Name: Old-Fashioned Flaky Pie Crust
Yield: Makes two 9-inch pie crusts (or 1 crust for a double-crust pie)
Ingredients: 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour; 1 cup cake flour (not self-rising); 1 tsp. sugar; 1 tsp. fine sea salt; 1 large egg; ⅓ cup plus 2 to 3 Tbsp. ice water, plus more if necessary; 1 tsp. distilled white vinegar; ½ cup cold vegetable shortening, cut into cubes; 8 Tbsp. (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes

Pie tin that says famous pies on a metal table.

Photo by Angie Mosier

This recipe produces super-tender flaky crust that will give you bragging rights. My grandmother always made hers with lard, but I use a combination of good-quality vegetable shortening and butter instead. The acidity in the vinegar weakens the gluten just enough to make rolling the crust a breeze, and it also prevents shrinkage when the crust is baked.

This recipe was excerpted from 'The Back in the Day Bakery Cookbook' by Cheryl Day. Buy the full book on Amazon.

Cook's note:

If you have frozen the dough, defrost overnight in the refrigerator.

Recipe notes

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