Pie Crust
Ingredients
Directions
Combine flour, salt, and baking powder in a bowl.
Cut the lard into the mixture with a knife until crumbly.
Add water and mix gently, handling the dough as little as possible.
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 main structure of the crust as its proteins and starches set.
- Lard
- Coats flour particles to keep the crust tender and flaky by limiting gluten formation.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas to lighten the crust and help it rise slightly as it bakes.
The step that matters
Adding the water and mixing gently. Water hydrates the flour and gluten develops with handling. Mixing only until the dough comes together keeps the crust tender rather than tough.
“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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