Never Fail Pie Crust
Ingredients
Directions
Make the dough
In a mixing bowl, combine the flour and lard.
Cut the lard into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Gradually add the water, mixing until the dough comes together.
Shape
Roll out the dough on a floured surface to fit your pie dish.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Flour
- Forms the structure of the crust as the dough sets.
- Lard
- Coats flour particles to keep the crust tender and flaky.
- Water
- Hydrates the flour so the dough holds together and can be rolled.
The step that matters
Cut the lard into the flour until coarse crumbs form. Lard left in small pieces melts during baking and creates flaky layers. If the lard is worked too fine, it blends into the flour and the crust turns dense and mealy.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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