How to Make Pie Crust from Scratch

Give your strawberry pie a homemade crust.

When you're making a dessert and don't have a lot of time, you might reflexively opt to buy one of the frozen pie tins found in supermarkets. These crusts, however, tend to taste bland and uniform. The good news is that homemade pie crusts don't require a lot of time and ingredients. You can make them using shortening, vegetable oil, lard, butter or even eggs. Your dinner guests will notice the effort you put into your dessert, even if it's a simple crust.

Things You'll Need

• 3/4 cup flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup shortening
• 2 to 3 tablespoons cold water
• Rolling pin
• Extra flour for rolling
• Pie dish

Instructions

1. Combine the flour, salt, shortening and cold water. Mix the ingredients together until they combine to form a ball that you can knead with your hands.

2. Flour your rolling surface. Rub some extra flour up and down your rolling pin as well.

3. Pat the ball of dough and start to flatten it into as even a disc as possible. Begin rolling with pin in even strokes outward from the center of the dough until you get an even circle about 10 to 12 inches wide. You can always roll everything back together and start over if it is not rolling evenly.

4. Pick up the dough and lay it flat in the pie dish. If your surface is floured well enough, the dough should be easy to pick up. You should have enough dough to cover the entire bottom, the sides and the top lip of the dish.

5. Add your desired filling. If you want a crust over the top of your pie, double this recipe, split dough into two even balls. Make a second crust that will lie over the top of the pie. Then flute the top and bottom layers together around the edge of your dish. Freeze with filling or bake immediately at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 45 minutes, or when golden brown.

References

• Simply Recipes: Perfect Pie Crust