Lovina Eicher, an Old Order Amish writer and cook, has shared her beloved pie dough recipe that yields six 9-inch pie crusts. This versatile dough is perfect for both sweet and savory pies, offering a flaky and tender base for a variety of fillings.
The recipe calls for simple ingredients commonly found in most kitchens: flour, baking powder, salt, lard, eggs, water, and vinegar. The use of lard contributes to the dough’s flakiness, while the addition of vinegar helps tenderize the crust.
To prepare the dough, Eicher recommends mixing the dry ingredients first, then incorporating the lard to create moist crumbs. The wet ingredients are combined separately and then added to the crumb mixture. It’s crucial not to overmix the dough, as this can lead to a tough crust.
The recipe yields enough dough for six pie crusts, making it ideal for batch baking or storing extra dough for future use. Each portion of dough should be rolled to about 1/8-inch thickness on a floured surface before being fitted into a 9-inch pie pan.
For those looking to pre-bake the crust, Eicher suggests baking it at 450°F for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned. This step is particularly useful for pies with no-bake fillings or those that require a shorter baking time.
Eicher’s pie dough recipe has been featured in her weekly column, “Lovina’s Amish Kitchen,” where she shares recipes and stories from her life as an Amish mother of eight living in rural Michigan. Her columns often include traditional Amish recipes and cooking tips, providing readers with a glimpse into Amish culinary traditions.
While this particular recipe is for a basic pie dough, Eicher has shared various pie recipes in her columns and cookbooks. For instance, she has featured recipes for lemon pie and raisin pie, showcasing the versatility of her pie dough.
Eicher’s pie-making skills are not limited to home cooking. She has also been known to contribute her expertise to larger events, such as weddings, where she has helped prepare numerous pies. This demonstrates the importance of pie-making in Amish culture, particularly for special occasions and gatherings.
By sharing her pie dough recipe, Lovina Eicher offers home bakers the opportunity to create authentic Amish-style pies in their own kitchens. The simplicity of the ingredients and method makes it accessible to bakers of all skill levels, while the resulting flaky and tender crust promises to elevate any pie filling.
Lovina Eicher’s Pie Dough
Recipe copied from Lovina’s Amish Kitchen column of July 12, 2024 Author: Lovina’s Amish Kitchen Lovina’s Amish Kitchen is written by Lovina Eicher, an Old Order Amish writer, cook, wife, and mother of eight who lives in rural Michigan.Yield: 6 9-inch pie crusts
Ingredients
- 6 cups flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups lard
- 2 eggs
- 2/3 cup water
- 2 teaspoons vinegar
Directions
1) Mix together flour, baking powder, and salt. Add lard to flour mixture and make crumbs. It’s best if crumbs are quite moist—a little more lard can be added for that. In a separate bowl, beat eggs, water, and vinegar together and pour over crumbs. Mix with a fork until right consistency. Don’t overmix.
2) Divide dough into 6 equal parts and form each part into a ball. Press each ball into a disk and roll it onto a floured surface to 1/8-inch thickness. Fit the dough into a 9-inch pie pan and trim the edges. For a prebaked crust, bake at 450°F for 10 to 12 minutes, or until lightly browned.
Lovina Eicher’s pie dough recipe has some unique characteristics that set it apart from many traditional pie dough recipes:
- Larger yield: Eicher’s recipe makes enough dough for 6 pie crusts, which is more than most standard recipes that typically yield 2-3 crusts[1].
- Use of lard: The recipe calls for 2 cups of lard, which is a traditional Amish ingredient. Many modern recipes use butter or shortening instead. Lard contributes to a flakier texture in the crust[1].
- Addition of baking powder: Eicher’s recipe includes 2 teaspoons of baking powder, which is not common in many traditional pie dough recipes. This may help create a slightly lighter texture.
- Vinegar and egg: The inclusion of vinegar and eggs is somewhat unique. While some recipes use one or the other, Eicher’s recipe uses both. Vinegar helps tenderize the crust, while eggs can contribute to richness and structure[1].
- Mixing method: Eicher’s recipe calls for making moist crumbs with the flour and lard before adding the wet ingredients. This method is similar to the traditional “rubbing in” technique but emphasizes creating moister crumbs.
- No chilling time: Unlike many recipes that recommend chilling the dough before rolling, Eicher’s recipe doesn’t specify a chilling period, which could make it a quicker process.
When compared to other traditional recipes, such as the one from The Amish Cook’s Baking Book, there are some similarities but also differences:
- The Amish Cook’s recipe uses less flour (3 cups vs. 6 cups) and makes fewer crusts (3 vs. 6)[1].
- It includes the option of using butter instead of lard, which is not mentioned in Eicher’s recipe[1].
- The Amish Cook’s recipe doesn’t include baking powder.
Overall, Eicher’s recipe seems to be a larger-scale, more traditional Amish version of pie dough, with some unique elements that may contribute to a tender, flaky crust. The larger yield makes it particularly suitable for batch baking or storing extra dough for future use.
Citations:
[1] https://www.food.com/recipe/lovina-eichers-homemade-pie-dough-498443
[2] https://www.aol.com/news/best-store-bought-pie-crust-130400701.html
[3] https://daily-journal.com/life/food/lovina-helps-prepare-pies-for-a-wedding-zucchini-pie-recipe/article_50012e08-1f10-11ed-adbb-c7e012736b37.html
[4] https://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/story/life/2019/09/20/amish-kitchen-lemon-pie-recipe-lovinas-next-cookbook-amish-family-recipes-cookbook-across-generation/2384272001/
[5] https://www.manisteenews.com/lifestyles/article/make-pie-dough-19553854.php