Pastry Pie Crust

For a single 8 inch pie crust: 

• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour (180g)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup crisco shortening, cold (95g)
• 5-7 Tablespoons water, cold

For a single 9-10 inch double pie crust:

• 2 cups all purpose flour (240g)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup crisco shortening, cold (143g)
• 5-7 Tablespoons water, cold - 2 tablespoons sourdough discard and 2 tablespoons water —- divided dough on plastic wrap into two 225g discs

Sift together flour and salt. Cut in shortening with pastry blender until pieces are the size of small peas.(To make pastry extra tender and flaky cut in half the shortening until mixture looks like cornmeal and then cut in the remaining until it looks like small peas.)

Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of water over a section of the flour -shortening mixture. Gently toss with fork; push to one side of the bowl. Sprinkle next tablespoon of water over dry part; toss lightly, push to moisten side of the bowl. Repeat until all is moistened. Gather up with fingers; form a ball. (For two pie crusts, divide dough and form into two balls.)

On a lightly floured surface, flatten ball slightly and roll to 1/8 inch thickness. If edges split, pinch together. Always roll spoke fashion, going from center to edge of dough using light strokes.

To transfer pastry, roll it over rolling pin; unroll pastry over pie plate, fitting loosely onto bottom and sides.

To bake single pie crust: 

Trim 1/2 to 1 inch beyond edge, fold under and flute.

If baked pie shell is needed, prick bottom and sides with a fork. 

Bake at 450° until pastry is golden, 10 to 12 minutes. (Prick bottom of crust, line with parchment and weights; bake at 350° for 20 minutes, then remove parchment and weights; bake 10 minutes longer until lightly golden.)

If filling and piecrust are to be baked together, do not prick pastry. Pour in filling and bake pie as directed in recipe. 

Wrap any extra dough in aluminum foil or several sheets of waxed paper and refrigerate until needed. Alternatively, use pastry shapes for cutouts and bake in oven for decoration.

To make double crust pie:

Fit the lower crust in pie plate. Slash the upper crust with your own design. Trim lower crust even with rim of pie plate, moisten the edge. Add top crust, trim half inch beyond edge, tuck it under the edge of the lower crust, to seal in juice. Crimp edge. Bake as directed in a pie recipe you are using.

Press-in pastry pie crust in a food processor

For a double deep dish pie crust: 

• 3 cups all purpose flour (360g)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup crisco shortening, cold (95g) 
• 1/2 cup butter, cold (95g)
• 9-10 Tablespoons water, cold

Prep Ingredients and Equipment:

1. In a small bowl, measure or weigh the flour and salt, sift together.
2. If you are making these ahead and wanting to freeze, lay out two rectangular pieces of plastic wrap to store your prepared dough later. Place one piece of plastic wrap on your kitchen scale. Measure or weigh the shortening and butter (I used half-and-half of each), then loosely bundle the plastic wrap around the fats and place in the freezer to chill. You’ll reuse this piece once you’ve added the fats to the recipe.
3. While the fats are chilling, set up your food processor and prepare a measuring cup of water with a tablespoon measurement nearby. Also lay out a dough cutter. If you’re wanting to use the dough right away, lay out your pie plate. The dough may need to chill in the fridge about 30 minutes to firm up before able to easily press out.

Make the Dough:

1. Spoon the flour and salt mixture into the food processor.
2. Add the chilled fats, distributing them evenly over the flour.
3. Pulse ten times, using short 1-second pulses, until the mixture looks crumbly and the fat is broken into small pieces. Lay the plastic wrap (from the freezer) back out flat on your work surface so it’s ready to receive the dough mixture.
4. While pulsing the food processor, slowly add water 1 tablespoon at a time through the feed tube, add about 9-10 tablespoons or until the dough begins to come together, looks slightly moist, and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Avoid overmixing.
5. Dump the dough mixture onto one piece of plastic wrap. Gently press and mound it together, then divide in half. Wrap each half tightly in plastic wrap, shaping into discs—each should weigh approximately 325 grams. The dough is now ready to be frozen or chilled until ready to use.