The 7 and 9 Cup Food Processors from KitchenAid are just the right size for most everyday pie crust recipes. The Plus models include a dough blade that can be used when you don’t need to chop or mince ingredients for your pie crust recipe.
Is it better to make pie crust in a food processor or by hand?
Food Processor vs By Hand
It’s more likely that dough will become overworked when made by hand,which is why we prefer the food processor method. To avoid this from happening, I recommend using a food processor to make pie crust. It standardizes the process, and creates the same great pie crust, every single time!
What kind of food processor do I need to make dough?
The best size food processor to use for making and kneading dough is one that holds 11 to 14 cups. These larger processors are fairly common, and successful models can handle both large and very small amounts of ingredients.
Can you use a food processor for making pastry?
A food processor allows you to control the shortcrust-making process, giving you a consistent result, every time. It also considerably shortcuts your way to homemade pie dough. My recipe produces perfect shortcrust pastry in less than a minute.
How big of a food processor do you need for pie crust?
7-cup food processors or larger should give you enough capacity for a standard 9-inch pie. Choose a larger or smaller food processor according to the amount of pie crust you want to make. Of course, it’s always better to have a little extra capacity.
Is butter or Crisco better for pie crust?
The Pie Crust Takeaways
Butter made a tastier, flakier, sturdier crust by far. This isn’t to say that shortening and lard aren’t useful ingredients. Shortening is a great way to get incredibly tender desserts.
How big of a food processor do I need to make dough?
10–13 cup food processors also provide enough space to knead dough, then let it rise right in the work bowl. 10–13 cup food processors are great for: Everything you can do with a smaller food processor from chopping, mixing and puréeing to slicing, shredding and kneading.
Do food processors have a dough hook?
Many food processors come with dough blades, which typically feature short, blunt arms that gently pull and tear dough to knead it. But because the short arms don’t extend to the outside rim of the work bowl, they’re limited in their ability to pick up flour when small amounts are processed.
Can you make dough in KitchenAid food processor?
You can make mouthwatering pasta dough with a food processor or a stand mixer but dough is only the beginning when it comes to pasta. KitchenAid® stand mixers have a variety of KitchenAid® pasta attachments available that take pasta-making to the next level.
What machine is best for making pastry?
Best Overall: Spring Chef Stainless Steel Dough Blender
This size is perfect if you have small or medium-sized hands. This dough blender has a lifetime warranty, is dishwasher safe, and is a great tool to have for all levels of cooks.
Can a food processor be used as a pastry blender?
Food Processor: Pulse small pieces of butter and the dry ingredients in your food processor until you achieve a nice, crumbly texture. It won’t take long—just a minute or two—so be careful not to overwork the dough. Your Hands: Work the butter into the flour with your hands.
What can I use instead of a food processor for pie crust?
There are 6 easy ways to make a pie crust:
- Food processor.
- Hands (not recommended since the heat from your hands can melt the fat)
- Fork.
- Two Knives.
- Pastry cutter.
- Stand mixer (with paddle attachment)
Can you use a metal blade in a food processor for pie crust?
Put the flour, sugar (if using) and salt in a large food processor fitted with the metal blade and pulse a few times to combine. Add the cubed butter and quick pulse 3-5 times until butter is broken up into pieces the size of large peas.
Can you use a blender as a food processor for pie crust?
If you want to make your pie crust in the blender or food processor, use the pulse button only to incorporate the butter into the flour until you have small pebble size pieces. Then, only add enough water and use very short pulses until you see the small pebbles start to form larger pieces.
Can you use a food processor to rub butter into flour?
Using a food processor to cut butter in flour is super easy! First, you’ll cut your butter into 1 tablespoon sized pieces. Then, you’ll add the butter and the flour to the food processor. Cutting in butter is done by pulsing the flour and butter until you have the crumb like mixture that your recipe calls for.
Is an 8 cup food processor big enough for dough?
Here are some suggestions for how big your food processor should be by task: 1-3 cup food processor for spice mixes and garnish. 8-14 cup food processor for slicing. 12-14 cup food processor for dough and meat.
Is 11 cup food processor too big?
Standard and Reliable. For those looking for a classic, mid-sized processor that can handle bulkier items, like pizza dough and big-batch recipes, a standard 11-cup machine like the KitchenAid 11-Cup Processor is a good fit.
Why do you put vinegar in a pie crust?
