It’s agreed in our family that my mom makes the best pies! Altho, I’ve got a sister who comes close! Mom says the secret is in the crust. She follows a pretty simple recipe, but the execution is the trick.

Pastry Recipe

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup salad oil

5 tablespoons water

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl. Water that is slightly warm will make the dough easier to work with and more elastic.

Divide the dough into two balls and leave set in the bowl for a minute. Clear your workspace for rolling out the crusts. You will need two pieces of wax paper for each crust. 

You’ll want the paper to be about 12 x 12 inches. Place a ball of dough between two pieces of wax paper. Using the rolling pin, flatten the ball of dough into a circular crust. Use the pie pan to measure for the correct size. You’ll want the dough to be about an inch larger than the diameter of the pan. 

Set aside the first crust and repeat the process for the second crust.

 

When you are ready to place the bottom crust into the pie pan, remove just one layer of wax paper from the crust. Lay the pie pan upside down on top of the crust and flip it over. The crust should fall into the pan easily and you’ll only need to even out the air bubbles.

 

The top crust will be the last step in your pie assembly process. Remove one layer of wax paper and using a knife, vent the crust. Mom always does two cuts about 2 inches long. The bottom layer of wax paper makes it easy to lift the crust on top of the pie. Peel off the wax paper and seal the edges of the crust by pinching the top and bottom crusts together.

 

Noel Lizotte is breaking free of corporate stress with convenience cooking! www.apronfreecooking.com.

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