1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup frozen lard or shortening cut into, bits
3 tbsp ice water
Directions
To ensure a tender crust, this recipe should not be doubled.
Thoroughly freezing the lard or shortening will give you the flakiest
crust.
PLACE THE FLOUR AND SALT in the bowl of a food processor and pulse 2-3
times. Scatter the lard or shortening over the flour mixture.
Sprinkle with the water and process about 5 seconds or until dough
just begins to form. Shape into a ball, then flatten it slightly.
Dust lightly with flour and place in the center of a 2-gallon-size
plastic storage bag. It may be refrigerated at this point up to 40
minutes. With the storage bag open and the dough circle centered in
the bag, roll the dough into a circle that almost touches the edges
of the bag. Cut and discard the top sheet of the plastic bag so that
the dough is lying on the bottom sheet. Flip onto the pie plate; peel
the plastic off and discard. Cut the pastry so it hangs about an inch
over the rim. Lightly press the overhanging pastry under (between the
pastry and the pie tin). Pinch or crease the edges of the pastry in a
zigzag or fluted pattern. This is not only decorative, it also acts
as a wall to keep the filling in. Yield: 1 single-crust 8- to 10-inch
pie shell.
Servings: 1 servings
All-American Pie Pastry Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Dessert; Pie
The History of Recipes
Historians have found proof that recipes existed far back into the distant past, certainly as far back as the Egyptians, and maybe further still. Interesting though that maybe, sadly, these early cookbooks were just very basic pictorial, hieroglyphic or cunieform recipes for preparing food.
Interestingly, the oldest recipe in existence, according to historians are a few stone tablets in the Sumerian language which show the baking of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as making people feel exhilarated and blissful. Later on, in Roman times 25BC a roman called Apicius created a collection of scripts describing recipes enjoyed by his fellow Romans. In his works, Apicius recounts how the roman meals were separated into hors d`oeuvres, entrees and desserts, known in latin as `Gustatio, Primae Mensae and Secundae Mensae`. He also recounts how the Roman cooks used a good variety of herbs, including some that we all recognise for example thyme, rue and asafoetida. Closer to modern times, there were two interesting books from the 14th Century - one book published under the title `Forme of Cury`, and another named `Curye on Inglish`. Amusingly, these books are nothing to do with the indian curry that is served today, but rather descriptions of the types of meals served to the rich and powerful of the period. In the fifteenth century, people returning from the crusades brought us many foods, spices and herbs from Arab cooking, including coriander, parsley, and rosemary. These new spices and herbs caused an outbreak in books on cookery, some of which are now in academic collections. During the succeeding few hundred years, the upper classes competed with each other to serve the best banquets, and as a consequence, the best cooks and their recipes were greatly in demand. Even so, it wasn`t until the 1800s that cookery and recipe publications became really popular. The Famous Mrs Isabella Beeton in the UK, and the equally well-known Fannie Farmer in the US, dedicated their lives to collecting, verifying, and recording recipes of the day. By the arrival of the 1900s, cookery books are in high demand, due to more people being able to read, people having more leisure time and having more money. |
We hope you enjoy this All American Pie Pastry recipe.
