Single Crust
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (Do not use self-rising!)
1/4 tsp. salt
1/3 cup leaf lard
4-5 Tablespoons ice-cold water (You may have to use more or less of this. Always put one Tablespoon in at a time so that you do not get your crust too wet.)
NOTE: Put several ice cubes in your water to make it as cold as you can get it. This will help the crust roll out better and make the crust flakier. Trust me, it makes a difference! But do not let pieces of the ice fall into your crust or you will have little pockets of sticky dough as you try to roll it out.
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (Not self-rising)
3/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup leaf lard
8-10 Tablespoons ice-cold water (You may have to use more than this. Always mix water in one Tablespoon at a time so that you do not get your crust too wet.)
Sift together flour and salt. Measure lard and using your hands work the lard into the mixture until you have pea-sized pieces of lard throughout and create a crumbly mixture like what is in the photo. Make a "well" or hole in the center of the flour mixture and add a small amount of very cold water (1 TBS at a time)
On a lightly floured surface, use your hands to flatten the dough. Roll dough from center to edges into a circle about 12 inches in diameter. (You can use your pie plate to measure how wide you need your circle.)
Fold crust in half and place in the center of the pie plate. Unfold. Trim edges and crimp or press down with a fork along the edges of the pie crust, for a single pie crust.
For the pre-baked shell: prick the bottom and sides of the pastry with a fork. Cover with foil and bake for eight minutes. Remove foil and bake for five more minutes (or until golden) at 450 degrees.
Double Crust
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (Not self-rising)
3/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup leaf lard
8-10 Tablespoons ice-cold water (You may have to use more than this. Always mix water in one Tablespoon at a time so that you do not get your crust too wet.)
Sift together flour and salt. Measure lard and using your hands work the lard into the mixture until you have pea-sized pieces of lard throughout and create a crumbly mixture like what is in the photo. Make a "well" or hole in the center of the flour mixture and add a small amount of very cold water (1 TBS at a time)
Work the flour mixture into the water until the mixture is damp enough to stick together but not wet. You do this by adding a bit of water into the well and then mixing in a bit of the flour mixture, working your dry flour in from the sides. (The water measurement is just an estimate. Weather, humidity, etc. affects how much water you will need to get the right consistency with your crust.) Making crust is truly a learned art and may take several tries before one is able to master the art. Form dough into a ball by pressing gently together with your hands and then using the ball pick up the extra flour and pieces of dough along the edges of the bowl. If your flour mixture is too dry it will not pick up the pieces around the edges but if it is too wet, the crust will stick when you get ready to roll it out. Do not knead and do not overhandle. Overhandling will cause your crust to become tough and flat.
On a lightly floured surface, use your hands to flatten the dough. Roll dough from center to edges into a circle about 12 inches in diameter. (You can use your pie plate to measure how wide you need your circle.)
Fold crust in half and place in the center of the pie plate. Unfold. Trim edges and crimp or press down with a fork along the edges of the pie crust, for a single pie crust.
For the pre-baked shell: prick the bottom and sides of the pastry with a fork. Cover with foil and bake for eight minutes. Remove foil and bake for five more minutes (or until golden) at 450 degrees.
For a double pie crust with filling, fold your bottom crust and place it in the center of the pie plate with edges overlapping the pie plate. Fill the crust with your fruit or another filling. Roll out the top crust as previously described, and fold in half place in the center of the pie plate. Unfold and cut off extra dough around the edge of the pie plate. If you are using a fork to mash down the edges (like many of our grandmothers did with homemade pies), you can cut very close to the edge of the pie plate and then poke air holes in the top pie crust so that it can vent. (If it doesn't vent, your filling will bubble out around the edges and make a mess.) If you want to get fancy and make fluted edges or use a knife to cut designs in the top crust you can do that instead of using the fork.
Note: It has been my experience from knowledge passed down to me from my grandmother that the less the crust is handled, the lighter and flakier it will be. The goal is to roll the dough out once. Every time you take your crust up and start over, your crust becomes tough.
4 c. all-purpose flour (Not Self Rising)
1 heaping tsp. salt
1 cup lard
1/2 cup butter
1/2 c. ice cold water
Place the four cups of flour in a bowl. Mix in your salt. Mix lard and butter together and then using your fingers, gently mix the lard/butter mixture into the flour/salt mixture. This will produce a crumbly mix as shown in the photo.
Next, create a well or hole in the center of your flour and lard mixture and pour in a small amount of water.
Work the flour gently into the ice-cold water. You want the flour mixture to be damp and to start sticking together, but you don't want it to be soaking wet. Continue to add water a little at a time and work in the flour until all the flour is damp. It's very important to not work or handle the dough any more than you have to. The less it is handled and worked the flakier the pie crust will be. In fact, my goal is always to only have to roll the dough out once. If the dough sticks and you have to roll it out again, you compromise the quality of the crust.
