This is the best pie crust recipe for making a homemade flaky, tender crust. I use this often as I am a pie baker. The trick to good pie crust is to be gentle and treat it very lightly. The proportions are nice in this pastry dough, with just the right ratio of flour to shortening to water. Everything incorporates perfectly and the dough is easy to roll out. This recipe doubles well and freezes nicely.
Prep Time::10 mins
Total Time::10 mins
Servings::8
Yield::1 pie crust
Ingredients
½ cup vegetable shortening
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup cold water
Directions
Mix shortening, flour, and salt together with a fork or a pastry blender until very crumbly. Add as much water as needed to hold together, and mix lightly with a fork.
Roll gently on a floured pastry cloth to about an inch larger than pie plate. Fold carefully in half, lift to pie plate, and unfold. Press into pan. For a single-crust pie, trim with a small knife to about 1/2 inch beyond rim. Fold up, and pinch so edge of pie is raised from rim.
Cook’s Note
For a two-crust pie, trim bottom crust to edge of rim, fill, and top with crust about 1/2 inch larger than rim. Tuck top crust under bottom along rim. Seal with floured fork.