I love love love making pies. I find pie making a great stress relief. There are so many ways to create a pie and I’m not just talking about the fillings, even a simple crust can come in a variety of flavors. For every successful pie, I would argue that the crust is a key driver.

The basics to pie crusts are fat, flour, water, and some salt. But what kind of fat? Butter, shortening, lard, or maybe a combination? Each type of fat ingredient has its own flavor, property, and unique character once baked. And no surprise that “best pie crust” is a rather contentious point of debate among pie makers. My honest opinion, just go with what tastes best to you. Personally, I like a half n’ half butter and lard combo; it has a rich buttery taste but much easier to work with because of the stability of lard. In terms of flour, all purpose works and I’ve never used any other types. The only thing I am a stickler for is adding enough salt. You don’t want to under salt a pie crust, it just won’t taste good.

I like to use a pastry knife to cut in the butter, lard, and salt into the flour until everything is well incorporated; you will know, because the flour will go from loose to almost coherent. Lastly, I add in water. But how much? Well, it depends. In general, always use cold water and always add in a little bit at a time. After adding the water, I would stir the mixture manually with a spoon. I know many use mixers but I find it’s too hard to gauge the right texture. Keep adding and stirring until everything starts to clump together and voila! The pie crust dough is ready.

This all sounds easy right? So why is there general consensus that good pie crust making is actually pretty hard? I think the missing piece (sorry for the pun) is, pie crust making has to be felt not told. It cannot be learned by simply reading a recipe or watching a video. One has to feel the texture of a pie crust coming together to really understand. Therefore, if you get a chance to feel and work with a successful pie curst, then I’m willing to bet you will actually find pie making, well, easy as pie.