Divide your dough in half and roll out one section at a time. Line the bottom of your pie plate with the crust, put in your filling, roll out the top crust, and place it on top of your filling. You then can crimp the edges with a fork or make fancy fluted edges. Don't forget to slit or poke holes in the top with a fork so that the pie can vent as it cooks.
For this particular pie, I used this apple pie filling. However, you can use fresh apples as well. To make apple pie using fresh apples, I peel and slice the apples and sprinkle with cinnamon, sugar, and about 3 Tablespoons of flour. Stir to coat the apples with flour,, cinnamon and sugar. Fill the bottom crust with your apple pie filling or fresh apple mixture, put a few pats of butter on top, put the top crust on the pie, and bake. I bake at 375 degrees until the crust is nicely browned.
Note: It has been my experience from knowledge passed down to me from my grandmother that the less the crust is handled, the lighter and flakier it will be. The goal is to roll the dough out once. Every time you take your crust up and start over, your crust becomes tough.
Lard & Butter Pie Crust
4 c. all-purpose flour (Not Self Rising)
1 heaping tsp. salt
1 cup lard
1/2 cup butter
1/2 c. ice cold water
Place the four cups of flour in a bowl. Mix in your salt. Mix lard and butter together and then using your fingers, gently mix the lard/butter mixture into the flour/salt mixture. This will produce a crumbly mix as shown in the photo.
Next, create a well or hole in the center of your flour and lard mixture and pour in a small amount of water.
Work the flour gently into the ice-cold water. You want the flour mixture to be damp and to start sticking together, but you don't want it to be soaking wet. Continue to add water a little at a time and work in the flour until all the flour is damp. It's very important to not work or handle the dough any more than you have to. The less it is handled and worked the flakier the pie crust will be. In fact, my goal is always to only have to roll the dough out once. If the dough sticks and you have to roll it out again, you compromise the quality of the crust.
Divide your dough in half and roll out one section at a time. Line the bottom of your pie plate with the crust, put in your filling, roll out the top crust, and place it on top of your filling. You then can crimp the edges with a fork or make fancy fluted edges. Don't forget to slit or poke holes in the top with a fork so that the pie can vent as it cooks.
Apple Pie
For this particular pie, I used this apple pie filling. However, you can use fresh apples as well. To make apple pie using fresh apples, I peel and slice the apples and sprinkle with cinnamon, sugar, and about 3 Tablespoons of flour. Stir to coat the apples with flour,, cinnamon and sugar. Fill the bottom crust with your apple pie filling or fresh apple mixture, put a few pats of butter on top, put the top crust on the pie, and bake. I bake at 375 degrees until the crust is nicely browned.
Blueberry Pie
Using fresh blueberries, I made a deep dish pie using about four cups of berries. I added about 1 cup of sugar as the berries I was using were very sweet and tasty. If your berries are tart, you may have to use more sugar. I used a product called Clear Jell from Hoosier Hill Farms to thicken my berries. I mixed approximately 1/4 cup of the Clear Jell with 3/4 cup of cold water and then mixed this in with the sugar and berries. The pie thickens as it cooks. Another way of making the filling is to cook your berries and sugar first and when they start to boil, you can add a cornstarch mixture made with 3 tablespoons of cornstarch and just enough cold water to make a smooth, pourable liquid. As you pour this into your boiling berries stir vigorously until thick and then remove from heat immediately. Because your berries have been pre-cooked, they are not going to have the whole berry look. In addition, your filling may begin to bubble up and out of your pie crust before the crust is brown. The Clear Jell helps you avoid this ugly mess! One could also coat the sugared berries with about 3 Tablespoons of flour before baking but flour often makes a cloudy filling. The Clear Jell definitely makes the prettiest filling. Depending on how many berries you use, you may have to use more or less of the Clear Jell. When in doubt, look up the instructions for the Clear Jell provided by the distributor. I have a terrible habit of "eyeballing" and "winging" things. Mostly with experience, my methods work out for me, but occasionally I make a total mess of things! It's very difficult for me to share these "by sight and feel" recipes with others! So bare with me!
Rhubarb Pie
5 Cups of Sliced Rhubarb
1 1/4 Cups of Sugar
5 Tablespoons of all-purpose flour
Cinnamon to taste if desired (about 1/4 teaspoon)
Mix sugar, flour, and cinnamon together then toss rhubarb in the mixture until rhubarb is thoroughly coated. Pour into the bottom pie crust. Dot with butter if desired (about 1 o 1 1/2 Tablespoons). I made rhubarb pie in this post and used a pie bird just for fun.
1 1/4 Cups of Sugar
5 Tablespoons of all-purpose flour
Cinnamon to taste if desired (about 1/4 teaspoon)
Mix sugar, flour, and cinnamon together then toss rhubarb in the mixture until rhubarb is thoroughly coated. Pour into the bottom pie crust. Dot with butter if desired (about 1 o 1 1/2 Tablespoons). I made rhubarb pie in this post and used a pie bird just for fun.