Here's the recipe for the famous Hot Water Pie Crust Recipe with very detailed instructions.
HOT WATER PIE CRUST RECIPE
1 cup minus 2 Tbsp. shortening
1/4 hot water
1 Tbsp. milk
2-1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
Place shortening in large bowl. Pour hot water and milk over the shortening. With a dinner fork, break up the shortening into smaller pieces. Tilt bowl and beat quickly until the mixture looks like whipped cream. This will take 3-5 minutes of constant beating. Mix together flour and salt, add to the shortening mixture and mix well with the fork until the dough forms a ball that cleans the bowl. Divide the pie dough into two parts.
WAXED PAPER ROLLING METHOD
Tear off two square sheets of waxed paper. Lightly moisten the countertop and place on sheet of paper on it. Place one dough ball on the waxed paper and cover it with the other sheet. Using a rolling pin, press on the dough, rolling it from the center out to the edges. Keep rolling until the pastry is larger than an upside down pie pan. Be careful to keep the dough as even as you can.
Then peel off the top paper. Use the bottom sheet of paper to flip the dough into the pie pan. Carefully peel off the second sheet of waxed paper, holding the paper close to the pie crust so you don't tear it. Then ease the pastry into the pan, pushing down to the bottom and sides of the pan. Fill the pie crust, then repeat the procedure with the top crust. Seal the edges by folding the top crust under the bottom one at the edge, then press to seal and flute.
For a single pie crust, use 1/2 cup minus 1 Tbsp. shortening, 2 Tbsp. hot water, 1-1/2 tsp. milk, 1-1/8 cups flour and 1/4 tsp. salt.
To blind bake the crust, line the pie crust with foil and add dried beans or pie weights (once you use the beans for this, they're no good for cooking. Keep them on hand for this purpose.) Bake at 375 degrees F for 15 minutes. Then carefully remove the foil with the beans (or weights) inside and continue baking for another 7-13 minutes or until the crust is light golden brown in spots. You can also omit the foil and beans; then just prick the crust to allow steam to escape, and prick the crust again halfway through the baking time, which should be about 20 minutes.
On the next page you'll find a traditional Pie Crust Recipe with very detailed instructions. Here are some basic traditional recipe pie crust tips.
All ingredients should really be ice cold. It doesn’t matter if you use lard, solid vegetable shortening, or butter - just follow your taste. (Incidentally, did you know scientists have discovered that lard isn’t as bad for you as once thought?) Keep a few ice cubes in the water you sprinkle over the pastry. Have patience while you cut the shortening in to the dry ingredients. It will all come together. And don’t handle it too much. Working the dough causes gluten to form - that flour protein that is so desirable in bread, but makes pastries tough.
Follow the recipe carefully. Spoon the flour lightly into the measuring cup - don’t scoop it out with the measuring cup, and don’t pack it. Cut in means to work the shortening into the dry ingredients by pulling two knives or a pastry blender across the shortening in different directions, breaking it up into smaller and smaller pieces. As you sprinkle the cold water over the shortening-flour mixture, toss quickly and lightly with a fork, until the particles stick together when gently pressed. Then gather up the pieces of dough and form into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate. After about an hour, roll out using the waxed paper method described in the Hot Water Pastry recipe, or the traditional flour and stockinette rolling method described in the Traditional Pie Crust recipe on the next page.
NEXT PAGE: Traditional Pie Crust Recipe
