How-to Make a Pie Crust

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving. 

We did.  We went to a friend from church.  They had over 50 other church people over.

Lots of fun!

Yesterday I blew the leaves off off the patio.

I awoke to this...

For Thanksgiving I made 4 pies, 2 buttermilk, 1 pecan and 1 pumpkin.

My grandma taught me how to make pie crust.

I love making them and teaching others to make it too.

Here (with the help of my daughter) are step-by-step photos for you.

I use an old recipe book. (1960's I think was the last revision.)

There is duct tape holding it together, seriously.

 Here is the recipe for one 8-inch pie crust.  (Though the photos below show enough for three crust.)

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup shortening (butter flavored tastes the best)

4-5 tablespoons cold water **see water photo**

This is how I measure.

A teaspoon can fit nicely in the palm of my hand.

 Stir dry ingredients.

 Add shortening.

Cut the shortening in with pastry knife until crumbly.

For flakier crust have bigger crumbles. 

 Two knives will do if you don't have a pastry knife.

 **Water photo**  I find that I ALWAYS have to add more water then the recipes call for.

So, I just  add water from the tap until I get the consistency that I like.

I add the water a little bit at a time in a small "well" on the side.

Then, with a fork, I "work" the water into the dough.

I keep adding water and working it until I get a nice ball.

The drier your dough the flakier it will be.

However, too dry at it will crack and be hard to roll out.

To much water and it's a sticky, gooey mess.

You'll know.

 Don't be afraid to use your hands to work the dough, not knead it.

 I like to form the dough into a nice flat, round mound before rolling.

I always roll my rolling pin across the floured surface before rolling the dough.

This helps it not to stick.

You can also flip the dough on the flour on both sides. (Hope I made sense here.)

 I don't have a crust mat or whatever you call them.

So, what I do is roll the crust out until I think it's the right size.

I then place the pie plate on the crust to see if it's to small or too big.

 I then place the rolling pin at the top of the dough and gently roll the dough along the pin.

It usually looks like this before I transfer it onto the pie plate.

 Once that's done, I fit it into the plate.

 Now here's where you can get creative.

You can use a fork and press it right onto the dough for a flat edge look.  Trim the excess crust off.

Or you can pinch the edges.

This works great for a full pie and one that puffs up while baking.

Fold the excess dough under to make a wall all around the dish. 

You want it to be a bit taller then your dish.

Then you pinch the dough like so...(see below photo).

 Some turn out like this...

 ...while some turn out a bit prettier.

You can leave the crust out on the counter while you prepare the filling or place it in the frig until ready.

Enjoy!