Jamie Oliver's 2-Ingredient Pie Dough Is Simply Brilliant

Making a really good pie dough is serious business. I very rarely stray from my favorite shortening-and-butter pie crust because I’m usually dead set on it being simultaneously flaky and ultra-buttery. But when I recently came across Jamie Oliver’s 2-ingredient pie dough, it stopped me in my tracks, thanks to a surprising ingredient: avocado.

This got me thinking: What if pie crust could be inventive? I’m not talking about pretzel crust or graham cracker crust. Rather, something similar to your classic flour-based pie crust but with a flavorful and unique twist. I knew right away that I had to try this fresh way to make dough.

My Review of Jamie Oliver's 2-Ingredient Pie Dough

Jamie Oliver’s 2-ingredient pie dough is as stunning as it is versatile. The avocado imparts a pretty, soft-green hue to the crust, its flavor is surprisingly present, and it smells delicious as it bakes.

My only critique is that it's rather pillowy, and more of a bread than a crust. Swapping the self-rising flour out for all-purpose flour should fix the breadiness. If you still want a bit of airiness, you can add 1/4 teaspoon of baking powder to the dough. 

How to Use Jamie Oliver's 2-Ingredient Pie Dough

As for a filling for this creative crust, Oliver tops it with a bright take on quiche: green peas, eggs, and cheddar cheese. But the crust is a great base for any kind of quiche! 

In keeping with Oliver's green theme, you could flood the pre-baked crust with a spinach-heavy Florentine filling (you could even puree the spinach for a presentation similar to Oliver's). Or make one of my favorite quiche recipes, Quiche Lorraine with Swiss cheese (I like to use Gruyère in my Quiche Lorraine filling), bacon, and onions.

Other than that, let your imagination run wild! Any savory filling will be delicious here. You could even treat it like a Dutch baby and layer thin slices of ham and cheese in the crust. 

My Tips for Making Jamie Oliver’s Avocado Pie Dough

• I’m not convinced you need to use self-rising flour, so don’t run out and buy it if you don’t have any. (When I try this recipe again, (which I will be doing!), I plan to skip the self-rising flour altogether.) If you want to follow Oliver's recipe to a T, you can make self-rising flour by combining flour, baking powder, and salt. 
• Oliver's original recipe is baked in a 9x13-inch sheet pan and uses double the amount of ingredients. If you want to make a sheet pan quiche, be sure to double the ingredient amounts listed below in the recipe. 
  
• Oliver's recipe recommends rolling out the dough on a lightly floured surface, but I find it’s easier to roll it out between two sheets of parchment paper. This also makes it easier to transfer the rolled-out dough to the pie plate or sheet pan. 

How to Make Jamie Oliver’s 2-Ingredient Pie Dough 

Ingredients

• 1 ripe avocado
• 1 1/2 cups self-rising flour (see note above)
• Pinch of sea salt (I used kosher salt)
• Cold water 

Directions

1. Peel, pit, and weight avocado flesh. Weigh out 100 grams of avocado. (If you don’t have enough, add olive oil to reach 100g.)
2. In a large bowl, smash avocado until smooth. Add flour and a hefty pinch of salt; mix together using a fork. Add a couple tablespoons of water and use your hands to bring the dough together, adding water as needed. Form dough into a disk, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for 15 minutes. 
3. Preheat the oven to 400°F with the rack set in the middle position. Roll out avocado pie dough on a lightly-floured surface into a 1/4-inch thick, 11-inch round. Loosely roll it up around a rolling pin, then unroll it over a 9-inch pie dish. 
4. Press into the bottom and up sides of the pie dish. Prick the bottom and sides of the crust with a fork, then crimp the edges. Bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes.