Yield: 1 double crust (or 2 single crusts)

Ingredients

  • All-purpose flour (2-1/2 cups / 10-1/2 oz)
  • Salt (1-1/4 tsp)
  • Vegetable shortening (1/4 cup)
  • Unsalted butter, ice-cold and cubed (10 tbsp / 1-1/4 sticks)
  • Ice water (6-10 tbsp)

Directions

  1. Combine flour, salt, and shortening in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on speed 2 until evenly crumbly.
  2. Add butter and mix on speed 2 until unevenly crumbly, with some dime-sized pieces of butter remaining.
  3. Drizzle in ice water slowly with the mixer running, stopping once larger clumps begin to form.
  4. Squeeze a handful of crumbs. If they don’t hold together, keep drizzling in water until the dough is cohesive and no loose crumbs remain in the bowl.
  5. Gather the dough into a ball on parchment and divide into two disks. For a double-crust pie, make the bottom disk about twice the size of the top; for two single crusts, divide evenly.
  6. Wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before rolling.

Notes

  • Keep the butter cold: visible flattened pieces of butter in the dough make for a flakier crust.
  • Add the water gradually rather than all at once; the amount needed varies with humidity and flour.
  • The rest in the fridge lets the flour hydrate and firms up the fat, making the dough easier to roll.
  • Extra disks can be wrapped well and frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
  • Adapted from King Arthur Baking.