Tasty Planner - Recipe - Basic Shortcrust Pastry for Double-crust pie by Pat Roberts

Instructions

Mix the flour, salt and sugar in a bowl. Cut in the butter, using two knives or a pastry cutter, until the mixture resembles coarse corn meal. Sprinkle over it a few drops of lemon juice and a very small amount of iced water—absolutely no more than 3 tablespoons—and toss lightly until it begins to come together. Form it quickly into a ball and chill before rolling it out.

[I usually add more water, and I never chill it before rolling it. Maybe my pie crusts would be more flaky if I did it this way.]

Roll it out quickly on a lightly floured board—making two circles, slightly larger than the pie dish. This recipe makes two 9-inch crusts or one double crust.

If the pie shell is to be prebaked (or baked “blind,” as this procedure is often called), prick the bottom with a fork in several places, put a piece of foil in the shell and about a cup of dried beans on the foil. Bake it for 12 to 15 minutes in a hot oven—425 degrees. Remove the foil and store the beans, which may be used over and over again for this purpose.