TOOLS FOR MAKINg BASIC PIE DOUgH:

Your two best tools are your hands. But youll need a few other essentials too.
Large bowl. 1-cup measuring cup: to measure our. I have a 2-cup measuring cup, ideal for this recipe. In a pinch, when traveling, I just use a coffee cup. Paring knife: to cut butter into manageable-sized chunks, and later to trim dough edges and poke ventilation holes. Small pitcher: for ice water. Or a simple glass will work too. Small bowl: for extra our to sprinkle on rolling surface. Rolling pin. Pastry scraper: for lifting dough off the rolling surface. Pie dish. Scissors: to trim excess dough from rim of pie dish. Aluminum foil for a blind-baked crust. Pie weights (such as dried beans, rice, etc.) for a blind-baked crust.

CRUSTS
BASIC PIE DOUgH (FOR A SINgLE-CRUST pIE)
cup ( stick) butter, chilled and cut into large chunks cup vegetable shortening, chilled 1 cups our, plus at least extra for rolling Dash of salt Ice water (ll a cup but use only enough to moisten dough)

To make your single-crust pie dough, simply follow the instructions below for the double-crust pie dough. Its the same exact method!

BASIC PIE DOUgH (FOR A DOUBLE-CRUST pIE)

cup (1 stick) butter, chilled and cut into large chunks cup vegetable shortening, chilled 2 cups our, plus at least cup extra for rolling Dash of salt Ice water (ll a full cup but use only enough to moisten dough)

Flour is your friend when it comes to rolling dough. Its what I like to call your insurance policy. Contrary to what other cookbooks will tell you, extra our will not make your dough tough. Adding our to your rolling surface will keep your dough from stickingand will keep you from running to the store in frustration to buy pre-made pie crust. That said, always start from the center and roll out to the edges, rolling in one direction. You can push, you can pull, but dont roll back and forth like a crazy person. I like to think of rolling dough as a dance; stay uid in your motions. Also, put a little body weight into it so you can really stretch your dough. Too little pressure wont get your dough to roll thin; too much pressure will mangle your dough. Try it out, get a feel, dont be afraid to experiment. Keep your workspace clean. Take the time to scrape the gunk off your rolling surface as well as your rolling pin. This is another one of those insurance policies to keep your dough from sticking. When rolling dough, use your pie dish to calculate how big youll need it. Allow for enough extra width to account for the depth of the dish and make sure the extra inch or two of overhang from the dish has enough bulk for crimping the edge. Size isnt the only goal when rolling dough. You want to aim for a
certain thinness. My pie teacher, Mary Spellman, taught me what her mother taught her: Roll it thin enough so you can just start to see the stripes of the tablecloth through the dough. I always think about this transparency, even if there are no stripes on my rolling surface.

gin Before you Be

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1. In a deep, large bowl, work the butter and shortening into the our and salt with your hands until you have almond- and pea-sized lumps of butter. 2. Then, drizzling in ice water a little at a time,
toss the water around with your ngers spread, as if the our were a salad and your hands were the salad tongs. Dont spend a lot of time mixing the dough, just focus on getting it moistened. Translation: With each addition of water, toss about four times and then STOP, add more water, and repeat.

3. When the dough holds together on its own (and with enough water, it will), do a squeeze test. If it falls apart, you need to add more water. If it is soggy and sticky, you might need to sprinkle our onto it until the wetness is balanced out. The key is to not overwork the dough! It takes very little time and youll be tempted to keep touching it, but dont!

4. Now divide the dough in two balls (or three, if your pie dishes are smaller) and form each into a disk shape.

5. Sprinkle our under and on top of your dough

to keep it from sticking to your rolling surface. Roll to a thinness where the dough almost seems transparent.

CRUS T S

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6. Measure the size of the dough by holding your

pie plate above it. Its big enough if you have enough extra width to compensate for the depth and width of your dish, plus 1 to 2 inches overhang.

7. Slowly and gentlySERIOUSLY, TAKE YOUR

TIME!lift the dough off the rolling surface, nudging our under with the scraper as you lift, and fold the dough back. When you are sure your dough is 100 percent free and clear from the surface, bring your pie dish close to it and then drag your dough over to your dish. (Holding the folded edge will give you a better grip and keep your dough from tearing.)

8. Place the folded edge halfway across your dish, allowing the dough of the covered half to drape over the side. Slowly and carefully unfold the dough until it lies fully across the pie dish.

9. Lift the edges and let gravity ease the dough down to sit snugly in the dish, using the light touch of a nger if you need to push any remaining air space out of the corners as you go.

10. Trim excess dough to about 1 inch from the dish

edge (I use scissors), leaving ample dough to make crimped, uted edges.

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MS. A MERICAN PIE