Secret ingredient: Use a dash of apple cider vinegar in your pie dough. Add 1 teaspoon to your current favorite recipe at the time in which you’re adding your ice water. Vinegar helps prevent the formation of gluten which makes for a tough crust.
What is the secret to flaky pie crust?
While butter, shortening, or lard make equally light and tender crusts, an all-butter crust will be flakier due to butter’s higher water content: as the crust bakes the butter melts and its water turns to steam, creating thin, crisp layers (flakes).
Do all food processors knead dough?
Dough blades help collect the dough from the sides of the processor bowl as it kneads. While this isn’t mandatory for using a food processor to make dough, it’s a highly useful attachment to have. If you purchase a machine that comes with a dough blade, you have the option to use it or not.
How long do you knead dough in a food processor?
For example, if you hand knead or use a stand mixer, it usually takes around 15 minutes from start to finish. In a food processor, you can make dough in less than 5 minutes from start to finish and the added bonus is that usually the dough will rise faster because it is slightly warm after kneading.
How do I choose a food processor?
WHAT TO LOOK FOR WHEN BUYING A FOOD PROCESSOR
- Decide on the size of the work bowl you think you’ll need.
- Make sure that the blades are stainless steel for best quality.
- Verify the functions on the processor.
- A wide chute is ideal for large vegetable chopping and dicing.
- Check the power and wattage.
Which attachment is for dough?
The dough hook is the best tool for kneading doughs, like breads, pizza dough, and pasta dough. The dough hook takes the place of hand kneading, but it does it much faster. Speed 2 gives the best results for kneading, and the mixer can knead most yeast doughs within 5 minutes.
Is a Kitchenaid the same as a food processor?
The difference between a stand mixer and a food processor comes down to how they interact with ingredients. A stand mixer uses various beaters to mix, knead, whip and mash ingredients. A food processor uses blades and discs to cut food which allows you to chop, puree, slice, shred and sometimes more.
Can you make dough in a Hamilton Beach food processor?
With the food processor running on HIGH, pour the yeast mixture in slowly, allowing it to absorb into the flour. Add cold water. Process until the dough cleans the sides of the bowl and forms a ball. If dough does not form a ball, add additional water, 1 teaspoon at a time, until dough forms a ball.
What speed should I use to knead dough in KitchenAid?
The dough hook should be used for all yeast breads. Speed 2 is the only speed that should be used. If you use a higher speed, it is harder on your mixer motor, and if you use a lower speed, it will not provide enough momentum to knead properly.
What is the difference between an artisan and a classic KitchenAid?
Artisan mixer bowls have a convenient handle, while Classic mixers do not. Classic mixers come with a brushed (matte) stainless steel bowl, while Artisan mixers come with a polished (shiny) stainless steel bowl. Artisan mixers feature a pouring shield, and Classic mixers do not.
Is a dough hook as good as kneading?
So while hand kneading can be a gratifying process, we recommend using a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment for this task. A dough hook is the best tool you can use to knead dough. It does everything your hands would do, but more quickly.
Is it worth buying a food processor?
Is a food processor worth buying? Combining multiple kitchen tools into one nifty machine, a food processor acts as an extra pair of hands in the kitchen. They’re best suited to more laborious tasks, such as slicing, grating and chopping, and they can be especially useful for anybody with mobility issues.
Can you make pastry in a Kenwood food mixer?
Every mixing function from cakes, biscuits, pastry, doughs, meringues, mousses and souffles can all be achieved with the bowl tools.
Do I really need a pastry blender?
The pastry blender is essential because it both keeps your hands clean and requires a minimum of cleanup time.
What do I use if I dont have a pastry blender?
Cheese Grater
Grate your cold fats over your bowl of flour to help them break down and incorporate more easily, and then use a mixing spoon (or two forks!) to finish the dough blending.
What can I use instead of a pastry blender?
Two butter knives – Two knives held together at an angle may be substituted for a pastry blender when cutting in butter. Use the knives to cut the butter into the dry ingredients until the pieces of flour-coated butter become smaller and have the texture of coarse crumbs.
What is the difference between a food processor and blender?
Primarily, a blender is used to puree or crush ice. Use a blender if your final product is something you can drink, drizzle, or dip. In addition to pureeing, a food processor can slice, grate, shred, dice, and more. As a general rule, use a food processor if the outcome will be eaten with a fork or spoon.
Is it better to make pie crust in a food processor or by hand?
