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Article is open in Vancouver with a gorgeous new store you didn’t know you were craving
Founder Jenell Parsons from Vancouver-based The Pie Hole shares this mouthwatering recipe from her newest cookbook, You Wanna Piece of Me?
Of all the savoury pies I’ve developed, this one took the longest. It was so important to get the taste and feeling of a cheeseburger in every bite. And it was worth it—this has become one of our top-selling savoury pies. There’s a subtle hint of crunchy dill pickle, smoky crumbled bacon, a squeeze of mustard, lots of sharp cheddar cheese… and let’s not forget the flaky pie crust (adorned with sesame seeds, of course, so you don’t miss the bun)!
1 recipe Double Butter crust (recipe below)
1½ lb ground beef
½ cup flour
3 cups milk
2 tbsp mustard, plus additional for topping (optional)
1 tbsp salt
½ tsp white pepper
2 cups grated cheddar cheese
2 dill pickles, coarsely diced
6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
¼ cup finely diced onions (optional)
1 tsp sesame seeds
Makes one 9-inch double-crust pie (or four 5-inch double-crust pies as show in photo)
The crust of a pie should never take the back seat and simply be the vessel—a vessel that far too often gets left on the plate while the good stuff gets eaten. So I made it my mission to develop the most delicious, buttery, flaky crust possible. We use so much butter in fact that we call our pastry Double Butter crust. And let me tell you, we have all the flavour and all the flakes!
NOTE: The amount of water mixture you need will vary each time you make the dough. A number of variables contribute to this, including the moisture content in the flour (influenced by how the flour is stored), the warmth of your hands, the time of year, and how hot or cold your kitchen is. You will most likely not use all of the water mixture, but it’s better to have a little too much than not enough. And don’t fret if there is a little extra flour in the bottom of the bowl.
To prepare the dough by hand:
Measure the flour, sugar, and salt into a large mixing bowl and mix to fully incorporate.
Add the cold butter to the flour mixture, and use your fingers to massage the butter into the flour, breaking it apart and coating it in flour. Continue massaging and rolling the butter between your fingers until you have a coarse mixture with pea- to almond-sized pieces of butter throughout.
Add 3 tbsp of the cold vinegar-water mixture. Slowly mix in the water with your hands, gently squeezing the butter and flour to help it come together.
Continue adding the vinegar-water mixture just 1 tbsp at a time, mixing it in gently with your hands. The goal is to add just enough water to get the dough to come together into a shaggy mixture—and once it gets to that point, hands off.
Turn to chill the dough
To prepare the dough by food processor:
In a food processor, pulse the flour, sugar, and salt until mixed. A few quick pulses should do it. Add the cold butter, a few pieces at a time, pulsing until you have a coarse mixture with pea- to almond-sized pieces of butter throughout. Do not overmix! It’s very easy to overmix, so be careful.
Add 3 tbsp of the cold vinegar-water mixture. Pulse a few times. Continue to add vinegar and water, 1 tbsp at a time, pulsing a few times between each addition. The goal is to add just enough water to get the dough to come together into a shaggy mixture—and once it gets to that point, no more pulsing (see note)!
Transfer to a floured work surface, and carefully fold any loose bits of flour and butter into the ball of dough. Folding it a few times will create layers. Next, read below for how to chill the dough.
NOTE: The more you work the dough, the more the gluten develops, and the tougher your dough becomes, so it’s really important not to overwork it.
To prepare the dough by stand mixer:
Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the flour, sugar, and salt on low speed.
With the mixer running on low speed, add the cold butter, a few pieces at a time, mixing until you have a coarse mixture with pea- to almond-sized pieces of butter throughout. Do not overmix.
With the mixer still running on low speed, add 3 Tbsp of the cold vinegar- water mixture. Continue to add vinegar and water, 1 Tbsp at a time, mixing for 30 seconds between each addition. The goal is to add just enough water to get the dough to come together into a shaggy mixture—and once it gets to that point, stop mixing (see Note)! I find that using a stand mixer takes the most practice and that it is easy to add too much water if you are not patient.
Once the dough just comes together, remove it from the mixing bowl, cleaning off the paddle so as not to miss out on any of the delicious buttery dough. Next, read below for how to chill the dough.
Then, chill the dough:
Or, for a double-crust pie:
For blind baking:
Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
Line the inside of the prepared pie crust with parchment paper to protect the dough. Tip: Large coffee filters can also be used here instead. Add pie weights (see page 8) to keep the pastry in place, and so the heat of the oven doesn’t just melt the pastry into a buttery puddle in the bottom of the pie plate.
Bake in the oven for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from the oven, but keep the oven on. Remove the weights and parchment paper and brush the base of the pie crust with egg wash.
For a fully blind-baked pie, return to the oven for 8 to 10 minutes; for a partially blind-baked pie, return to the oven for 3 to 5 minutes. This cooks the additional egg wash and creates a barrier between the filling and the crust to keep the crust from becoming soggy.
NOTE: The dough can be made in advance and kept in the fridge for up to 3 days, or the freezer for up to 3 months. You will likely have extra dough left over from this recipe. gather the scraps together, wrap in plastic wrap, and store in the fridge or freezer.
Makes one 9-inch double crust (or two 9-inch single crusts)
Excerpted from You Wanna Piece of Me? by Jenell Parsons. Copyright © 2020 The Pie Hole Holdings Corp. Photography by Janis Nicolay. Published by Appetite by Random House®, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.