Basic Pie Dough

Making pie dough is not that hard, especially with the right recipe.  Well I found that recipe for you, and I probably use this recipe for all my pies. I included a recipe for both a 9-inch pie shell and for a 9-inch pie shell with a top.

Basic Pie Dough- 9-inch pie shell

1 1/2 cups flour

1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
3-4 tablespoons cold water (cold is very important)

Basic Pie Dough - 9-inch two-crust pie

This is for a pie crust with a top
2 1/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup vegetable shortening
6-7 tablespoons cold water


Mix the flour and salt together in a bowl, add the shortening and work it into the flour. I use a pastry blender although you can use two knives or your fingertips and work the shortening into the mixture until it resembles fresh bread crumbs. Sprinkle on the water, a tablespoon at a time, stirring lightly with a fork after each addition. Use enough water so that the dough hold together.

To roll it;  Form the dough into a flattened ball. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface (I used a  silicone mat) until it is about 1/8 inch thick and 2 inches larger then your inverted pie pan. You can roll it between to sheets of wax paper and transfer it by peeling back 1 piece of the wax paper and draping it over the pan, and then peeling the other piece of wax paper off. Any way you do it, transfer the dough to the pan (I rolled mine in the silicone mat and unrolled it into the pie pan), then trim and crimp the edge for an unbaked pie shell.

To fully bake the pie shell, preheat the oven to 425°F. Press heavy-duty tin foil snugly to the bottom and sides of the shell to keep the dough from shrinking during baking. Place in the upper third of the over and bake for 6 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for 8 - 10 minutes more, until light brown, dry and crisp. Total baking time is 14-16 minutes.

To partially bake it, follow the instruction above, but when you remove the foil only bake it for 4 minutes instead of 8-10.