Home-Made Pie Crust

• 20 oz King Arthur unbleached all-purpose flour
• 10 oz Crisco
• 1½ tsp salt
• 9" regular (not deep-dish) glass or metal pie plate
• 3 sheets of plastic
• strip of heavy duty aluminum foil 20" by 3" to 4" wide

Weigh dry ingredients and stir together (salt needs to be incorporated in flour). Weigh Crisco and add to flour mixture. With knife cut Crisco into small pieces so when using pastry blender you won't have such large chunks to deal with. Blend with pastry blender until you have a small pea-like consistency. Check bottom of bowl to be sure you have incorporated all the flour.

Measure 1½ cups of mix into 2nd bowl. Add 5 tsp ice water, take knife and draw through it back and forth about 10 times. Take the knife around the edge of the bowl to insure nothing sticks to the sides. Add 4 more tsp ice water. Do the knife thing until the dough kind of comes together. Press it against the side of the bowl and then with your hands make a compact ball. On the plastic, press the ball keeping the sides of the circle you are making from splitting.

When the ball is about 6" to 8", place the other plastic sheet on top and roll the dough, lifting the plastic periodically on both sides to keep it from sticking. If you see a wet spot, sprinkle it with a tiny bit of flour. Roll until you have a circle that when you place the pie plate gently upside down on it you have 2½" to 3" all around. If not, roll some more.

Before you invert the pie crust into the pie plate, be sure both sides of your pie dough have been loosened from the plastic. Remove the top piece of plastic from the dough and put the pie plate in the middle of the dough. Slide your hand under the plastic and invert the plastic sheet and dough so the pie plate is right-side up. Gently press the dough into the pie plate and carefully remove the plastic. Replace the plastic and set the pie plate with the dough in it aside.