The Perfect Pie Crust
Pie crust can be made with a variety of fats, from shortening, to the classic lard. Butter and shortening are also a great combination. Use vegetable oil for an extra easy, vegan crust.
When you want to impress your guests with your pies follow one of these 4 suggestions!
Pie Crust with Shortening
Shortening makes for a tender, flaky crust and is often preferred for this reason. It is also easy to work with, because it doesn’t melt as quickly as some other fats. Do keep in mind that recipes can also be made with a combination of butter and shortening.
Pie Crust with Butter
If you like the taste of a butter crust, substitute cold butter cut into 1/2-inch pieces, for half of the shortening called for in your recipe. The milkfats in butter will also help the crust brown nicely.
Pie Crust With Lard
Throughout American history, lard has been used to make pie crust pastry. Lard was easy to come by when more Americans lived on farms and using leftover pork product was an economical way to make pies before butter and shortening were as readily available as they are today. Throughout the 20th century, our eating habits changed drastically, and lard fell out of fashion, especially as alternatives, like shortening were introduced around mid-century. Recently, however, lard has seen a resurgence. If you have lard on hand, try swapping it in for the shortening called for in your recipe. As both lard and shortening are solid fats, the pastry should turn out fine. However as with any substitution, you may notice a slight change in the texture and flavor of your pie crust.
Pie Crust with Oil aka Vegan Crust
If you wish to make a vegan pie or are just in a hurry, a crust made with vegetable oil is perfect. No rolling is needed for this crust and because of its texture, it should be used for pies that have a bottom crust only.
I hope you found these types of crust useful! Enjoy.
Thank you so much for these tips, we have been looking for the perfect crust.
Thank you Chas. I hope you do better with crusts than I do! Enjoy.
We tend to make our crusts with butter or shortening…. though I often just buy them as they are so much easier to work with (though not nearly as tasty!). Thanks for sharing with us at Encouraging Hearts and Home. Pinned.
I use butter anymore. But my husband has been taking to making the pastry crusts when Amy doesn’t. I like ready made when I am in a hurry! Be safe.
Beautiful crusts, Marilyn! I’ve always heard that laed was the best for pie but I have not seen it for sale locally. I grew up with Crisco being used by my Mom in crusts, but now I’ve switched to butter. I think chilling the crust before baking is the answer to keeping the butter crust flaky.
I had lard the other day and it was more heavy for me. Of course, crust isn’t my friend! I like chilling everything but eggs when I bake. My kitchen is small and gets too hot! Have a wonderful week!