Simple Pie Crust

One of my favorite parts of summer is the fruit. I love fresh peaches, strawberries, blackberries. And with fresh fruit, comes fruit pies.

I find that a lot of people are intimidated by pie crusts, which always strikes me as funny. A good pie crust is no more difficult to make than a simple cookie recipe, and the buttery, flaky crust is what makes or breaks a pie for me. No store-bought cardboard-tasting crusts here, thanks, I'll make my own.

This is the recipe that my mother has used for years for pie crusts. It's remarkably easy, and I think it originally came from a Southern Living cookbook. It makes a single crust (just the bottom layer). If you want a double crusted pie (bottom and top) just double the recipe. Below the pie recipe, I've included the directions for setting a pie crust, which is the most important part of pie making that most people don't do. It involves crisping the outside of the pie crust, so that when you fill the pie with a liquid and bake it, the crust stays crisp instead of absorbing so much liquid that it turns to mush. More pie-makers than you would believe allow their crusts to turn all mushy because they neglect to set the pie properly, but it always tastes much nicer when the crust is still crisp, even on the bottom.

Simple Pie Crust

1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup shortening (you can substitute unsalted butter here, but I find that shortening makes a more flaky crust)
4 or 5 tbsp water

Stir together the flour and salt, mixing them thoroughly. Add the shortening, and cut it into the flour until the shortening is in pieces the size of small peas. Add the water one tbsp at a time, tossing the dough and mixing after each addition. After the fourth or fifth tbsp, the dough should suddenly assume the consistency of proper pie-crust, almost as if my magic. Stop adding water immediately; the goal is a dough that is moist and very faintly sticky, but never wet. Form your dough into a ball. It should stick to itself easily, but shouldn't stick to your hands if you've got the consistency right.

Flour a large flat surface lightly, and flour a rolling pin. Roll out the dough into a round sheet, about 1/8 - 1/4 inch thick. When the dough is properly thin, grab your pie dish. Fold the dough in half, the into quarters and lift it into the pie dish. Unfold it, and press it into the corners of the dish. There should be some crust that hangs over the edges. Trim this crust off with a paring knife, and use the resulting scraps to patch any holes, cracks, or thin areas of the crust. If you want to be artistic, you can flute your crust by pressing the edges between your fingers and repeating as you move around the pie-dish.

Set the crust by lightly beating one egg white with a tsp of cold water, then brushing this mixture over your crust. Poke holes all across the bottom of the crust, then refrigerate it for 30 minutes. These two steps will keep your crust flat while you bake it by preventing airpockets and hot-spots. Bake the crust for 5 minutes at 450F, then allow it to cool to room temperature before adding whatever liquid filling you've got in mind.

Very Important Note: Your pie crust will shrink as it sets or bakes. This means that when you trim the crust, you should not trim it too close to the pie-dish, or you will end up with a crust that is shorter than your dish. When in doubt err on the side of too long when it comes to trimming pies.