Pie Dough

For one double crust 9" pie

Cut together with 2 butter knives (or pastry blender) until the butter is about the size of large peas:

If you can start with really cold butter, (even frozen) I prefer to grate the butter into the flour and then just use a couple of knives to very quickly chop up some larger pieces that escaped the grater.

• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup butter or leaf lard (use 1Tb less of Lard than butter)

In a separate cup mix together:

• 1 egg yolk
• 1/4 C very cold water
• 2 tsp. vinegar

For a savory crust add 2 tsp smoked paprika and 1 tsp of sea salt.

1. Cut in the liquid until it just begins to hold together
2. Place the dough in a bag, squeezing it together to form a ball and chill in the freezer for 1 hour.
3. You can make pie dough ahead of time and keep it in the freezer.  A ball this size takes about an hour to defrost and still be cold enough to work well.
4. Roll out the dough on a well floured parchment paper or pastry cloth.  Work quickly so the dough does not warm up.
5. If you find the dough to be fragile, I like to fold the rolled out pastry in half and then half again allowing me to place the corner of the folded pastry in the exact center of the pan and unfold it avoiding having to shift the larger piece from side to side to get it to center and possibly tear it in the process.
6. Cut away the overhanging bits leaving about 1" of dough beyond the pie plate.  Roll that 1" overhang in half under itself and use your thumb and forefinger on one hand and your forefinger on the other to make a crenelated edge.  Get this all done as fast as possible with the goal of getting the whole pie into the oven before the pastry dough warms up.
7. Bake at 425 degrees.  Cooking time will depend on whether it's a double or single crust pie or just a simple galette.
8. Keep an eye on the crust rim and cover with a foil shield to prevent it from getting too dark before the pie is done.

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