1,596 easy and fully explained recipes, with +66K photos and 77 videos

How to properly roll out a pie crust?

Very often in pastry making, you have to roll out a pastry before using it for a pie or another dessert.
At home, of course, you get out your rolling pin and simply roll it out.

Is there a way to get an evenly rolled out dough? That's what we will see in this article.

12 K 4.9/5 (16 reviews)

Keywords for this post:Pastry Dough Roll Wedges Thickness Regular Thin

Last modified on: May 10^th 2023

For this post Comments Lasts posts Follow

For this post: Comment Follow Ask me a question Send to a friend

abaisse de 3 mm d'épaisseur

To make a good pie, you need to have a pastry (shortcrust, shortbread, sweet or other...) that is rolled out thinly, i.e. about 3 mm thick.
It must be rolled out thinly, but also regularly, in other words the thickness must be the same on the whole surface of the dough.

It's not that easy to roll out a dough evenly, and the professionals who do it often work with a rather extraordinary machine called a rolling mill: The dough is pushed by an automatic belt between 2 metal cylinders of adjustable thickness.

laminoir

At home, there is no secret, you have to work with a roller and therefore spread your dough a little by eye to determine the right thickness, and be as regular as possible.

Can we improve this?

Yes, and with a very simple and inexpensive tool, the pastry wedges.
As their name indicates, they are very simple blocks, in different materials, metal, silicone, wood... and of fixed thickness, often 3, 5 and 10 mm.

To use them, you just have to start rolling out as usual, then when you are close to the chosen thickness, put the wedges around the dough, and pass the rolling pin by leaning on the wedges.

abaisse de 3 mm d'épaisseur

This way, the roller can't go lower than the wedges, and your dough can't go lower in thickness than the wedges.
It's both very simple and very effective, so don't hesitate to try it.

To sum up: To roll out a dough evenly, nothing is more practical than pastry blocks of the chosen thickness.

Lasts posts

With vinegar?

When you buy a jar of pickles labeled “in vinegar,” you’re looking for their tangy, crunchy flavor to go with cold cuts, sandwiches, or salads. You expect to find small gherkins preserved in vinegar, with salt and herbs, but is that really the case?
July 15^th 20261,5154.8

Congratulate the chef

You've just finished a meal that you really enjoyed. The server approaches with the usual question: “How was it?” And then, as a natural reflex, you simply reply, “Yes, it was very good.” However, when the meal was truly outstanding, this brief exchange deserves a little more. .
July 7^th 2026997 25

Cut twice as fast

When you need to cut something long into small pieces, for example chopped chives or the stem of a spring onion, there's a simple gesture that doubles your cutting speed. Let's see how.
May 21^th 20262,3955

The other use for bowl scraper

Your kitchen or bakery utensils may include a horn (left) or a pastry cutter (right). These practical utensils are normally used to scoop the contents of a bowl or salad bowl - the horn - or to cut dough - the pastry cutter. But they also have another, very practical use - let's see what it is.
May 9^th 20262,1403

The strange foam of potatoes in milk

As you may have already noticed, when you cook potatoes in milk, especially in small pieces (slices or cubes) for a gratin for example, a surprisingly abundant white foam forms on the surface. Where does it come from?
April 26^th 20262,4835

See all posts Random post RSS feeds

Butter doesn't make you fat, unless you eat too much of it.

Whenever I'm discussing cooking and recipes, there is one idea which comes up frequently, like this: "Oh no! But that's got butter in it" (I should add, for the sake of accuracy, that this is something I hear more frequently from women, who are almost all concerned with keeping their figure). ...
March 26^th 201247 K4.5

How to zest a fruit?

You will have no doubt noticed that many recipes call for the zest of citrus fruit. The zest is that outer layer of the skin which adds so much flavour to a dish. There are many different ways to peel off the zest and various tools are available. Here is a summary of the “dos and don'ts” of...
November 5^th 201349 K3.8

Cooking scallops

We are, as I write these lines, in the season of the scallops, if you like that it is necessary to benefit from it as much as possible, although it is alas not cheap. I like scallops a lot, but I have to admit that it has naturally little taste, or, said differently, it takes the taste of what...
November 23^th 202114 K5

The super powers of cornstarch

I start this new year by evoking an old product, that you most probably have in your cupboards, a white powder, often in a small cardboard package with a slightly outdated look, only the "gluten free" is relatively recent, it is simply cornstarch, hence its name of maïzena. It's used for a lot...
January 14^th 202217 K

Beans in primeur

As I write this, it is the beginning of the short season for fresh beans. If you've never made them before and you're just starting out (and that's a great idea) you'll find that it's a bit time consuming to prepare, you have to shell them once, remove the beans, scald them to remove the skin (and...
June 4^th 202215 K