Basic Pie Crust

Recipe Instructions Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl. Add the butter and mix together with your fingertips or a pastry cutter until the mixture is very coarse -- the size of peas. Then add the shortening, and continue blending with fingertips. The mixture should still be very coarse. Add 4 tablespoons of the water and toss the mixture together. If the dough does not hold together when gathered in your hand, add a bit more water. Do not overwork the dough. Divide the dough in half and form it into thick disks. Wrap each disk in plastic and chill for at least 1 hour or overnight. Remove one disk of dough from the refrigerator. Unwrap it and roll it out on a lightly floured work surface or between two sheets of wax paper to form a circle about 1/8-inch thick and 2 inches larger than the pie plate. Work quickly, as the dough can become sticky. Use a spatula to help lift the dough, and fold it loosely in half and into quarters. Gently transfer it to the pie plate, centering the corner of the dough in the center of the pie plate. Open up the dough and press it lightly into the plate to fit. If the dough should tear, just press it gently together. Trim the dough, leaving a 1-inch overhang. If making a single-crust pie, turn the edge under and flute it decoratively. Repeat the rolling process for a top crust or for another bottom crust. The circle of a top crust should be 9 inches for an 8-inch pie and 10 inches for a 9-inch pie. Follow the individual pie recipes for filling and baking. This recipe yields enough for an 8- or 9-inch double-crust pie, or 2 single-crust pies. Per 1/8 of a single-crust: 200 calories, 13g carbohydrates, 2g protein, 15g fat, 25mg cholesterol.