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By Root 4006 0

in a small bowl or glass, then use a fork to stir this mixture into the flour mixture until well combined. Add more cold water, about 1 teaspoon at a time, until the mixture can be formed into a ball.

Sprinkle a few drops of water over your work surface, then lay a large piece of wax paper on top (so the paper won’t scoot around while you roll out the crust). Dust the paper lightly with flour. Gather the dough into a ball, turn it onto the paper, and dust lightly with flour. Lay a second sheet of wax paper over the top and press down slightly until the ball of dough looks like a partially deflated basketball.

Roll the dough through the wax paper with a rolling pin, pressing down lightly and using an even, steady pressure until you have a circle 11 or 12 inches in diameter. To make an even circle, turn the pin in a new direction after each roll. If you’re not using the dough right away, leave it under the wax paper to stay moist; it can rest this way for 30 minutes.

Peel off the top layer of wax paper, then pick up the dough by peeling the bottom sheet of wax paper off the work surface with the crust still attached. Invert the paper and the crust together over a 9-inch pie plate, center the crust in the plate, and peel off the wax paper. Press the crust gently into the pie plate with the excess hanging over the rim. If you’re making a single-crust pie (that is, a bottom crust only), run a knife around the plate’s outer rim and cut off any excess dough. If you’re making a double-crust pie, leave the dough hanging over the edge and cover the pie with a clean, dry kitchen towel. Proceed with the filling you’ve chosen.

Note: A single-crust pie is a pie with the crust only on the bottom; a double-crust pie is one with a top and bottom crust.

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Tips for Crust Success

• Clean off your counter so you’ve got space to move the rolling pin freely.

• The water must be very cold to bind the crust without melting the fat. Start by making a glass of ice water several minutes before you begin to make the crust. Do not use any of the ice in the dough, of course.

• The less you handle the dough, the better. Some old-school chefs suggest you use your hands to cut in the fat, rubbing it between your fingers and into the flour. Unfortunately, your skin’s natural oils will toughen the pastry considerably and your body heat will liquefy the fat.

• Use a light rolling pin. A heavy pin is great if you’re rolling out twenty pounds of croissant dough. Exert only as much pressure as will get the crust rolled out to the necessary diameter without smushing the fat and destroying the flaky layers.

• Roll a crust on the radius, not the diameter. Rolling edge to edge can result in poorly shaped crusts with jagged peaks and inlets. Start at the middle of the dough and roll toward the edge, rotating the pin by 10 degrees with each new roll.

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Three Other Crusts

Follow the technique on section Pies, Tarts, and Fruit Desserts to create any of these: start with the dry ingredients, cut in the fat, then stir in the liquids. But there are two important changes: (1) because some of the fats are liquid, you have to stir them in rather than cutting them in—cut in the solid fats first, then stir in the liquid ones; and (2) because butter melts more quickly than shortening and because some fats are in a liquid state, these crusts are easier to work with if you pop them in the refrigerator for 10 to 15 minutes before you roll them out.

1. Butter Crust

Makes a single crust for a 9-inch pie (can be doubled to make a top and bottom crust)

1 cup all-purpose flour, plus additional for dusting

1 teaspoon sugar

¼ teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons (½ stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into chunks

2 tablespoons solid vegetable shortening

2 to 3 tablespoons ice water

½ teaspoon lemon juice

2. Walnut Crust

Makes a single crust for a 9-inch pie (can be doubled to make a top and bottom crust)

1 cup all-purpose flour, plus additional for dusting

½ teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon cold unsalted butter

¼ cup walnut oil (see Note)

2 to 3 tablespoons