GREGG'S EASY PIE CRUST

Easy Pie Crust
Gregg Fry
Yield: 2 (10-inch) crusts or 1 Double Crust

1 ½ sticks very cold unsalted butter
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1/3 cup very cold vegetable shortening
6 to 8 tablespoons (about 1/2 cup) ice water


Dice the butter and return it to the refrigerator while you prepare the flour mixture.
Place the flour, salt, and sugar in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse a few times to mix.
Add the butter and shortening.
Pulse 8 to 12 times, until the butter is the size of peas.
With the machine running, pour the ice water down the feed tube and pulse the machine until the dough begins to form a ball.
Dump out on a floured board and roll into a ball.
Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Cut the dough in half.
Roll each piece between to pieces of plastic wrap, rolling from the center to the edge, turning the dough to make sure it forms a circle. Fold the dough onto a pie pan, and fit to the pan.
Repeat with the top crust.

If Baking Crust for a Cream Pie

Preheat oven to 400°
Roll 1 of the halves of the dough or all the dough, your choice, into a circle about 2 inches wider than the top of the pie dish.
Place dough into dish, do not stretch the dough because it will only shrink back to the rolled out size, and shape around pie pan
Flute the edges with fingers
Take a knife and poke slash marks in crust to vent, about 10 - 15 on bottom and sides to prevent the crust from puffing up.
Place uncooked hard beans or pie weights on the crust bottom to keep the pie from lifting.
Cook for 20 minutes and remove foil
Continue cooking until crust is golden brown all over, probably another 10 to 15 minutes