Basic Pie Crust Recipe

/ Bluebird Gardens/
And with a couple of rolls from a rolling pin, there’s a pie crust. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

And with a couple of rolls from a rolling pin, there’s a pie crust. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Not quite sure who started all of the fuss about how hard it is to make pie crust but I found this recipe extremely easy. So easy, in fact, that it sat in my refrigerator for a week before I turned it into a pie crust for a gooseberry pie.

Knowing how to make these basic recipes is helpful, they can be used as a foundation of many other things. The American Encyclopedia of Cooking has a nice collection of basic recipes.

You can buy ready made pie crust in both the refrigerated and frozen food sections. A friend tells me you can also get frozen pie crusts ready for use. Frankly this was a very easy crust to make so with a few minutes your pie will be ready to be filled at a fraction of the cost.

Basic Pie Crust Recipe

For two pie crusts or one double pie crust.

You will need:

2 cups all-purpose flour

  • 1 teaspoon salt

  • ½ cup vegetable shortening

  • ½ cup water

To make:

  • Sift flour and salt together in a bowl.

  • Cut in shortening until it looks like coarse crumbs.

  • Add water until dough forms.

Place in a bowl in refrigerator for one hour.

Roll out on flour board. Should make two 9” pie crusts or a top and bottom for one 9” pie.

I use a cupcake pan to make small pies.

Charlotte