Easy Flakey Pie Crust

Many people find making pie crusts difficult. I can make a pie crust in four minutes and it will turn out light and flakey. I'm a former restaurnat owner and used to make 25 to 30 pies a day. We included pie in our daily special.

The secret is using an oil pastry recipe. You will usually find recipes for an oil crust in most cookbooks. It seems as if people think that the only way to make a good pie crust is to pull out Grandma's old lard recipe. Yuck, too much work and too many chances for failure. Most people find pie crusts too labor intesive. You have to roll it out in flour and then you end up with a mess on the counter, the rolling pin and usually all over yourself as well. I have an excellent tip so that you can avoid all of that mess. Roll your pie crust dough in between two pieces of waxed paper. Once your crust is rolled out to the size you need you simply pull one piece of wax paper off and then flip the dough over in to your pie pan and peel the other piece of wax paper off. It's so easy, quick, and clean!

Here's my standard recipe:

For an 8" or 9" single crust pie

1 cup plus 2 Tablespoons Flour
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/3 cup Salad Oil (I use Canola or Light Olive Oil)
3 to 4 Tablespoons Cold Water

For an 8" or 9" two crust pie

1 3/4 cup Flour
1 teaspoon Salt
1/2 cup Canola or Light Olive Oil
4 to 5 Tablespoons of Cold Water

Bake Pie Shell at 450 degrees for 12 to 15 mins.

For the 2 crust pie you will follow baking instructions from the filling recipe.

Mix all of the ingredients together in a large bowl. I find that I often use a bit more water than the recipe calls for. As you mix, the ingredients will come together to form a nice dough ball. Don't over mix. I take the ball of dough and flatten it with my hand on one piece of wax paper. I then cover it with another piece of wax paper and then roll it out in a round shape. I use my pie pan to see how big I need it to be. Naturally if you turn your pan upside down over the pie dough you'll want the dough to be a couple of inches wider than the pan to accomodate the crust going up the sides of the pan.