Pie Crust

I have almost always made the good old fashion Betty Crocker recipe almost verbatim which is about the way that I use any recipe. To me a recipe is a living thing and changes as you grow accustom to using it and find way to adapt it. I was given this one by a friend and I think that I like it. It handles just a bit differently from the old stand by but bakes a really nice pie and even in a metal pan, which I hardly ever use, does remarkably well. This makes a double crusted 9.5 or 10" pie crust.

3 C. Gold Metal or other low gluten flour
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
1 C. cold lard
1/4 C. Ice water

I love my food processor for making pie crust and mine is a 7 cup Cuisinart. I put the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in the bowl and pulse a couple of times to mix them well.
Cut the lard into chunks and feed them in with the machine running or using a pastry cutter blend them to a coarse meal stage.

I blend the water in a bit at a time and if it doesn't seem to hold together, add a bit more a few drops at a time until you get to the stage that the product holds together.

Divide the dough in half, wrap in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before rolling it out in to make your pie.

There are some things to remember when making a pie crust.
Flour like Robin Hood or Gold Metal Better For Bread flours are very rich in wheat gluten. This is the stuff that makes it stick together and hold it's body when you are making breads. Great flours for bread. Keep it around for just that.

Gold Metal All Purpose flour is not as rich in the gluten and there for makes a lighter, fluffier product. Great for quick breads, like Pumpkin Bread, or pie crust that you want to be tender and flaky.

I use lard because I have almost always used lard. It is what I learn to make pies with and find that the product tastes better than when I have used Crisco. Add to that the fact that Crisco and most other hydrogenated shortening are soy based, I can't use them as my husband has a topical reaction to soy products (they make him itch and the older he gets the worse it gets).

Betty tells me that the Baking Powder in the crust helps the bottoms from being soggy with fruit pies. Her pies never last long enough to get soggy.

On a fruit pie don't forget to dot the top of the fruit with a bit of butter before adding the top crust.
Stone fruit pies (cherry, peach, apricot, plum) get 1/4 tsp. almond extract added to the usual spices
All fruit pies should be tuned up with
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Apple pies will have that old fashion flavor is you a 1/4 tsp. cardamon to the mix.

I have been making pies on the grill again this year and they turn out so pretty and don't heat up the house. I wowed some friend camping over Memorial Day weekend by baking a cherry pie on my Weber Kettle grill. Came out pretty as a picture.

God Bless and Hugs To All,
Linda