A+ Pie Crust
By: bottomless kitchen
Published: Friday, October 8, 2010 - 1:12pm

Ingredients




2 1/2 cups of unbleached, all-purpose flour (plus extra for dusting workspace when rolling out the dough)
1 teaspoon of salt
2 tablespoons of sugar
1/2 cup of Crisco (vegetable shortening), chilled
12 tablespoons (1 ½ sticks) of cold, unsalted butter
8 tablespoons of water

Preparation

1 Combine the flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor. 2 Add shortening, pulsing until you achieve a sand-like texture 3 Add butter, pulsing for about 10 seconds, until you achieve a coarse crumb-like texture with butter bits no larger than the size of a pea. 4 Transfer mixture to a medium bowl. 5 Sprinkle 4 tablespoons of ice water over the mixture. 6 With a rubber spatula, use a folding motion to mix, adding 2 more tablespoons of water. 7 Press the dough downwards from the sides until the dough sticks, adding up to two more tablespoons of water if necessary. 8 Divide the dough into 2 sections, flattening into four-inch disks.  Wrap in plastic & refrigerate for at least one hour, up to two days, or freeze.

About


A snippet from bottomlesskitchen.com: "So why are there so many recipe variations for plain ol' pie dough?  Since dough is basically just flour, water, and fat...striking the "perfect" combination of ingredients has been sought after by many for years.  The idea is to create a crust that is flakey & fine textured (use shortening instead of butter), but not lacking flavor (don't use ALL shortening), and definitely not one that is heavy & overpowering (all lard), since that raises health concerns about the effects of animal fat."