Pie Crust

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp salt

6 ounces lard or unsalted high-fat butter, cut into small pieces, chilled

1 tbsp vodka (or substitute apple cider vinegar)

1/4 cup ice water, as needed

Making Dough

Whisk together the flour and salt in a large bowl. Using a pastry blender or hands, begin to “cut in” or rub the bits of fat into the flour until mixture looks like coarse sand or cornmeal. It’s OK to have some slightly larger pieces of butter, but there shouldn’t be many larger than a pea.

Sprinkle the vodka and half of the water over the mixture. Using your hands, form the dough into a thick ball that barely holds together. Add a tablespoon or so of water at a time, just enough to pull the dough together. Shape the dough into two circles flattened to about 3/4 inch thick. Wrap each circle in plastic wrap, and chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour. If using all butter, let your dough warm up for 5 to 10 minutes before rolling it out.

Lightly flour a work surface. Unwrap a circle of dough and roll it into a 10-inch round with a thickness of about 1/4 inch. Ease up on the pressure as you approach the edge — you don’t want the edges too thin. Crimp together edges that crack significantly and use excess dough to patch up any holes.

Carefully line a 9-inch standard pie pan with the dough. If using a dough mat, you can set the pie plate over the dough, then invert the mat and gently set the dough into the pie plate.

Trim overhang to 1/2 or 3/4 inch, and crimp or flute the edges all the way around the rim between your thumb and fingers.

Pre-Baking the Pie Crust

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees

For a par- or fully baked crust, prick the pastry all over with a fork before lining the pastry with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Then fill it with a layer of dried beans, rice or pie weights to keep the crust from puffing up (the beans can be used many times over). Cover the edges with the foil or with pie guards to prevent them from overcooking. Bake the crust in the center of the oven at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes.

Reduce the heat to 325 degrees. Remove the parchment and pie weights. Bake uncovered for another 15 minutes (until just barely beginning to brown) for a par-baked shell, or another 20 to 25 minutes for a fully cooked, golden-brown shell.

Source:

Read more: http://www.motherearthnews.com/real-food/perfect-pie-crust-zmrz12onzmar.aspx#ixzz3KHxN4dFa