Today’s writing is about sort of an experiment that I did. I made pie crust with whole wheat flour {well, almost completely whole wheat flour} and coconut oil. I love whole wheat, don’t get me wrong. But when it comes to pie crust…ehhh, let’s face it…working with all-purpose flour is a bit easier. If you are looking for a good all-purpose crust recipe click here for my other Pie Dough Recipe. This link also has some really helpful tips for making a great crust, most of which I used in today’s recipe as well. I didn’t highlight all of the tips in this post so be sure to check it out the link.

I used the basic recipe that I normally use for the crust, just swapped what type of fat and flour I used. I ended up using 3/4 whole wheat and 1/4 all-purpose because I wasn’t ready to jump all in with the whole wheat and coconut oil {pretty much because I was afraid that my experiment would be a total fail if I used all whole wheat. Maybe that’s irrational. Regardless, that’s what I did.}

Using coconut oil in our house isn’t an uncommon occurrence. We actually use it quite a bit and it isn’t normally a problem for me. I decided to try to use it in my pie crust recipe this time around…to avoid those bad, bad hydrogenated fats in shortening. The end product did work out. I have to say though that making this crust was a bit frustrating for me. Here’s why:

#1} Because coconut oil has a pretty low melting temperature at 76 degrees, you have to make sure to measure out what you will need and then refrigerate it for a bit, that way it will cut into your flour mixture a bit easier. That extra step wasn’t so bad.

#2} The thing that you have to be careful of, even with pie dough made without coconut oil, is not to work with it too much. This is even more so the case with the dough that has coconut oil because it will melt the oil in the dough very easily before you even have a chance to roll it out. After shaping the dough into balls, I wrapped with plastic wrap and placed in the fridge for a bit to allow the coconut oil to get a little colder before rolling out. Again, not a terrible thing that needs to be done, but I found that I didn’t want it to get too cold, because when it did it tended to crack the dough when rolling out. Chilled for a bit, but not really cold is where it needs to be.

#3} I really just didn’t enjoy rolling out this pie dough. I was able to do it, but sometimes it would break and I would need to squish it back together. Again, not the end of the world, but just a little frustrating for me because it was more time-consuming. I suppose it is healthier though, so it taking a little bit extra time really shouldn’t matter in the end! It just didn’t seem to want to hold together as well as it’s all-purpose/shortening cousin. I think that I will experiment in the future with all-purpose flour and coconut oil to see how that works in comparison to the whole wheat and coconut oil combo.

The end product turned out great! I have to admit it, but I was a bit surprised that it all held together during the baking process like it should. Even though I was a bit frustrated in the process of making it, I will make this crust again and feel better about feeding it to my family because I know that the ingredients are healthier than their counterparts. Enjoy! -Shelley

Whole Wheat Pie Crust Recipe

2 c whole wheat white pastry flour {I used 1 1/2 c whole wheat + 1/2 c all-purpose}
1 T sugar
1 t salt
2/3 c coconut oil, measured out and then chilled for a bit
7-8 T ice cold water {more or less as needed for dough to come completely together}.
*If the dough is dry and doesn’t want to stick together, more water is needed!

Combine in mixing bowl whole wheat flour, sugar and salt, whisk well.

Measure out coconut oil and place in refrigerator to chill for a bit. This will allow it to be cut into the flour mixture a bit easier without melting.

When chilled, cut coconut oil into flour mixture until about the size of peas.

Sprinkle in ice water to mixture and toss dough with fork until dough can come together without dry spots.

Shape into 2 balls for one 2-crust pie or two single pie crusts. {I doubled my recipe that is why I have 4 dough balls pictured.}

Cover with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator to chill a bit.

Roll out one piece of pie dough at a time on a floured surface until desired size for pie pan.

Carefully transfer to a pie plate {if this seems to be a hard feat to accomplish, check out this link for a helpful way to transfer the dough}, finish the edges how desired, and cut off excess dough if necessary. I poked holes with a fork into the bottom of the crust before placing filling inside.

Fill with desired filling and bake. I baked my Dairy Free Custard Pie and baked at 375 degrees for about 40 minutes. I also made a cherry pie and turned down the oven to 365 degrees and baked that for about an hour. Pretty much the goal is to get the crust nice and golden and the filling cooked through, so double check with the filling recipe for cooking temps and times.

Before…

After…

The end product: pies with flaky whole wheat and coconut oil crust. There were absolutely no complaints from me once they were done and ready to eat!

Update: I actually made a pie not too long after writing this and used the same recipe but used all-purpose flour and coconut oil and it rolled out marvelously. The healthier option would be to add some whole wheat into the mix, but workability of this combination did work well.