Perfect Piecrust
Step-by-step directions for an unfailingly tender, flaky piecrust
I don't know where this was first published, but it had to have been during the early 1960s in one of the ladies magazines ... BH&G, Good Housekeeping, Family Circle? It's a mystery to me. All I can say is that it has been my go-to-recipe for a consistently decent piecrust. It is reproduced here in its entirety as it was originally published.
4 c. unsifted all-purpose flour (not instant or self-rising), lightly spooned into a cup 1 tbsp. sugar 2 tsp. salt |
Put into a large bowl and mix well with a whisk. |
1 3/4 c. solid vegetable shortening (not refrigerated; do not use oil, lard, margarine, or butter) |
Add shortening and mix with fork until ingredients are crumbly. |
1/2 c. water 1 tbsp. white or cider vinegar 1 large egg |
In a small bowl, beat together water, egg, and vinegar. |
| Combine the two mixtures, stirring with a fork until all ingredients are moistened. | |
| Divide dough in 5 portions and, with hands, shape each portion in a flat round patty ready for rolling. | |
Wrap each in plastic or waxed paper and chill for at least 1/2 hour. |
|
| When ready to roll piecrust, lightly flour both sides of patty; put on lightly floured board or pastry cloth. | |
| Cover rolling pin with stockinet and rub in a little flour. Keeping pastry round, roll from center ito 1/8" thickness and 2" larger than inverted piepan. | |
Fold in halves or quarters; transfer to piepan, unfold, and fit loosely in piepan. Press with fingers to remove air pockets. |
At this point, you can treat the pie the same way you would any piecrust recipe. Either bake as a single crust pie or add your preferred pie filling and add the top crust.
Place extra pie crusts in a freezer bag and store for several months. Pull out a crust or two and bake away.
Note: This recipe makes five 8" crusts, but only four 9" crusts so plan accordingly. Because the crust is fairly sticky, I end up using what seems like a lot of flour to roll my crust out; so far I haven't produced a tough crust. I also use a granite tile for rolling the crust out and the coolness combined with the flour seems to help keep the crust tender.
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