carefully, pressing down with one hand while you peel off the paper with the other.
- Prep the shell: Now, conform the inside of the crust to the nooks and crannies of your pie dish. If you have any thin spots, use excess dough (anything that overlaps the edge of your pie dish) to patch them. Similarly, any thicker spots should be pressed out so you have a relatively even crust.
- Get fancy: For the edges, you can crimp, flute, or pinch the edges to look any way you please. I prefer a simple crimp, which is super easy to do with a fork. Simply press the tines of the fork all around the lip of the pie dish. There are lots of tutorials online if you prefer to flute, but due to the disability in my hand I am not able to do them very well.
- Poke holes: Now use your fork to poke holes all over your pie crust. This is so the crust doesn’t puff up when we bake it!
- Chill out: Chilling keeps the pie shell from shrinking down the sides while baking. You’ll need to chill it at least an hour in the fridge (or only half an hour in the freezer), but you can refrigerate it up to 24 hours with no real issue, so it’s great if you’d like to prepare the crust one day and the filling the next.
- Blind bake the crust: Bake the crust (cold from the fridge) for about 10-20 minutes in a 375 degree Fahrenheit (191 degrees Celsius) oven, but for the best pie crust, use pie weights (you’ll need 2 packs) or dried beans (about 2 pounds) in a layer of parchment paper for the first half of the baking process. Then take them out and bake the bottom for the rest of it. See more tips in the article above for troubleshooting and more.
- Make a pie: Now you’re ready to make a pie. If you’re making a no bake pie you’ll want to fully bake this crust till it’s golden brown but if you’re making a pie that you have to cook like my vegan pumpkin pie, try to add the filling while the crust is still warm for best results. And happy baking!
Notes
- Note 1A: I have only tested this recipe with unbleached All Purpose flour. I would highly recommend using this type of flour unless you have a gluten allergy. Whole wheat flour might work. If you’d like to try this with gluten-free flour, I’d recommend King Arthur Measure for Measure Gluten-Free Flour or Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Gluten-Free Flour.
- Note 1B: Please properly measure your flour (I have a nice quick tutorial in the article above). Using cups is dangerous because it’s highly inaccurate and you may not have good results. A kitchen scale with a tare function is cheap and much more accurate. Weigh your flour.
- Note 2: I don’t cook with oil, so I used coconut cream as the fat in this recipe. Pie crusts need fat, so I don’t know how this recipe would turn out if you used straight up low fat non-dairy milk. If it works for you I’d love to hear about it! Otherwise, you can substitute a neutral oil (like vegetable oil) or melted vegan butter for the coconut cream/milk if you wish.
- Note 3: I have a troubleshooting section in the article above if you run into any issues.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Ingredient, Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American