PASTRY FOR DOUBLE CRUST PIE   ( pastry for 2 double crust pies)

This is the pie crust I have chosen to use with the Salted Caramel Apple Pie recipe on the following post.  It  came from a Spiced Apple Pie recipe I make that appeared in a Bon Appetit magazine from February, 1998.

It is a pastry dough I have used often with various fillings.  I love that it makes enough pastry for 2 double crust pies.  Without much more effort you can bake one pie now and store the rest in your freezer for your next pie.  Or, if you’re doing a one crust pie, such as pumpkin, for your next 2 pies!

It’s a fairly easy recipe as long as you strictly follow a few rules:

Measure flour carefully by spooning into the measuring cup and leveling it off.

Make sure your butter and shortening are well chilled.

Use ice water, and if additional is needed add 1 tablespoon at a time.

Do not overwork the dough, which will result in a tough pastry.  It’s okay, in fact preferable,  to have small bits of butter visible in the dough.  It will add to the flakiness.

Ingredients

5 and ½ cups all-purpose flour

¼ cup sugar

1 and ½ teaspoon salt

1 and ¼ cups (2 and ½ sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1 cup chilled solid vegetable shortening, cut into small pieces

1 large egg

7 tablespoons (or more) ice water

Combine 5 and ½ cups flour, ¼ cup sugar and 1 and ½ teaspoons salt in large bowl.  Add butter and vegetable shortening and rub in with fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal.  Whisk egg and 7 tablespoons water in small bowl to blend.  Add to flour mixture, tossing until moist clumps form and adding more water by tablespoonfuls if dough is dry.  Gather dough into a ball.  Divide into quarters.  Flatten each quarter into disk.  Wrap disks separately in plastic; chill 1 hour.

Dough can be made one day ahead.  Keep refrigerated.  Let dough soften slightly at room temperature before rolling out.  If saving for a later use, store, wrapped well, in freezer.  Defrost in refrigerator before using.

You can divide the recipe in half if you only want to make enough dough for one double crust pie.