Reader Susan Bucci and Johnson & Wales University chef and teacher Gary Welling mix ingredients by hand as he shows her how to make a successful pie crust every time.

The Providence Journal / Sandor Bodo

Susan Bucci was so happy making pies with ready-to-use Pillsbury Crust from her grocery store.

The Cranston woman’s bliss was shattered after her Holy Apostles Church Fall Festival launched a pie contest a few years back. She and a friend coordinated it and observed three judges comparing 28 pies and breaking down their crusts.

“As I listened to them talking about flakiness and saw them pulling apart the crusts, I thought ‘I’m such a loser,’ ” the Cranston woman recalled.

Like many of us she had more questions than answers when it came to making her own crust.

“Am I rolling it too thin? Am I over-mixing the dough? How do I get it flaky?”

She tried a recipe that called for vodka to make it tender and, “it didn’t work for me,” she said.

So, as part of the Journal’s cooking school series, I took her to Johnson & Wales University for a private class with chef and teacher Gary Welling, department chair of the International Baking & Pastry Institute in the University’s College of Culinary Arts. He promised her tips, tricks and a no-fail formula for proportions. As they worked together in the kitchen at the school, Bucci got it all right the first time!

If, like this mother of two, you are ready to take your holiday pies to the next level, follow along here and online at Projo.com, where you’ll find a video of Bucci’s lesson.

Welling makes it quite simple. We’ll get to a recipe later, but let’s get the concepts and science down first.

Chef Welling uses a dough cutter to slices his butter. He calls it a "must have" tool.

•Only four ingredients are needed: flour, butter, ice water and salt. The ratio is three parts flour, two parts butter and one part water.

•Start with pastry flour if possible. Its medium gluten content makes it perfect for pie crust. It’s not generally sold in grocery stores and has to be ordered from King Arthur Flour or from Arrowhead Mills with many sources online. All-purpose flour is acceptable however.

•Use a strainer to shake and sift flour and guarantee it doesn’t have lumps.

•Pick your fat carefully. Welling likes butter, unsalted for its sweetness. But a combination of fats (butter and shortening) is also a fine alternative as shortening is a firm fat that will retain its shape. Start always with chilled butter.

•The key to flakiness is how that fat is blended into the flour. When mixing the flour with the cold butter, you want to make sure the butter stays in little pieces. You don’t want it to disappear into a blended state. Welling said a food processor is fine but he prefers using his hands to control the size of the butter.

•The ice water is key to mixing the flour and butter. You don’t want those little bits of butter to melt into the crust. The ice water keeps the butter cold and that creates the layers of flakiness so desirable in a pie. Refrigerating the crust before baking also helps this. Freezing the crust for 15 minutes before filling the pie plate prevents shrinkage.

Welling’s formula for pie crust requires a scale, as he believes in accuracy.

Susan Bucci compares the dough she has made with Chef Welling’s dough.

“I think that’s why I don’t do it well,” Bucci admitted, saying she is loose with measurements. Welling clutched his chest as if in pain. The moral of the story is to measure.

Start with twelve ounces of flour sifted with 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt, eight ounces of butter and four ounces of water taken from an iced pitcher for maximum coldness. This will make three pie crusts. You can freeze whatever you don’t use but do it after you’ve formed the disk that will become the rolled out crust.

Want to make a chocolate crust? Add three tablespoons of cocoa powder at this point. You can also add coconut or any other flavoring.

“The recipe is very versatile,” said Welling.

Cut the butter into small pieces and refrigerate for 10 minutes or so to keep it chilled. If using a food processor, freeze the butter for best results. That way it won’t break down into pieces that are too tiny.

Instead of cutting the butter, Welling also suggests using a box grater to cut uniform pieces with ease. Just make sure the butter is well chilled. It’s a quick and easy method.

When ready to blend butter and flour, “The key is to always keep the butter covered with the flour,” said Welling.

Before rolling the dough, draw a circle in the flour about an inch larger than the pie pan.

“Then squeeze the pieces of butter into the flour,” he continued. “For me, this is the fun part of baking; the tactile part.”

It will be trial and error for new bakers to know when the butter is properly coated but not mixed together.

That is the point at which you add the water to form the dough. Welling said while some recipes say add it drop by drop, he pours all of it in at the same time. The proportions guarantee it to be right. And no one wants a dry crust, he suggests. It’s important not to be afraid to add more water if the dough isn’t sticking together, he added.

Once well blended, roll the dough into a cylinder. (I’d call it a fat log.) Divide it into three equal parts, about eight ounces each, or by sight.

Take each piece and form a disk. Wrap each in plastic wrap and refrigerate for a while until ready to roll it out.

His rolling pin of choice is a French one which is wood and resembles a trowel. But your favorite one is fine.

“In a pinch I’ve used a pasta sauce jar,” admitted the chef.

The edges of the crust are fluted for a decorative finish.

For a pie plate, Welling said glass is best but ceramic is fine, too. Avoid disposable pie tins.

Dust the counter with flour and dust the disk before rolling. Place it in the middle of the flour. Place your pie plate around the disk and mark in the flour an inch beyond the dish for the perfect size crust.

Roll it up and down, side to side and corner to corner. That’s how you get it to stay round. When it reaches the mark you’ve drawn, it’s the right thickness. Fold it over twice and put it in the pie plate.

Fold the excess dough underneath around the edge of the pie plate. Crimp the edge by pushing your fingers in and out to make the design. Push it down with your fingers to flatten a bit.

Brush edge of the crust with an egg wash (one egg, teaspoon water and pinch of salt). Fill the crust with your favorite pie recipe.

Baking pies in a 400-degree oven will steam and pump up the pastry to create the flakiness.

With the lesson over, Bucci returned home to make a pie for son Brendan, 15, and husband Gary. Daughter Briana will have to wait for the holiday. She’s a student at UConn.

Bucci shared the recipe (and the pie, too) for her sister-in-law Cindy’s Walnut Crusted Pumpkin Pie.

Bucci is now a victor in the battle for the perfect pie crust.

Recipe: Cindy’s Walnut Crunch Pumpkin Pie

9-inch pie crust

For the filling

16 ounce canned pumpkin

13 ounce can evaporated milk

2 eggs

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

For the topping

1 cup chopped walnuts

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

4 tablespoons melted butter

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In large mixing bowl, combine pumpkin, milk, eggs, brown sugar and spices until well blended. Pour mixture into unbaked pie shell. Bake until knife inserted comes out clean, approximately 40 minutes. Cool pie.

Preheat broiler and prepare topping by combining walnuts, butter and brown sugar.

Spoon topping evenly over top of pie. Broil about 5-7 inches from heat for 3 minutes or until golden and sugar is dissolved. Cool before serving.

Optional: Garnish with whipped cream.

Note: Use pie edges or foil to cover crust so it won’t burn before the top cooks.

gciampa@projo.com