Page 26 - United States of Pie

Rolling out pie dough is a process. If you are finding the
dough particularly sticky as time passes, just add more flour!

Be fairly speedy. The longer the dough is out of the
refrigerator, the stickier it can become—especially in the
warm summer months. I find it easiest to prepare the filling

prior to rolling out my dough. Or, if it is a single-crusted pie, I
prepare the dough, crimp the edges, and then put the pie
shell back into the refrigerator until the filling is ready.

Dough should be rolled out approximately /8-inch thick and
1
wide enough to easily fit a 9-inch pie plate. This means that
you should have a round of dough measuring 12 to 14 inches

in diameter.

TRANSFERRING ROLLED DOUGH TO A PIE PLATE

I find the easiest way to move the dough from the board and to the

plate is with the rolling pin. If the dough is cool and loose (which it
should be because you picked it up frequently during the rolling
process), place the rolling pin on one edge and simply roll the pin,
taking the dough with it. You will, in essence, be making a loose
stocking of dough for your rolling pin. Pick up the pin, place an edge

of dough at the edge of the pie plate, and unfurl the dough.
Another way of getting the rolled-out dough into the pie plate is to
loosely fold the dough into fourths, like a handkerchief. Again, having
a well-floured, non-sticky round of dough is crucial here. Simply pick
up the folded dough, place it in the pie plate, and then unfold.
Here is a bit more about putting the dough into the pie plate:

Never grease the pie plate; it’s just not necessary. There
should be plenty of butter and/or shortening in the dough,

and an additional coating of butter would just make the dough
wet and the pie rather slippery.

Make sure that you fit the dough into the plate well, so that it
is touching the entire surface.