Basic Pastry
lynnescountrykitchen.net
Basic Pastry is flaky and tender and at its best when freshly baked. It should be made with vegetable shortening for the lightest, flakiest results.
Don’t handle this pastry dough any more than necessary or it will be tough; treat it firmly, not timidly, but don't fuss with it. The flour and shortening should not be blended too well; it is the bits of shortening left in the dough that puff and expand during baking and give the pastry its flaky identity. For that reason, the dough cannot be mixed successfully in a food processor.
8-INCH PIE SHELL 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup shortening
2 to 3 tablespoons cold water
8-INCH TWO-CRUST PIE2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup shortening
1/3 cup cold water
9-INCH PIE SHELL1-1/2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup shortening
3 to 4 tablespoons cold water
9-INCH TWO-CRUST PIE2-1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup shortening
6 to 7 tablespoons cold water
Mix the flour and salt. Cut in the shortening with a pastry blender or 2 knives. Combine lightly only until the mixture resembles coarse meal or very tiny peas; its texture will not be uniform but will contain crumbs and small bits and pieces.
Sprinkle water over the flour mixture, a tablespoon at a time, and mix lightly with a fork, using only enough water so that the pastry will hold together when pressed gently into a ball.
PIE SHELL
Roll the dough out 2 inches larger than the pie pan, then fit it loosely but firmly into the pan. Crimp or flute the edges. For a BAKED PIE SHELL (sometimes known as baking blind), prick the bottom dough all over with a fork and bake the shell for 16 to 18 minutes in a preheated 425 degree oven (for a partially baked shell, bake 10 minutes). Open the oven door once or twice during the baking and see if the shell again has begun to swell in spots; if it has, push it down gently. Or fill the "unbaked pie shell" with pie filling and then bake the pie as directed in the recipe.