Does the thought of making a homemade pie overwhelm you? Pie-making used to feel like a big task to me when I took into consideration making both the crust and the filling from scratch (and in our family, there really isn’t another way besides scratch).
Several years ago, I learned a new recipe along with some tricks that have simplified pie-making for me. The key was making pie crust dough in bulk and then freezing the dough balls.
Making pie crusts in bulk has some wonderful benefits:
- It’s less mess– just clean up once!
- We have pie crust dough in the freezer all year for homemade pies, quiches, pot pies, etc.
- Measuring is a cinch. I am not a fan of measuring out shortening because it’s messy, so I love that my bulk pie crust recipe takes a whole can– no measuring needed!
- Pie-making is half the work, but still with the tasty benefits of a homemade crust.
If you’re a visual or auditory learner, the short video below will quickly teach you everything you need to know about making pie crust in bulk, otherwise keep reading for the bulk pie crust tutorial in words and pictures. There’s a printable recipe at the bottom of the post.
Bulk Pie Crust– Makes 20 crusts
Let’s get started with the ingredients!
- 1- 5lb bag of all purpose flour (hold back about 2 cups)
- 1- 3lb can vegetable shortening
- 4 Tablespoons sugar
- 2 Tablespoons + 2 teaspoons salt
- 4 Tablespoons vinegar
- 4 eggs
- 2 cups water
You’ll want to get out the biggest bowl you have (seriously!). Mix the flour, sugar, and salt together. Using a pastry cutter if you have one (if not, a fork will suffice), blend the shortening with the flour mixture.
When the flour mixture and shortening are combined, set the bowl aside.
In a separate bowl (I always use the shortening container to minimize dirty dishes), beat together the water, eggs and vinegar using a fork or whisk.
Add the liquid mixture to the flour mixture and blend with a fork until all ingredients are moistened.
Continue to blend using hands and fold dough into a ball.
Cover dough ball with plastic and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes.
Use the reserved 2 cups of flour to flour your surface and hands, though you probably won’t need it all. Divide your giant dough ball in quarters. Divide each quarter into 5 equal parts. You’ll have 20 equal-ish pieces of dough. Roll each dough portion into a ball. It’s okay if they’re not perfectly even. You can use the smaller balls for top crusts and the larger ones for the bottom crusts. For a flakier crust, be careful not to overwork the dough.
Wrap each ball individually in plastic wrap, then place balls into a freezer bag. Store in the freezer indefinitely. I’ve stored mine for over a year without any problems.
Each dough ball makes one pie crust or top.
To use, remove the dough balls you need from the freezer and allow to thaw on the countertop or in the refrigerator. If I’m in a hurry (not that that ever happens!), I have also microwaved them for a few seconds to thaw.
Tip– Stick any extra dough “scraps” from making your crusts in a freezer bag back in the freezer. Add to the bag every time you have scraps. You’ll probably get another pie or two from all the scraps.
- 1- 5lb bag of all purpose flour (hold back about 2 cups)
- 4 Tbsp. sugar
- 2 Tbsp. + 2 tsp. salt
- 1- 3lb can vegetable shortening
- 4 Tbsp. vinegar
- 4 eggs
- 2 cups water
- In a large bowl, combine the flour (don't forget to hold back 2 cups), sugar and salt.
- With a fork or pastry cutter, combine the shortening with the flour mixture.
- In a separate bowl (I use the empty shortening container to minimize dirty dishes), beat vinegar, eggs and water.
- Add the liquid mixture to the flour mixture and blend with a fork until all ingredients are moistened.
- Continue to blend using hands and fold dough into a ball.
- Cover and chill at least 15 minutes.
- Divide dough into about 20 balls. Each ball should be enough to make a crust.
- To freeze, wrap dough balls in plastic wrap, then store in a freezer bag indefinitely.
Now you’re set to make the pies for all of your holiday meals!
Originally published 19 Nov 2014 but updated to be included in the Frugal Festivities series.
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