A basic recipe for a single crust includes:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup all vegetable shortening
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 8 tablespoons ice water (fill a cup with water and cubes and measure from the cup)
Method:
With the dry ingredients in the bowl, use a fork or pastry blender to cut in the shortening. When the shortening is about the size of small lima beans, add the ice water and mix together gently. The dough should be pliable, but not crumbly or soggy. Use a bit more or less water to accomplish that consistency.
Use floured hand to take the formed dough out of the bowl and onto a lightly floured surface. Pat the dough into a circle approximately 6 inches in diameter.
With a floured rolling pin, roll once in each of the four directions (north, south, east and west). With a fair amount of pressure in each single roll, the circle size should have increased to cover an ample 9" pie pan.
Roll the dough on the pin...place the pin at one edge of the pie pan and unwrap the dough as you gently pull the dough across the pie pan. Prick the crust bottom and sides with the tines of a fork.
Fill the crust with the chosen filling and bake according to recipe directions. If the crust is to be baked and then filled, use a piece of foil filled with dry beans over the crust. Bake to a light golden brown.
The guide to perfect pie crust in is the use of iced water and rolling technique.
What an interesting recipe! I do wonder about the ice water though...doesn't it make the crust a bit stiff. We all have our family "hand me down" pie crust recipes. Thanks for sharing.