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William's Flaky Pie Crust:

If you like pie, (Who doesn't) here is a great flaky pie crust to get you started.
What you need for a one crust shell. What you do.
1 & 1/2 cups all purpose flour. 1/2 tsp. salt. 1/4 cup shortening. 1/4 cup margarine. 3 tbsp. cold water. In a bowl, combine the flour and salt. Cut in the shortening and margarine to make grain sized particles. Toss the particles with a fork while sprinkling on the water until all particles are wet.
Gather the dough into a ball and roll it out on a lightly floured board to about a 12 inch circle.
Now here is the difficult part. This crust is fragile. Some folks will tell you to roll the dough up onto your floured rolling pin and roll it back off on the pie pan. I have never been successful at that, even using waxed paper. So I cheat. I cut the dough into quarters and use a large spatula to lift it into the pie pan. If it breaks, I just get it into the pan and patch it up. Poke several fork holes in the bottom of the crust. Use your fingers or a fork to crimp or flute the edges.
For a baked shell, bake at 350 deg. for about 25 min. until brown. For a filled pie bake according to the pie recipe.
For two crust pie crust use 2 cups flour, 1 tsp. salt, 1/4 cup margarine , 1/2 cup shortening, and 6 tbsp. water. Follow the directions above but separate the dough into two balls. Use 2/5 for the top and 3/5 for the bottom.
Do you like banana cream pie? Me too, but I hate making the filling. Here is my dirty little secret. I buy instant vanilla pudding mix at Gordon's Restaurant Supply. This is the same stuff many restaurants use. I can't tell it from scratch made filling and neither can my friends.

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