Never Fail Pie Crust
This pie crust makes three discs from one batch, so you can bake today and freeze the rest. The recipe relies on pantry staples: flour, shortening, salt, an egg and a spoonful of white vinegar. The cold water and the minimal handling after it goes in limit gluten development, which is what keeps pastry tender instead of chewy. Each disc freezes on its own, so a single pie later needs no new dough.
Instructions
Put the flour, shortening and salt in a large bowl. Cut the shortening into the flour with a fork or a pastry blender until the mixture looks like corn meal.
Stir the cold water and vinegar into the beaten egg. Add this liquid to the flour mixture a little at a time, mixing just until a soft dough forms.
Handle the dough as little as you can once the liquid is in, since overworking it makes the baked crust tough. Divide it into three discs.
Wrap each disc well. Use them right away, or freeze them individually until needed.
When you are ready to bake, roll a disc out on a floured surface to the size you need. If you bake two pies at once, rotate them 180 degrees at 15 minutes and again at 45 minutes so the crusts do not burn against the oven walls.
Make it personal.
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