Servings: three-four 9 inch crusts
Ingredients:
1/2 lb lard
2-1/2 c. flour
1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. sugar
1/2 c. cold water, approximately
Procedure:
Remove lard from refrigerator about 20 minutes before making the crust, but not sooner---you want it pretty cold while you are working with it. Sift dry ingredients together over the lard. Work lard into flour mixture with a pastry blender, until the pieces are about the size of tiny peas. Add the water a little at a time, tossing with a fork, until the dough is just moist wnough to hold together when you try to form a ball with your hands. If it falls apart in crumbles, add a little more water. If it gets sticky, a little more flour (though with practice, this shouldn't happen---you will have learned to stop with the water already before the stickiness sets in). It is important not to overwork the pastry. Just push it together into a ball. Then separate it into two or three portions. Gently form each into a flattened round about 1 inch thick. Wrap each round separately, and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes---to cool it and to allow the gluten to develop, which makes it much easier to handle. (But note: you can pause here and keep this pastry in the frig for several days before rolling it out.)
About twenty minutes before rolling out the dough, take it out of the refrigerator. (If you just made the dough and have left it in the frig for just 20 minutes, you can roll it out right away.) Roll it out (about 1/4 the total batch will give you a nice 9 inch crust) on a floured board and fit into your pie plate. Proceed with your pie recipe.
Source: Gertrude Driscoll 1882-1958
Recipes collected and reproduced by Diane and Steve Schwartz and family and friends.