Food Processor vs By Hand
It’s more likely that dough will become overworked when made by hand,which is why we prefer the food processor method. To avoid this from happening, I recommend using a food processor to make pie crust. It standardizes the process, and creates the same great pie crust, every single time!
Should I use the dough blade for pie crust?
For a crumb crust, like the one in the strawberry-strawberry cheesecake, the metal blade isn’t as important. However, with scones, pie crusts, or other flaky baked goods, it’s essential to cut up the butter or shortening rather than just smush it around, as a plastic blade might do.
What blade do I use to make pastry in a food processor?
WHAT FOOD PROCESSOR BLADE DO YOU USE FOR PIE CRUST? A standard multi-purpose s-blade is great for making pie crusts in a food processor. If your recipe calls for chopping ingredients— like a pie crust made with fresh chopped herbs or nuts— you can use this blade for both chopping ingredients and mixing your pie dough.
Can you rub butter and flour in a KitchenAid?
To cut butter into flour with less effort and easy cleanup, you can also use the KitchenAid® Pastry Beater that attaches to your stand mixer. Whichever method you use, it is important to work quickly to keep the butter from getting too soft.
What is the purpose of cutting butter into flour?
“Cutting in” means incorporating the butter into the flour in such a way that little lumps of the raw butter remain whole within the flour mixture. When the dough is baked, these little lumps create separation in the structure of the finished product, which is what gives it that flaky consistency.
What size food processor do I need for dough?
10–13 cup food processors also provide enough space to knead dough, then let it rise right in the work bowl. 10–13 cup food processors are great for: Everything you can do with a smaller food processor from chopping, mixing and puréeing to slicing, shredding and kneading.
What wattage food processor do I need?
For a full-sized processor (9 cups or larger), seek out a motor that’s at least 600 watts.
Which food processor do chefs recommend?
Best Professional-Grade Pick: Breville Sous Chef Food Processor. For an exceptional machine that even professional chefs turn to, check out Breville’s Sous Chef 16 Pro.
Can you use a food processor to mix dough?
You can use a stand mixer, but by far the quickest, most effortless way to work almost any dough is using the food processor. The fast movement of the blades in a food processor can make your dough elastic within minutes almost effortlessly.
Is butter or Crisco better for pie crust?
The Pie Crust Takeaways
Butter made a tastier, flakier, sturdier crust by far. This isn’t to say that shortening and lard aren’t useful ingredients. Shortening is a great way to get incredibly tender desserts.
What kind of flour is best for pie crust?
Choose all-purpose flour or pastry flour. Don’t skip or reduce the salt; it’s critical for flavor. Various types of fat work well; choose your favorite. Add just enough liquid to hold the dough together.
Can you use milk instead of water for pie crust?
The more fat you’ve got in your crust, the better it will taste and the better its texture. We use European-style cultured butter with a butterfat content of at least 83 percent. We also use whole milk instead of water—another way to inject more fat into the crust, and a key ingredient for getting it super flaky.
Why do you put vinegar in a pie crust?
Secret ingredient: Use a dash of apple cider vinegar in your pie dough. Add 1 teaspoon to your current favorite recipe at the time in which you’re adding your ice water. Vinegar helps prevent the formation of gluten which makes for a tough crust.
How do I make my bottom pie crust crispy?
Brush the Bottom
Coating the surface of the bottom crust will create a barrier to prevent sogginess. Adding a layer of corn syrup or a slightly beaten egg white before pouring in the filling will form a seal between the pie dough and the filling and will help make the crust crisp and flaky.
How does Martha Stewart make pie crust?
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for rolling dough.
- 1/2 teaspoon salt.
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar.
- 8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces.
- 2 tablespoons ice water, plus 2 more, if needed.
What temperature do you bake a pie crust at?
Steps
- Heat oven to 475°F. Mix flour and salt in medium bowl.
- Gather pastry into a ball. Shape into flattened round on lightly floured surface.
- Roll pastry, using floured rolling pin, into circle 2 inches larger than upside-down 9-inch glass pie plate.
- Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until light brown; cool on wire rack.
Which food processor is good for kneading dough?
Our favorite food processor for kneading dough (and every other use) is the Cuisinart Custom 14 Cup Food Processor, which has a bowl capacity of 14 cups.
Does Kitchenaid food processor knead dough?
FOOD PROCESSOR VS STAND MIXER FOR PASTA DOUGH
Making fresh pasta is easy and fast using either a stand mixer or food processor for dough, since they both do the mixing and kneading mechanically.