Best-Ever Pie Crust

I found the mix of lard and butter made a forgiving and flavourful crust. I made two batches back to back on a low humidity day and both needed 6tbs water. First batch I made exactly as specified for pumpkin pie, second I increased the sugar by 1 tsp as I prefer a slightly sweeter taste for apple pie. I don’t have a food processor, just a manual pastry blender and that worked perfectly . Both batches rolled out without tearing or sticking on a floured Saran Wrap surface. My one piece of feedback is that the total quantity was a bit scant for a deeper dish pie and still have enough margin for a decent fluted crust. I had to poach from leftover dough from the single crust pie.

• Anonymous

• Toronto, Canada

• 10/11/2022

I made a Chicken Pot Pie with this recipe therefore I left out the sugar. I froze the fat in cubes before I pulsed with flour and salt in my food processor. I ended up using 6 tablespoons of ice water. After chilling the dough for 6 hours in the refrigerator I turned the dough out and immediately proceeded to rolling the dough. The dough rolled out perfectly. I've made hundreds of pies and honestly this is a well behaved dough like no other. The flute held its shape during baking at 425 degrees and with the addition of an egg brush on top I had a perfect pie suitable from framing. Five stars is no way near enough for this pie dough.Wish I could include a picture.

• treepeeple

• Oak Point TX

• 2/24/2022

I made a blueberry pie with this crust and it was amazing. I was having some problems when I was rolling out the dough but once I figured out the issue it was easy to roll out. Once i had the crust in the pie pan, I rolled the top dough and put it on a cutting board and put both in the fridge for 30 minutes. After the 30 minutes I filled, cut the circle and slits on the top dough and on top of the blueberries. It was so flaky and tasty my husband and loved it and I have made many pies this was the best. Thank you for sharing this recipe. This will be my crust for all my pies.

• Malena

• California, Rancho Cucamonga

• 1/28/2022

Read all the reviews and decided to try this crust. I have made many crusts before without problems. The reviews were all over the place - too much water, too little water, etc. I followed directions exactly, including listening to the reviewer who said she froze her lard cubes. I ended up with a crust that would not hold together. I added one additional tablespoon of water, then another. Managed to get it to mold into a ball, although with lots of crumbing. Left it in in fridge for a half-hour before rolling. I could not get the pie crust to roll out without crumbling and cracking. I finally just threw it away and used pre-made. I won't try this one again.

• Lunchgirl

• Huntingdon Valley, PA

• 11/18/2021

I've made this pie crust for years, never read the reviews until now. I'm shocked people have had such issues. I'm a cook (not a baker) this has been my mantra for years, but at this point in my life I'm baking more often. For whatever reason my friends keep asking me for dessert (maybe because they all cook now but don't bake). I'm not overly experienced, I make pies once a year. Maybe like JESSIET2 I bring logic to the kitchen, if it doesn't hold together with the squeeze test, I add a little liquid, if it sticks to hands on squeeze test, add flour. As always, don't overwork or you get rubbery dough.

• nita10

• Dallas

• 6/11/2021

DELICIOUS. This is the pie crust dreams are made of. Thank you.

• mjosephrussell

• Milwaukee

• 5/16/2020

Worst pie crust ever!!! 5 T. of water is too much- makes a soggy mess. Re- made and refrigerated the dough overnight and rolled it out-totally fell apart into a crumbly mess. I have made lots of pie crust recipes and this is the worst ever!

• digger1365

• 2/21/2020

A few comments, some of which I feel are critical. I make a 100% lard crust almost exclusively. They are definitely the best, but can frankly be a bit tricky to make. What is key, always, is frozen lard. It must be fully frozen. When I remove it from the freezer, I weigh it first, (I use the ratio of 1 cup flour to 1/3 cup lard. Do not use more lard than that; it would be impossible to work with0. Then take a very sharp knife to cut it into smaller pieces, no more than 1” in diameter. Then, and this is important, return it to the freezer for at least 20 minutes. Then proceed with the food processor instructions. I remove it from the processing bowl, transfer it to a large bowl, then sprinkle the water over. Then, using a rubber spatula, I pull it all together in the bowl. The other mistake that many people make is to add too much water. This makes the crust tough. Use just enough to gather the dough into a ball. I never use my hands or fingers at any point. Lard softens quickly, and once it does that, you’re pretty much finished; too late to fix it. I only work with one half of the dough at a tome, and keep the rest in the fridge ‘til I’m ready for it. Yes, it can be a bit tricky, but if you keep that lard extremely cold, you’ll make the best pie crust that you ever tasted.

• jessiet2

• Lancaster, PA

• 2/13/2020

There are a few negative reviews from people claiming to be gifted bakers. They followed the recipe to the "letter" and couldn't believe how badly the crust tasted. Baking is formulaic, but you need to approach it with at least a modicum of common sense. If it's too dry, add moisture. If it's too wet, add flour... duh!

• emjayjay

• MN

• 9/18/2019

Best pie crust recipe ever, and I have used a lot of different recipes!

• barbarabaldwin219905

• Houston, TX

• 9/13/2019

I have now used this recipe about 10 times and it is awesome. Because it users the food processor, the entire process takes all of about 10 minutes. Of note, I prep the butter and shortening in advance, spread it out in a plate and leave it in th e freezer. This time is included in the 10-minute timeframe.

• mulmur

• Canada

• 4/22/2019

worst pastry I have ever made and I'm no novice. I make full puff pastry and croissants from scratch which require a good amount of skill. I followed this recipe to the letter and it produced a dough that would not roll no matter what I did with it. Chilled it, it just broke up into into crumbly pieces. Left it at room temp and it became a rubbery mess that stuck to the rolling pin. Waste of ingredients and they are not cheap. Do yourself a favour and find a better pastry recipe than this one. This recipe relies on a food processor to achieve if you don't have one because you are a traditional baker, like me its pointless.

• Claraflo

• Australia

• 2/21/2019

This recipe is a WINNER. It comes out perfect every time. I’ve never received so many compliments about how delicious my crust is. People who complain about any aspect of this simple butter + lard recipe should be put into the pilot error category.

• Mary Walsh

• Buffalo, NY

• 11/1/2018

This is hands down THE WORST RECIPE I’ve ever used for crust. This is a shortbread recipe, not a crust recipe. I made a fresh peach pie that I wouldn’t serve to my worst enemy, thanks to this crust recipe. I will be purchasing a pie, something I never do but I can’t serve this.

• Lillypad678

• Victoria, NS

• 8/21/2018

My first crust - I'm a late bloomer - and I just couldn't get the dough to stick together. I read that the butter content made it too flakey and since I was making a savory pie I used all lard. Was that the issue?

• bezdeche

• Wabasha, MN

• 3/14/2018