Some Thoughts on Pastry

In theory, I know what makes a good crust: cold fat, cold water, and for chrissake, don't work it too much. In practice, a consistently perfect crust eludes me. Usually, I can tell if I've fucked it up as I gather the pastry into a ball to rest, or afterward as I roll it into shape. Too gooey, too crumbly, too melty, too something. It is at these times that baking seems to me less science than alchemy, or voodoo; the province of some fickle deity that requires regular paeans and the occasional sacrifice.

I did meet a woman one summer in Iowa who had figured it out. She sent her daughters to Europe and then to college with cinnamon rolls and pie - traveling to farmers markets, county fairs, and RAGBRAI (the (Des Moines) Register's Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa), where I met her, in a camper and borrowing church basement kitchens to bake. That strawberry rhubarb pie was by far the best of the week, which is saying something because the two main food groups on RAGBRAI are pork chops and pie, with each town on the route in competition for the title of favorite. I asked her what her secret was, and in that self-effacing Iowa way, she said practice. But she did reveal that instead of quibbling with the age old debate about butter vs. shortening, she made her crust with oil.

Oil you say? Yes oil. And a flakier, more tender pastry you have not tasted.

I've tried her recipe, at least the recipe she told to me, and it works fine. Perfectly serviceable. For me, though, it has neither the flavor of a butter crust nor the flakiness of shortening. Perhaps I have a mental block. But part of a recipe is the person making it. Whose eyes are measuring, whose hands are mixing, whose tongue is tasting. You know how people sometimes say about their mother's recipe "I do everything the same but somehow it never tastes quite as good?" The Iowa pie lady is right - her secret is practice. Her particular method, refined with thousands of repetitions, combines with flour, oil, and water to make a perfect pie every time.

With each pie I learn something new, tweak ratios, modify techniques. It may not be perfect every time, but sometimes it's tantalizingly close. It's only a matter of time.

Iowa Oil Pastry (for single crust)

1 1/4 C. All Purpose Flour
1/4 C. Vegetable Oil
2-4 T. Cold Water

Add the oil to the flour and mix lightly until it is distributed throughout but not mealy.
Drizzle the water over the flour and oil and stir together. Press a bit into a ball and if it holds together, pull the rest together and wrap in plastic film. If it is still crumbly, add water a little at a time until the dough comes together.
Flatten the ball in the plastic film into a disc and place in the refrigerator to rest for 30 minutes.
Roll the pastry out and place into a pie dish. Blind bake the pastry until set.
Fill as desired.