My Mom's Pie Crust

My Mom's Pie Crust

My mom was the best pie maker. Although she was of Sicilian descent  she was born and grew up in Iowa and became expert at a lot of traditional American dishes which she learned not from her mother, but from her older sister with whom she lived from the age of 7 to 15.

I love pies so much that I wanted to make sure I could make them too so she taught me how to make crust when I was really young. She always showed her love by how she cooked and she taught me "if you can read, you can cook". So I cooked from a very young age and love it now.

This recipe makes 6 crusts or enough for 3 double crust pies, perfect for those family get togethers like Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, birthdays etc.

Ingredients

• 5 1/2 cups AP flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 4 tsp brown sugar
• 1 lb lard - please don't substitute shortening, butter etc. for lard. Nothing makes crust flakier than lard.
• 1 large egg.
• 3 tsp white vinegar
• Ice cold water (but no ice in it)

Directions

Please don't use a stand mixer. You'll need two really large bowls (one for the crust and another for the filling. Into one bowl, sift the dry ingredients together. Those are the first 4 ingredients above. Again, don't skip the sifting as it helps with the flakiness. 

Using a pastry cutter, cut in the lard until it resembles small peas. Don't worry about doing this too much. It is better too much than too little at this point.

Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients. In a 2 cup glass measuring cup beat the egg and add the vinegar. Carefully add the ice cold water until it is altogether 3/4 cup of liquid. 

Pour the liquid over and around the dry ingredients then use your hands to mix and knead. Knead as little as possible to make the pastry because the more you knead, the less flaky it will be. Divide into 6 equal balls and flatten with your hands. Chill (the dough) for a while. Cover with plastic wrap so it doesn't dry out in the fridge.

As you remove one piece to roll out, leave the rest in the fridge so it stays cool. Cut one large piece of wax paper and dust it with flour. Put the disk of pastry on the wax paper and dust the top with more flour. Place a piece of plastic wrap (same size as the wax paper) on top. Roll out the dough between the wax paper and the plastic wrap. This helps with the transfer to the pie plate. 

Roll the dough from the middle to the edge, rotating it 90° after each pass to keep it circular and an even thickness. You don't want it thicker in the middle than at the edges. Keep rolling and rotating until the crust is thin and wide enough to go into your pie plate (9" is best) with some over the edge to make the fluted edge. 

Here's why you use the wax paper and plastic wrap. If you've followed the directions, the plastic wrap should be on top and the wax paper on the bottom. Carefully turn it all over and gently peel off the wax paper. Have your pie plate right next to the crust and lift the crust gently into the plate so that the plastic wrap is on top. This way you can move and manipulate the crust in the plate the way you want without worrying about it breaking up or falling apart - I told you it would be flaky. Press the plastic wrap down with your fingers so that it molds to the plate and remember that there should be about 1-2 cm hanging over the edge. Gently remove the plastic wrap leaving the crust in perfect position. Don't trim the crust yet. 

Fill the pie with whatever filling you choose (see next entry for fillings). I like really deep pie plates because I like deep pies. Nothing says "skimpy" like a thin filling in a pie. 

Repeat the rolling process to make the top crust. Place the the top crust into position following the directions above. Use a knife to trim around the edge of the pie plate. I like to leave about 1/2 cm over the edge to roll up the crust. This crust is so flaky and tasty that I want a nice crust around the edge. Pinch the bottom and top crusts together at the edges as you roll the crust into the plate. Pinching seals the crust and rolling into the plate prevents a lot of spillage from the fruit filling. But it will probably still spill a little when cooking. 

Make a design of sorts with the rolled edge of the crust. I push my left index finger between two fingers on my right to make an edge. This also helps seal the crust. You need to cut vents into the top of the crust to let steam escape during cooking. I like to make the vents into letters to honour guests or the occasion. Have fun with this. 

The pie will bake at 400°F for about 50 minutes but the time depends on the kind of filling. 

To make the top of your crust crunchy and tasty, place 2 tbsp of sugar in a small glass bowl. Add enough milk (not cream) to just cover the sugar. Let this soak/dissolve while the pie cooks for about 30 minutes, then take the pie out and brush this on with a pastry brush. Don't brush the edges - they will brown on their own, but this is a nice touch on the surface of the crust.

Cool on a wire rack. Serve warm with ice cream if you like.