Serious Eats: Recipes
Karen Barker's Basic Pie Crust
I've never even tried to make a pie, but if I ever did, I would use Karen Barker's recipe for basic pie crust. Here it is, and what's interesting is how little it differs from Melissa Clark's in the New York Times.
Basic Pie Crust
Makes enough pastry for 2 single-crusted pies or 1 double-crusted pie.
I like to use a combination of butter and vegetable shortening in my crust. The butter contributes wonderful flavor, and the vegetable shortening gives the crust just the right amount of flakiness. I also thoroughly endorse the substitution of lard for the vegetable shortening. This recipe gives you a generous amount of pastry to allow for easy rolling.