Spelt Pie Crust

Spelt Pie Crust should be your next new favorite pastry to make pies in! This whole-grain pie dough is not only very easy to work with, but also has a hearty and well-rounded flavor perfect for most any pie. Plus, there is no chilling time needed for this dough which makes it a great option for quick pies.

Spelt Pie Crust Recipe

If you are thinking a whole-grain pie crust would be boring or dense, I'm here to tell you that this Spelt Pie Crust is different. Spelt flour pie crusts are more crumbly than flaky, but also are more nuanced in flavor. Additionally, they are sturdy, so it holds up to a heavier pie filling such as a cream pie or a fruit pie. It’s made in a food processor and comes together quickly.

But the best part about this dough? It can be made and rolled out all at the same time! There is no need to let this dough rest, which is typical of most pie crust recipes, so this is the perfect pie crust when you need something quick. This spelt crust works just as well with savory as it does sweet.

This recipe, though a bit unusual is one of my personal favorites because of its nuanced distinct flavor and flaky, light bite. Check out those flaky layers in the above photo!

Spelt Pie Crust Ingredients

• spelt flour
• butter
• cream cheese
• rurbinado sugar (optional)
• salt
• baking powder
• water

What I love about this crust is that it uses 100% spelt flour, instead of a blend of spelt and all-purpose flour. The cream cheese adds a soft tang to the pie crust that works well with the whole grain spelt.

Typically, I prefer to stay away from adding sugar to pie crusts unless it is specifically for a sweet pie dough. When used with spelt, however, it helps bring out the natural sweetness to the dough and truly improves the crust, even for a savory pie.

Turbinado sugar has a molasses flavor that goes well here, but if you prefer you can use white sugar, though I'd suggest lowering the quantity from 1 tablespoon to 2 teaspoons. The baking powder gives the pie a very slight lift that keeps the spelt from feeling too dense.

How to Make a Spelt Flour Pie Crust:

Using the food processor makes putting this dough together easy. To make the pie dough you’ll:

1. Add the dry ingredients to the food processor. Pulse until they are well combined, at least for 30 seconds to make sure that the turbinado sugar has broken down.
2. Add the cream cheese and butter and pulse until it’s broken down into small pieces, no bigger than the size of a pea.
3. With the machine, add the water and process until the dough comes together.

Unlike a flaky pie dough, you’ll want the dough at the end to come together, without any large butter pieces remaining. If you do have a large piece of butter it can create problems when rolling it out and when baking it. If by chance you happen to see any large pieces of butter after you’ve made it, you can fix it by smearing the butter into the dough so no large chunks remain.

Tips for working with Spelt Flour

As always, I suggest weighing out the flour, instead of using a cup measurement. Weighing flour ensures a proper measurement.

Spelt belongs to the wheat family, but it acts very different than typical all-purpose flour. Spelt retains a lot more of the nutritional benefits since it is a whole grain and it has weaker and few gluten proteins than common wheat. While this doesn't make this a gluten-free flour, it does mean that the dough doesn't absolutely need a resting period before you roll it out. Once you make the dough you can roll it out immediately and you'll notice that it's quite easy to do. The dough does not resist like what would occur if you are rolling out a flaky pie pastry right after making.

However, when you do roll it out you have to keep in mind that this dough is more fragile because it has weaker gluten proteins. It has the consistency of soft play dough. Treat it gently and you will find it is a breeze to work with.

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How to Blind Bake Spelt Pie Crust

Blind baking means to bake the pie crust without any filling in it. When you bake a crust without a filling you can either partially bake it (par-bake it) or fully blind bake it.

To blind bake this spelt crust, first roll out the pie dough to an 11″ circle and line a 9” pie plate, crimp the edges as desired. Prick the bottom of the dough all over with a fork to let steam escape during baking. Next, place it in the freezer for 30 minutes while the oven preheats to 375ºF.

To prevent the pie dough from slipping into the tin before it is fully baked you’ll want to weigh it down. Line the pie dough with a parchment round piece of paper and then add pie weights (or dry rice or beans or lentils), making sure to push pie weights to the edges. Bake for 20 minutes on the lower rack, then remove from oven and remove the parchment and pie weights. Return to oven and bake for an additional 10 minutes or until fully baked. Set aside until ready to use.

Tips for Making Decorative Pie Crusts

This recipe yields slightly more dough than you need for a typical 9" pie, that way you can use a few scraps to create decorative cut-outs if you desire, as shown on this Apple Butter Pie. However, this recipe works fine without the use of cut-outs so if you don't want to use them, feel free to use all of the pie dough to line your pie pan.

Check out these pies that go perfectly inside of this Spelt Pie Crust recipe:

• Easy Ham and Cheese Quiche
• Butternut Squash, Caramelized Onion and Feta Pie
• Apple Butter Pie
• Broccoli Cheddar Quiche

More Pie Crusts:

• All Butter Pie Crust
• Whole Wheat Pie Crust
• Cream Cheese Pie Crust
• Chocolate Pie Pastry

I am so honored when you make a recipe from my site! If you make this Spelt Pie Crust, please leave a comment and a star rating with your experience! If you have any questions about this recipe, feel free to comment here, too!

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