This recipe for an all-butter pie crust with unflavored yogurt produces an incredibly tasty, flaky, and tender crust that bakes up beautifully, even without a filling.
¼cup(70g)unflavored regular yogurt or Greek yogurt
1(18g)egg yolk
Instructions
Using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, combine 1¼ cup all-purpose, unbleached flour, 1 teaspoon granulated sugar, ¼ teaspoon salt, and ⅛ teaspoon baking powder at low speed for 5 seconds.
Cut ½ cup unsalted butter, cold into 16 pieces, and add to the flour mixture. Mix on low speed for about 45 seconds. (I count it off).
Combine ¼ cup unflavored regular yogurt or Greek yogurt and 1 egg yolk. Add all at once to the flour.
Mix on low speed for 12-15 seconds. All particles should be barely moistened but not yet coming into a ball. You're going for a shaggy mess that will hold together if you squeeze it between your fingers.
Dump the dough onto a big piece of plastic wrap or a floured tea towel.
Take the palm of your hand and slide it face-down from the middle toward the side of the pile to smoosh the crumbs together and flatten out the big pieces of butter. Work around the pile as you gently press the dough into one big flat clump. There should not be any large and visible pieces of butter. If the butter pieces are too large, they may melt as the crust bakes and drip onto the oven floor. Not good.
Fold plastic wrap up around the dough, pressing gently to form a smooth round patty approximately an inch thick.
Wrap and chill the dough at this point for at least 1-4 hours. When ready to roll out, allow to sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes.
Using a well-floured pastry cloth or a silicone pastry mat and a pastry sock-covered rolling pin, roll out pie dough to a diameter about 1-1/2 inch larger than your pie plate.
Place a 9-inch pie plate upside down on the dough and flip the dough into your pie pan using a pastry cloth to hold on as you invert dough.
Peel the pastry cloth off the dough and carefully fit the dough inside the pan being careful not to stretch it. If dough sticks to the cloth, use a knife to loosen it carefully and lightly dab it with flour to repair.
Trim crust about a half-inch past the rim of your pie plate. Turn under any excess dough, so it is even with the side of the plate. Form decorative edge as desired. (If the dough seems too soft to work with, refrigerate until firm.)
Place the shaped pie crust back into the refrigerator until ready to bake. It should be well-chilled (not frozen) when it goes into the oven.
Notes
How To Blind-Bake (no filling) a Flaky Pie Crust with YogurtWhen ready to bake, remove from the refrigerator and use a fork to dock the crust. Press a piece (or two) of non-stick aluminum foil or parchment paper to the inside of the pie crust. Fold the edges of the foil carefully over the decorative edge to protect it from over-browning. Although you could fill the pie crust with beans, rice, or pie weights, I prefer to use chain-link sold by the foot at hardware stores.Bake in a preheated 425˚F (220˚C) oven for 15-17 minutes. For a partially baked crust, carefully remove foil and weights, and let bake another 2-3 minutes until the crust is light brown.If you need a fully baked crust, continue baking the crust (uncovered) for 8-10 minutes longer or until golden brown.If you have trouble with the butter leaking out of the crust when bakingFreeze the butter, then grate it. Add to the flour mixture and continue with the recipe as written.