Pie Crust
Ingredients
Directions
Make the dough
Combine flour and lard in a large bowl, rubbing them together lightly.
Add a pinch of coarse sea salt.
Bind the mixture with the least amount of ice or cold water possible, using a knife to mix.
Handle the dough as little as possible.
Pre-bake
For a single crust pie, pre-bake the crust by placing a pan of the same size on top to prevent blistering, or bake it upside down in the pan.
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
- All-purpose flour
- Forms the structure of the crust once mixed with liquid and gluten develops.
- Lard
- Coats flour particles to keep the crust tender and flaky by limiting gluten formation.
- Ice or cold water
- Moistens the dough so it holds together while keeping fat solid for flakiness.
The step that matters
Binding with cold water. Adding too much water or overworking the dough lets gluten develop, which makes the crust tough instead of tender. Cold liquid keeps the fat firm so it creates flaky layers in the oven.
“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.
More pie crust recipes
You might also like
Cornbread345 recipes
Bread Pudding336 recipes
Milk Bread Rolls242 recipes
Potato Bread124 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.