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Most good pie crusts use lard, shortening or butter or some combination. Lard and shortening make the pie crust easy to work with, giving the dough more flexibility to make shapes and designs. They both hold up to changing temperatures as the dough is being worked with. Butter offers a golden flaky crust and of course a more buttery taste than lard and shortening, which tend to be more bland. But butter does not hold up as well while shaping the dough; it makes a dough that falls apart easily. A
Always work with cold utensils and moisten the dough with ice water. Use a stainless steel bowl and pastry cutter, and place them in the freezer one hour before making your crust. This will keep your lard, shortening or butter from becoming warm too quickly, which can cause it to bind with the gluten in the flour, making the dough tough and hard to work with. A typical pie crust recipe consists of flour, salt, a shortening and ice water. -
Rolling dough can be difficult, especially if the dough is too sticky or too dry. To help with rolling, tear off two wax paper squares, an inch large than the pie pan. Place the dough on one of the squares and the other square on top of the dough. Using your rolling pin, begin to flatten and roll out the dough between the papers, working from the center out. Don't press too hard with the rolling pin.
When the crust is the right size, remove the top sheet of wax paper and flip the dough over onto the pie tin, peeling away the bottom piece of wax paper. Trim the dough along the edges. Using your fingers, crimp the edges so make a decorative border. - To prevent the edges from burning when the pie bakes, cover them with aluminum foil or use a pie shield, which fits around the crust.
