Pie Crust
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
In a bowl, mix the flour and salt.
Add the lard and rub it into the flour until well combined.
Gradually add ice water until the dough holds together.
Handle the dough as little as possible.
Roll the dough
Roll out the dough, fold it, and roll it again several times.
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 dough as gluten develops with water and handling.
- Lard
- Coats flour particles to shorten gluten strands, giving a tender, flaky texture.
- Ice water
- Hydrates the flour so the dough holds together while staying cold and workable.
The step that matters
Handle the dough as little as possible. Overworking develops too much gluten, making the crust tough instead of tender. Cold fat left in visible pieces also creates flakiness, so keeping the dough cool and handling it briefly matters.
“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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