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Hot water crust

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Ingredients
  

  • 200 ml warm water 1 cup
  • 75 g unsalted butter 1/2 cup
  • 75 g lard 1/2 cup
  • 450 g all-purpose flour 3 cups
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 large egg, beaten
  • 1 tbsp vegetable oil

Instructions
 

  • Place the water, butter, and lard in a saucepan, heat gently until a low boil..
  • Place flour and salt into a large bowl, and whisk in the egg and oil.
  • Add the melted fat mixture, and stir together with a wooden spoon, or cut in with knives. Make sure to scrape the bowl while combining the dough.
  • Gently knead for 1-2 minutes. You should end with a greasy dough that's smooth and shiny.
  • Form a ball, cover with clingwrap, and chill for an hour.
  • Let the dough come to room temperature.
  • Optional - save 1/3 for the top portion if the pie will be covered.
  • Roll the big part to 13" diameter to make a 9" deep-dish pie, or 3 x 6.5" or 2 x 8" pies.
  • Place the pie tin up-side down in the middle of the rolled-out dough, and cut a circle with an extra 2-3 inches past the pie tin.

Blind bake - aka pre-cooked crust

  • After transferring the crust to your pie tin, make the edges pretty - see below for tips on transferring, and fluting ideas.
  • To perfectly size the parchment paper, take a big piece, fold in half, then fold in half the long way, and then keep folding the short corners together while keeping the middle of the sheet to the side. You should end up with a triangle. Hold the tip of the triangle over the centre of the pie crust, and cut around the edge to the same length as the interior of the pie crust. When you unfold the parchment paper, it should magically be very close to a perfectly-sized circle. This is known as a cartouche. Some pedantic people might say it's not. They're wrong.
  • Cover with parchment paper and add some pie weights or an identical pie tin and weigh it down with something like a ramekin. Bake until the edges are lightly browned, Anywhere from 7-15 minutes at 375F. This depends a lot on the moisture content, and the thickness of the crust.
  • NOTE - if the edges are getting much darker than the middle, make a "pie shield" by loosely covering the edge with aluminum foil. 3 pieces about 2-3 inches wide is usually sufficient. This slows down the cooking on the edge.
  • Remove from the oven, remove the parchment paper and weights, and then dock the base of the crust. This will let any steam escape so the crust doesn't bubble up.
  • Bake at 375F for around 15 more minutes, or until the top of the pie is golden brown.

Notes

  • The amounts in the notes are slightly more than the metric, but are approximately the same ratios for flour-water-fat mixture.
  • Check the edges of the pie crust after 20 minutes. If they are significantly more brown than the middle, cover with a pie shield, or gently wrap some aluminum foil around the outer edge of the pie.
  • Optional - add up to 1/4 cup sugar if you want a sweet crust.
  • Optional - beat an egg and wash the top crust before baking.
  • The best way to transfer the crust is to start rolling the crust up with a rolling pin, stopping before you roll into a second layer on the pin, and pick up the entire pie crust. Move the crust into position with the rolling pin, and gently drape the crust over the pie tin.
  • For fluting, trim the edge of the crust to about 1" past the edge, and fold the excess under so the border of the pie is thick. Make a pinching shape with thumb and index finger on one hand, and using a knuckle (or thumb) from your other hand, and go around the edge of the crust until you have the traditional wave design.