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Olive Oil Double Crust

(recipe, Isa Chandra Moskowitz & Terry Hope Romero)

Introduction

This has become our go-to crust. Olive oil produces a light, flaky crust with a surprisingly neutral taste. Plus, since it's made with pantry-friendly olive oil, it's a fast and convenient all-purpose crust ideal for fruit pies. The secret is to place the olive oil in the freezer beforehand, so that it becomes partially solid. This helps the fat blend into the dough in little pockets, creating the flakiness you crave.

Ingredients

  1. 2½ cups all-purpose flour
  2. ¾ tsp. salt
  3. ⅔ cup olive oil, partially frozen (see instructions below)
  4. 4 to 8 Tbsp. ice water
  5. 1 Tbsp. apple-cider vinegar

Steps

  1. About an hour before beginning the recipe, place the olive oil in a plastic container. (For best results, use a thin, light container, like the kind used for takeout food.) Freeze the oil until it's opaque and congealed but still somewhat soft, like the consistency of slightly melted sorbet. If it's overfrozen, that's okay; just let it thaw a bit so that you can work with it.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour and salt. Working quickly, add the olive oil by the tablespoonful, cutting it into the flour with your fingers or a pastry cutter, until the flour appears pebbly.
  3. In a cup, mix together 4 tablespoons of the ice water with the apple-cider vinegar. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of the water and vinegar mixture into the dough and stir, using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula. Add more water, a tablespoon at a time, until the dough holds together to form a soft ball. Take care not to overknead the dough.
  4. Divide the dough in two. Press each half into a disk about an inch thick and place each disk between two 14-inch-long pieces of waxed paper. Using a rolling pin, roll each piece into a circle about ¼ inch thick. For a more even, uniform circle of dough, roll the pin one or two strokes outward, turn the dough a few degrees, and roll a few times again and repeat. Repeat with the other half of the dough. Refrigerate the rolled dough wrapped in waxed paper until it's ready to use, or as directed in the recipe.