A food processor is a must-have kitchen essential today. They range from small hand-held models to larger stand-alone units. Food processors are incredibly useful cooking tools that can be used to make a variety of food items. They are also great for making pie crusts and shortcrust pastries just like stand mixers. Food processors are highly useful for tasks like making pie dough and making coleslaw. They make food prep much faster that help you save time and money. You can also read our buying guide on food processors to make an informed choice.
Why Use Food Processors To Make Pie Crust?
A food processor makes can efficiently mix the dough. It gives way to an airy and light pie crust. It helps create a light-texture base for a delicious pie. Crusts made in a food processor have a lot of air and butter because of the grinding blades. This makes the dough light, fluffy and soft. Making pie crust in a food processor is easy, fast, and also saves on manual effort.
There are different types of food processors available that offer different uses. You can read our blog on types of food processors to learn more about them.
How To Make Pie Crust Using Food Processor?
Add Ingredients To The Food Processor
First mix 2 cups all-purpose flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 cup vegetable shortening, 1/2 cup Ice water in a large bowl. Mix and put the ingredients into a food processor. This makes the crust extremely light, tender, and crispy.
Add all the above to the food processor like Cuisinart DLC-2A and add the remaining ingredients, melted butter, sugar, and lemon juice. You can add various flavorings to make your pie delicious depending on your taste and palette.
Pulse To Break Up The Butter
Pulsing the butter well is the next crucial thing. It is important to add cold butter to the mix but only once you have pulsed it thoroughly. Pulsing at least 20 sec will help you get pea-sized butter easily. The idea is to have even crumbles of butter so that the many flaky layers can be avoided.
Add Liquid
The dough will become runny if you add too much liquid. The dough will be dry if you add too little water. The good news is you will require water between 1/3 cup and ½ cup of water to bind your mix. Don't forget to add some water, pulse the processor, and repeat.
Let Dough Start To Come Together
Gathering the dough and pulling it through to form a smooth mix is the next careful step into making light and delicious crust. Breville BFP800BSXL is a nice option if you are looking for a food processor. Let the mix run through till the dough binds together. Do not run the food processor to bring the mix into a ball. It should be loosely bound.
Form Discs
Roll out a ball and press it between your palms to make a disc once you get the preferred consistency. Lightly flour the surface of the dough. Use a rolling pin and flatten out the disc evenly. Do this only till the limit where the elasticity can be felt.
Use Right Away Or Store For Later
Cover the discs in plastic wrap and let them cool for 1-2 hours before serving. Transfer it to a pie plate and fill it with sweet, savory, or spicy fillings with a dash of olive oil and bake away. You can also store them in a freezer for months.
Food processors these days came with the latest technology like LCD displays, multifunction discs, etc. Breville BFP800XL Sous Chef Food Processor's reviews mark that it comes with a built-in LCD display that shows count up and count down automatically.
What Blade Do You Use In Food Processor For Pie Crust?
A standard multipurpose s-blade is ideal for making perfect pie crusts in a food processor. You can also use this blade for chopping ingredients if want a pie crust made with fresh chopped herbs or nuts. This blade is the best for making crumb pie crusts that require chopping graham crackers, cookies, or other ingredients.
What Size Food Processor Do I Need For Pie Crust?
The 7 and 9 cup food processors are the right size for making pie crusts. 7 cup food processors or larger give you enough capacity for a 9-inch pie. You can choose a large or a small capacity food processor depending upon the amount of pie crust you want. The customer reviews of Braun FP3020 show that it is a 12 cup food processor that you can consider buying.
Conclusion
Food processors have been like a revolution to every kitchen as they have made the task of prepping for food easy and convenient. Their versatility to shred and blend has been accepted by millions. The reliability of professional and small-scale businesses on a stand mixer for their everyday chores says a lot about acceptability and popularity in the market. There are many more benefits offered by these devices. You read about the benefits of using a food processor in our blog.
BestViewsReviews rates and reviews hundreds of food processors and pie pans on the basis of their blending power, noise level and build quality.