Food Processor (No processor? See by-hand tip in notes section)
Rolling Pin
Ingredients
1½cups(220g) unbleached all purpose flour,measured carefully if using volume*
1cup(125g) whole wheat pastry flour(or omit and use all 2.5 cups of all purpose)
1tablespoon(13g) sugar
1/2teaspoon(4g) saltuse 1 tsp. if using unsalted butter
1cup(226g) butter(or lard, if you choose)
2teaspoons(10g) vinegar(optional)
1/2cup(120g) ice cold water**plus 1-2 tablespoons more if needed
Instructions
Add the first 4 ingredients (flours, sugar, salt) to the bowl of a food processor and pulse a couple times. Cut each cube of butter into 12 pieces and add to the dry ingredients. Pulse until coarse crumbs (medium-small) form, about 12-15 pulses.
Add vinegar and 1/2 cup ice water to mixture and pulse until the dough starts to form along the edges of bowl but is still a bit crumbly (about 14-15 pulses).
Grab a bit of dough and squeeze to see if it holds together - if edges are still crumbly, add a bit more water - 1 tablespoon at a time - as needed. The dough in the bowl should still look fairly crumbly but with some areas forming larger clumps.
Divide the dough onto 2 pieces of waxed paper (or plastic). Grab the edges of one of the paper squares to bring the crumbly dough together into a flattened disc, using hands to press & shape through the paper as needed. Wrap paper around the disc, repeat with other dough and refrigerate 30 minutes (or up to 2 days).***
Roll out one disc at a time onto a well floured surface. Don't worry about the edges splitting - just pinch back together, press edges into a circle and roll again.
Transfer the rolled dough to a pie plate, either by rolling onto the rolling pin and then unrolling over the pie plate or by folding in half or quarters before lifting it the the pie plate and unfolding. Fit the crust into plate, making sure it is touching the entire bottom of the plate (press down on the sides as needed to make sure the bottom is not stretched). Trim any edges that are a lot bigger than others - just here and there. You'll want 1 to 1½ inches overhang to roll and shape nice edges. (TIP: I don't trim anymore, I just fold it under to create a bigger edge and it helps minimize shrinkage.)
Shape edge by folding under the overhang, filling any areas that need it with extra dough, and smoothing edge until even. Shape with desired technique: fluting, fork edge, etc.
Refrigerate shaped dough 15-30 minutes (or longer) before filling and proceeding with your pie recipe. (TIP: You can also freeze the dough shaped in the pan so it's even more ready to go: flash freeze uncovered a couple hours and then cover the whole plate with plastic or fit it into an extra large baggie and freeze again until needed - up to 2 months in advance.)
To Blind Bake (bake in advance)
To bake the crust for a cream pie or other type of pie with a prebaked crust, preheat oven to 400 degrees, prick bottom of dough and bake for 15 minutes or until browned (using pie weights or not - it's up to you).
Notes
*Fluff flour and scoop flour into measuring cup and then use a knife to level. **To a small bowl add a couple ice cubes and cold water - let sit for a bit and use this to measure out the water.***You can freeze the discs for a couple of months, though you'll need to thaw it a day in the fridge before using. You can also roll and shape the dough, freeze it in the pie plate unbaked, and then just fill while still frozen and bake, adding 3-5 minutes to the total cooking time.To Make Without a Food Processor: Grate frozen butter cubes and put it back in the freezer for 10-15 minutes to get it back to cold. Mix it gently with the dry ingredients with a fork before adding the wet ingredients.Nutrition was calculated for crust only on a double crust pie (cut in half if using only a bottom crust).