Homemade Pie Dough

Directions

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   1. With a knife, cut the shortening into nickel-size pieces and place them in a large bowl. Add the flour and mix only enough to combine, or coat, the shortening nuggets with flour.
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   2. Add the salt and, while continuing to mix, drizzle in the ice water - blend just until the dough comes together or starts to look like a thick paste.
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   3. Remove dough from the bowl and place it on a flat surface that is dusted with flour. With your hands, pat down the dough into a rough rectangle about 1 inch thick. Cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours. (The shortening needs to chill and solidify, which makes the dough easier to roll out and work with.)
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   Tip: When a recipe calls for ice water, make sure that you measure only the water, without the ice cubes, or your measurements will be off.
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   Rolling out the dough and laying it in the pie pan
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   1. Using your fingers, spread the butter back and forth over the pie plate until well covered.
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   2. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and place it on a lightly floured flat surface. Cut the dough in half and place half into the refrigerator. Using a rolling pin, roll out half of the dough into a circle that's a little bigger than the circumference of the pie plate - that is, roughly an 11-inch circle for a 9-inch pie plate. Dust the dough and the counter frequently to prevent sticking - but use very little flour each time.
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   3. To lift the dough, place a rolling pin close to an edge of the pie plate. Lift about 3 inches of the edge of the dough up onto the rolling pin. Slowly roll the pin towards you while lifting the dough.
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   4. To lay the dough over a buttered pie plate, gently place the rolling pin over one edge of the plate and unroll the dough over the entire plate. Then lift the edges of the dough so that gravity lowers it into the bottom of the plate. With your fingers, press the dough into the corners of the plate. The dough should cover the sides, leaving about an inch or two of overlap on the edge.
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    5. After adding the filling, remove the other half of the dough from the refrigerator, roll it thin, and cover the pie. Squeeze the edges of the dough together and crimp to form a fluted edge.