Directions: |
Directions:Mix the flour and salt. Cut in the shortening with a pastry blender or two knives. Combine lightly only until the mixture resembles coarse meal or very tiny peas; its texture will not be uniform but will contain crumbs and small bits and pieces. Sprinkle water over the flour mixture, a tablespoon at a time, and mix lightly with a fork, using only enough water so that the pastry will hold together when pressed gently into a ball. (*Turkey baster works well to sprinkle the water).
For a 2 crust pie, divide the dough into half (one slightly larger than the other). Pat each piece into a ball. Flatten the larger ball with the heel of your hand, keeping it round.
Flour the clean counter well, or use a lightly floured board or on a pastry cloth. Form the dough into a disk, pat and rotate in your hands smoothing out any crumbly edges. Place the dough on the prepared surface and sprinkle the top with a little flour. Using a floured rolling pin, start in the center and roll lightly in all directions, lifting and turning the dough frequently to make sure it is not sticking to the board. DO NOT ROLL QUITE TO THE EDGE OF THE DOUGH UNTIL THE LAST FEW TURNS (helps prevent the edges from ripping as you work). If the dough seems to be sticking, dust the board and the top of the dough with more flour. Roll the dough until you have a round piece about 1/8 inch thick and 2 inches greater in diameter than the pie pan you plan to use.
Fold the dough in half, then fold in half again and lift it gently into the pan with the corner in the center. Unfold it and fit it to the pan, easing it in loosely without stretching it. Pat it into all the edges, then trim the extra dough hanging over the edge so that it is 3/4 inch larger than the pan.
Roll out the second piece of dough just like the first. Fill the bottom crust generously with the pie filling, then fold the dough for the top crust in half and then in half again and gently lift it onto the filling with the corner in the center. Unfold it and trim it so that the dough for both crusts extends over the rim of the pan by about 3/4 inch. Press the edges of the top and bottom crusts together, tucking the top one over the bottom one to make a thick edge. Crimp the edges with the tines of a fork or flute them with your fingers as follows:
Using your thumb and forefinger, press and pinch the dough together at even intervals around the rim
If your recipe calls for a prebaked pie shell: Line a a pie pan with the pastry dough, prick the dough all over and flute the edges. Bake in a preheated 425º oven for 12 to 18 minutes (or until lightly browned). |
Personal
Notes: |
Personal
Notes: I used to hate making pie crusts, frustrated with dough that crumbled or stuck or fell apart as I tried to roll out out and get it into the pan.
I grew up in a cake and cookie family, as a teenager I would whip up a cake or a double batch of cookies and us five kids would have them eaten before they had time to cool off. We had pies at thanksgiving and Christmas, generally made with purchased frozen pie crusts which took all the angst out of the process.
As a young wife, I married into a pie family. Little Ammie could whip out pies with flaky crusts without even trying. I was determined to master pies, and spent some frustrated miserable baking sessions trying to figure out what I was doing wrong.
Making a great pie crust is skill, and the proper techniques and tips make all the difference. This recipe saved my pie baking career (adapted from the Fannie Farmer cookbook, originally published in 1896).
|
This recipe for Pie Crust is from