Scratch vs Ready-Made Refrigerated Pie Crusts

I've been buried in pie contest recipes and also working on a pie crust feature for the October/November issue. Lots of the pie recipes that were submitted for the contest included a homemade crust. I feel like there may be a renewed interest in making pie crust from scratch. You have to admit they taste a lot better and it nice to know what's in them. Do you prefer to make them from scratch or buy the ready-made crusts? And if you buy the ready-made type, is time a factor or fear of failure?

Wendy, I am SOOOO proud of my baking friends, those who make anything from scratch!    As I have mentioned about a gazillion times, I do not bake, in the pastry sense of the word, and if I did it would have to be the ready made everything - mixes, refrigerated doughs, ready-made fillings.  So, for me, it would be the "fear of failure." 

My grandmother baked pies, cakes, bread, muffins, the whole nine yards, but I was too young to learn from her when she was her prime.  My mother burned water, so no help there. When I first married and had my very own kitchen, I was 18 and living in military housing in Germany, with no mentor, and no incentive -the German bakeries were so outstanding, and so convenient, I didn't even need to compete with them....  the long and the short of this is that I never learned how to bake, and now don't want to. 

I will be eager, tho, to know what responses you get from this question. 

Time is the factor for me when choosing ready-made over made-from-scratch.  Although, with a little advance planning, I can do made-from-scratch in about the same time if I've got some dough made up and in the freezer.

I also learned from a very old Spry shortening cook booklet, to make up a whole can of shortening with the flour and salt, get it to the consistency of small peas, and then keep that mixture in an airtight container in the refrigerator.  Then, all I had to do was measure out 1-1/2 cups for a one-crust pie or 2 cups for a two-crust pie, mix with a few tablespoons of ice water (I get mine directly from my refrigerator dispenser), mix and roll.  That saved a good bit of time since it's the measuring and mixing of the flour and shortening that takes the most time. 

I also think there is a "mess" factor.  I don't have the added time of having to clean up my floured countertop when I use store-bought crust. 

I have a great recipe for homemade cream pie filling made in the microwave that I'd love to share if you'd like it.  I teach it in my cooking classes and no one (even my own mother) can believe how good and easy it is!  My mom threw out her generations-old cream pie recipe and uses this one exclusively now!

I would like the cream pie recipe..and thanks for the hint to use the whole  can of shortening and do that step already done I would be more likely to do a home made crust..as I find the time is a factor as to which one I do... the storebought or not..

Linda

For me the decision based purely on whether or not I am taking the pie to someone else's house or serving it at my own. The ready made ones come in the aluminum pie tins so if I have to take a pie some where then I simply serve it in those so that the host can keep the left overs. If I am serving at my house I have the most lovely Longaberger pie plate from my mother that I willingly spend the extra love and effort to make my own pie crust. Also their are some considerations like when I am making a pie that calls for a Oreo pie crust. I usually don't keep store bought cookies around so I simply buy the ready made crusts they are in with the gram cracker and Nilla wafer crusts. Either way baking is a joy for me and so is seeing the happy faces of those I have baked for. :)

It sounds like time is the biggest factor when considering whether or not to make a homemade crust. But Grammy Debbie's homemade pie crust mix is a great idea for anyone who loves to make scratch crusts. I don't go all out like Grammy Debbie but whenever I make a pie using a single crust, I make up a double crust recipe as well. I roll out the extra crust and freeze it right in the pie plate. It's great having a pie crust in the freezer all set to go and even nicer to not have the mess from rolling it out the next time I want to make pie. Oh and I second the request for Grammy D's cream pie recipe.

I have a good old scratch pie dough.  Sometimes I use the frozen type crust.  It doesn't matter if it is the name brand or store brand.  I don't like the refrigerator type.  It is thick and tastes like a board.  This is the opinion of my family also.

For me it is definitely a time factor and not fear of failure. I usually do not have the time to make the crust and then clean up the mess; however, when I do make a crust from scratch everyone absolutely raves over it. Of course I make my own filling (chocolate and coconut cream are my favorites) and I also make this beautiful meringue piled high on the pies....I never use whip cream or Cool Whip for topping of my cream pies. The Pillsbury refrigerated pie crusts are wonderful and so easy to just unroll and place in the pie pan; how easier could it possibly be? I never freeze my crusts; everything is freshly made for me.

I cook and bake up a storm and have always loved it; however, I have never been able to master the knack of rolling out a crust, no matter how hard I try. Luckily, my husband is a whiz at this and always ready and willing to do it for me. If he isn't home when the mood strikes me, I use the refrigerated or frozen kind, which have improved greatly over the years.. 

I would also like to have the cream pie recipe that was mentioned earlier.

Here to my suprise the subject of pies is being discussed. I was contemplating on making a pie before the heat wave starts today. I don't bake pies as often as I once did long ago. Any more it's a rare treat. To where I used to make pies quite often. I was contemplating on showing a family member how to make chocolate peanutbutter cream pie today for some company stopping by tomorrow in their travels. I know the family member will want a batch of snots also when we start making the pie. Snots is a family name. It's leftover pie dough spread with butter, sugar, and cinnamon and rolled up like a cinnamon roll. You bake them and then enjoy eating them. I know other people call them other names. But we call them snots for some reason.

Long ago, when I was a wee child, an elderly family member took the time and patience to show me how to make pies. I was barely able to understand the concept. But over the age of time they still patiently continueally showed me the techniques on how to make pies from scratch. As years went by and time had me grow up in many ways, I was asked by many to bake pies for them for whatever social gathering, down home family meal, or even a public business I worked at that had a restaurant would ask me to come in and bake the pies for the upcoming holidays. I have even taught people how to make pies from scratch, who never even knew how to begin.

When the orchards are full of fresh peaches and apples, you will find me taking several days and making endless pies and dumplings  baked or unbaked then placing them  in the freezer. They are then used for a cold snowy shoveling day when all are outside plowing or shoveling knee deep snow or waist deep snow. The frozen pie goes in the oven before everyone goes outside. The aroma fills the air and as hungry tired shovelers  come into the house after hours of shoveling, many love and enjoy a wonderful piece of pie as if it was just freshly made fill their empty bellies. I even have occasionally given pies to someone who no longer bakes, or has a loved one die, or take to a covered dish meal, or best of all take a frozen pie out of the freezer and bake when company is coming.  

I prefer to make my own crust. I have in the past made many pie crusts and frozen them baked and unbaked in a sealed container in the freezer. Sometimes I will buy  Save A Lot pie crusts. You can't beat the less then $2.00 price tag verses what it costs a can of crisco and a bag of flour to make a homemade crust. But there is still nothing like homemade crusts.

Homemade for me.  It is simple,  flour, salt, shortening and ice water.  I don't have a recipe,  just know the amounts of each by looking.  Sometimes will sub a homemade graham cracker crust, especially for refrigerator desserts.   First pie crust I ever made (I was 15) melted in the oven.  I quickly learned the right amount of ingredients.  They always seem to turn out now.   I also make the scraps into mini cinnamon rolls the same way my mom did.

If I'm going to bake something it's homemade for me too. I would feel like a cheat if it wasn't.

 I have a friend who always seemed to make mincemeat tarts for every occasion. She was well known for her tarts and for years everyone always commented on how good they were. She finally told me not to long ago that the crust is bought and the mincemeat comes out of a jar as well.

Scratch for me. I learned from the best, my mother-in-law, who was (and still is, though she passed away) the best cook I know. Her recipe was the tried-and-true old-fashioned recipe of lard, flour, salt and water. I still use lard....makes the best crusts ever, in my opinion.

Fear!!  I never try to make piecrust anymore and always use the refrigerated crust that you roll out yourself.

The last time I made a scratch crust I so much trouble getting it from the counter into the pie plate.  It fell apart and I had to piece it together like a patchwork quilt.  I always have this same problem and have tried many different times to make a decent piecrust ....I don't bother anymore. 

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I do both (sometime use the box kind too) today made the crust and made a strawberry cobbler and some apricot fried (baked) pies....I have always used to Chrisco crust recipe ...today I thought it had bombed cause I used the Ultragrain flour (white whole-wheat) and it didn't "act" right but turned out flakey and good...

Linda