Small Air Fryer For Baking Pie Crust
The mini air fryer we use is the 2 quart Instant Vortex 4-in-1 Air Fryer (click to view on Amazon).
The pan that fits perfectly inside is the Fat Daddio’s 5×2 Round Cake Pan (click to view on Amazon).
If you want to use an actual pie pan the Chefmade 5 inch pie tin (click to view on Amazon) should fit.
See Also: Pumpkin Pie Recipe For Small Air Fryers
Easy Pie Crust For Small Air Fryer
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup All-Purpose Flour
- 1/4 teaspoon Salt
- 1/4 cup Unsalted Butter
- 2 tablespoons Water
Instructions
- Cut butter into small chunks an put back into fridge to keep cold. Measure out water and place in freezer to chill.
- In large bowl or food processor combine flour and salt.
- Cut in butter using pastry cutter or pulse mode on food processor until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Do not over mix. Butter should still be in chunks and not completely blended with flour.
- If using food processor transfer mixture to large bowl.
- Remove cold water from freezer and slowly add to mixure 1 teaspoon at a time. Mix with fork until dough is able to hold together to form a ball.
- Form flat disc with pie dough, wrap in plastic, and place in fridge for at least 4 hours.
Can be stored in fridge up to 3 days.
- To roll out use floured surface and rolling pin. Dough may still be a little crumbly around the edges. Roll out once then gently fold in the crumbly edges to center.
Flip over and roll out again. This should help stop the edges from falling apart.
- Roll out to desired thickness, about 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick.
- Pie dough should fit a 5×2 inch rounded cake pan for a mini air fryer.
- See below for baking instructions or go to pie recipe.
Notes
Mini Air Fryer Pie Crust Instructions With Pictures
Wonderful tender, flaky pie crust is all about the butter. You don’t want to overwork the pie dough and blend the butter too much. If the butter is still in small pieces when you’re rolling out the dough you’ve done it right.
When you cut in the butter you want the butter to still be in small chunks. The mixture should resemble small crumbs.
A food processor is the fastest and easiest way to do this but a pastry cutter (click to view on Amazon) will work as well.
When you add the water do it with small amounts at a time and use a fork instead of your hands so the dough will stay as cold as possible.
The dough should be moist enough to hold a ball form but it can still be a little crumbly.
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Form a ball and flatten it so the dough will chill faster. Place it in the fridge for at least 4 hours before rolling it out.
When it’s time to roll out the pie crust the dough may crumble around the edges. If this happens fold the edges into the center, flip it over, and roll it out again.
The second time you roll out the pie dough it should be much smoother. Since this recipe is for a small pan that will fit inside a mini air fryer the dough doesn’t need to be rolled out as much as for a full size pie.
Since the pan that fits inside a mini air fryer is technically a cake pan the straight sides mean the sides of the pie crust have a lot more extra dough.
You can either cut out the extra and reseal the edges. Or if you like a thicker pie crust you can evenly distribute the extra crust around the edges.
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Make sure you cut off the excess pie dough on the top and create a thick crust around the top edge.
How To Cook Pie Crust In A Small Air Fryer
An air fryer is basically just a small convection oven. A fan blows hot air around the food you are cooking which helps everything cook faster and hotter.
Because of this when you are baking in an air fryer you want to use lower temperatures than you normally would.
For pie crust, it’s also a good idea to put tin foil around the inside and use something to weigh the bottom down like beans or another pan.
I didn’t have any beans but I did have a sauce bowl that happened to be the perfect size to fit in the center of my mini air fryer pan.
I used the bake mode on my mini air fryer but you can also use air fryer mode as well.
Bake at 300F for 5 minutes, then remove the weight item and tin foil. Let the crust cook for another 3 minutes.
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Before adding whatever pie filling you are planning on using make sure to poke holes in the bottom crust with a fork first.
Use this pie crust to make a pumpkin pie using this easy small air fryer pumpkin pie recipe.
Flaky & Tender Air Fryer Pie Crust Tips & Tricks
Keep It Cold
Making sure the butter and water are as cold as possible throughout the entire process is key to keeping the butter from blending too much with the flour.
Keep the butter in the fridge as much as possible and keep the water in the freezer so it’s as cold as possible when you add it.
Touch the dough as little as possible with your hands.
Make sure you leave it in the fridge for at least 4 hours before rolling out to let the butter harden and help the gluten settle and stop the dough from shrinking while baking.
Keep The Bottom Crust Down
Because of all the hot air being blown around in a small air fryer, it’s really easy for the bottom of the pie crust to raise and create a bubble.
Don’t skip the tin foil with something to weigh it down step. Otherwise, you may end up with a big hill in the center of your pie.
Watch The Heat & Time
An air fryer is much faster at cooking than a traditional oven and they get a lot hotter. A small air fryer is even more sensitive because the things you are baking are going to be a lot smaller.
Cook pie crusts at a low temperature (300F) for shorter amounts of time.
Don’t overcook the pie crust when pre-cooking it. It will cook more when you do the second round of baking with the filling inside the crust. The edges shouldn’t be browned after the first bake.
Have any questions about small air fryer pie crusts or baking in an air fryer? Leave a comment below.
