Easy Shortening-Free Pie Crust
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups unbleached, all purpose flour (whole wheat works but is less tender)
- 1/4 t sea salt (like this)
- 1/3 cup cold butter or lard (or firm coconut oil for a slightly tougher crust)
- 4–6 T cold water
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, mix flour and salt together
- Cut in the fat using a pastry blender or two knives. You can use a food processor if you’d like, just be sure not to over-process.
- When the flour/fat mixture resemble coarse crumbs carefully add the water, one tablespoon at a time forming a rough ball (not a sticky mess!)
- Generously flour countertop and roll out the dough until it’s several inches larger than the diameter of your 9″ pie pan (you may need to flour the top of the dough as you roll, to prevent sticking and tearing)
- Carefully fold the dough into quarters and place into your pan
- Unfold
- Trim around the edges (if needed), but leave an overhang around the edges of the pan
- Gently fold excess dough under itself, then crimp edges to make pretty
- Fill with your favorite pie filling and bake as directed, or refrigerate until you need it
Notes
Be sure to cover with a pie shield or foil strips while baking (at least for the first part, anyway). Nothing worse than a crunchy, overdone crust!
