Experiment #5: Pizza Pie

I love pizza, and I love pie. I thought I'd combine the two, and turns out, pizza is even better wrapped in pie crust! Here'e my pizza pie recipe:

Pie Dough

20oz flour (pastry flour if you have it but AP flour is just fine)

1/2t salt

16oz cold Earth Balance (EB), cut in 1/4" chunks

5oz cold water

Mix the cold EB into the flour and salt with your hands until the EB is roughly pea to walnut size. Moisten the flour/EB mixture with half of the water first. Add just enough water for the dough to be pressed together. The flour should be hydrated, but the dough will still look dryish. Wrap the dough in plastic and rest for 1 hour in the fridge.

I only used half of this recipe for the pizza pie. Before I wrapped it in plastic, I divided the dough into 4 equal balls. Each ball is enough for the bottom or top crust of a 9" pie, so I put 2 balls in the fridge for my pizza pie and the other 2 balls in the freezer for a later experiment.

(You can keep this pie dough in the fridge for a couple of days if you plan to use it by then, but If you keep it in the fridge too long, it'll start to oxidize and turn grayish. The best bet is to freeze it---it defrosts super quickly in the fridge when you're ready for it.)

Assembly
Preheat the oven to 350. Roll one ball of dough out on a lightly floured surface to 1/8" to 1/4" thickness. Drape the dough over the pie tin and gently press into the bottom and sides of the tin. Trim around the top so that the crust extends about 1/4" beyond the top of the tin. Chill for 15 minutes.

Pour 1 cup of pizza sauce into the crust. Add whatever vegetables and toppings you want. Finish with about 3/4 cup vegan cheese. (The filling of my pie was even with the top of the tin, but yours can be a little fuller, about 1/2" to 1" beyond the top of the tin.) Roll out the other ball of dough, drape over the top, and trim as above. Tuck the edges under to seal the seam. If you want the pie to look pretty, you can pinch the crust around the edge. Cut a vent whole in the top of the crust (a couple of slits or a fancy shape like a heart in the picture.) Chill for at least 15 minutes.

Bake on a cookie sheet (in case of an eruption) for about 45 minutes or until golden brown.