Pause for Pie (Pi) Day–A pie crust recipe

Tomorrow is Pi day. In case you aren’t familiar with that, it is 3/14 (March is the third month, and it is the fourteenth day). A common abbreviation for the number pi is 3.14. Therefore, somebody made the connection. And of course, pi sounds like pie, so pi day became pie day, where you eat as much pie as you can. Yes, it’s kind of nerdy, but it is delicious. At least, if you like pie, which I do. So I thought in honor of pie day tomorrow, I’d share my family’s pie crust recipe. It is pretty simple compared to some, and I haven’t found one that I like better yet. I’m sure there are some other recipes that others swear by, but this one has always been dependable for me. Because this is an old family recipe, some of the instructions are a little vague in my copy, because it has been handed down, and most of us have learned it from doing it alongside our mother or grandmother. As a result, many of the instructions were given verbally, and taught in person rather than written out. I’ve done my best to fill in some of the blanks. Hopefully, you can follow well enough.

*Note: I am not a food blogger. This isn’t a fancy recipe with nice pictures. Hopefully, you like it anyhow.

Basic Vinegar Pie Crust

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 Cups flour (just all-purpose flour)
• 1C + 1Tbl Shortening
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1/4 tsp Baking Powder
• 1/4 Cup Cold Water
• 1 Egg
• 1 Tablespoon Vinegar

Directions

1- Mix the dry ingredients (flour, salt, and baking powder). Then, cut the shortening into the flour until larger pieces are pea-sized. Chill for at least fifteen minutes if possible. (I’ve done it without and it still turns out okay)

2- Mix the water, egg, and vinegar together in a small bowl. (And I mean small. It only has to hold a cup.) Then add it to the dry ingredients and mix until a ball is formed.

3- You should be able to make about two 8-9″ pies with tops, or four pies without the tops with this, so split the dough accordingly. Roll each section to the size you need for the pan you have. I like to roll it between plastic. (You can cut a brand new, clean, unscented garbage bag to make plastic sheets to do this on if you don’t have anything else. Please, don’t use a used garbage bag. New ones are clean, used ones are not.) Then you can take the top layer of the plastic off and flip the crust into the pan and shape it while using the bottom layer (which became the top layer when you flipped the crust into the pan) to stabilize it and keep it from ripping. Then you peel off that layer of plastic and it is ready to go.

4- If you are filling the pie, poke some holes in the bottom to keep air bubbles from forming. Add the filling, and then roll out the top and put it on. Then trim the edges and shape them how you like. If you aren’t baking the crust with the filling, just trim it and shape the edges.

5- As far as baking time and temperature, if you are baking with a filling, use the instructions for whatever filling you have. If you are baking an empty shell to fill with a cold filling, like pudding or cream or something, bake at 400 degrees Fareinheight until it is golden. The recipe doesn’t have a specific time on it, so I’d check it after 20 minutes and go from there. I wish I remembered a time better, but I usually bake it with a filling in it, so I haven’t worried about that time much. If you are baking an empty shell it helps to have something to weigh the crust down. They make fancy marble things for this, but I have lined the crust with foil and used salt before. It wasn’t great, but it was okay. If you don’t have something, just bake it anyhow. It will probably shrink a little, but it will taste good.

What filling would you put in your pie crust?