Flaky Homemade Pie Crust!

What You'll need:

makes 1 deep dish 10" pie shell

• 1.5 cups flour (about 6 ounces by weight) - plain flour, not self-rising.
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
• 1/6 cup COLD vegetable shortening -  Here's a useful conversion: 1/6 cup = 2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons
• 1/3 cup COLD butter
• 1/4 cup cold water

Step 1 - Mix the ingredients

Mix the flour, sugar and shortening first. About 15 seconds in a food processor is by far the best way, since it is fast and the ingredients don't warm up much.  Don't make it too smooth or uniform.  Little pea sized granules makes a flaky crust.

Note: Alton Brown on the Food Network suggests using 1/6 cup vegetable shortening and 1/3 cup butter (for a total 1/2 cup of both together); because they will melt at different temperatures.  It makes a a lighter, flakier crust.  Another key is to keep all the ingredients, especially the butter, shortening and water are very cold.

 

Step 2 - Mix and add water as needed

Then sprinkle in the water, just enough water to make it hold together; a good dough consistency. A pastry blender (see photo) works very well to mix, but some people prefer a few seconds in a food processor instead. Just mix it enough to make it into pieces that hold together about the size of a pea.  We don't want to overmix it!

Chill?

If you have time, put the dough (wrapped in plastic wrap or a ziploc bag) into the fridge to rest and chill for a half hour or more. If you don't have time, don't worry, just move on to step 3. 

Step 3 - Roll out the dough

I use a pie crust bag (a circular plastic bag that zips up around the edge, but two pieces of waxed paper will work). A couple of tablespoons of flour shaken in the bag will help to keep the dough from sticking to the bag.

Roll it out to an even thickness, and just an inch or two wider than your pie pan.  My crusts are about 1/8 inch thick.

Step 4 - Put in the pie pan and shape!

Place the dough into the pie pan.  Don't worry if it breaks.You can easily fix it.

 

Press the dough into the pan, seal any broken areas, and shape the top edge in any pattern you like; just for appearance's sake.

It's now ready for you to add the pie ingredients! It is also time to start preheating the oven.  Turn it on and set it to 425 F.

Next I'll post the recipe for the actual pie! Soooo Delicious!