Pie dough

Pie Dough

by Mark Fitzgerald

"On this day, returning from writing, the assistant captain offered me a piece of pie. However, I had seen him roll the dough out on the wagon tongue. I said, 'No thank you. I don't care for any!' Father ate the pie and relished it, saying to me, 'You were very foolish not to have taken any, as it tasted very good.' Before I reached Salt Lake City, I would have had that piece of pie."

This recipe was put together by my wife, a master at making pies.  For some reason pies scare lots of people.  It shouldn't.  Besides what is wrong in practicing with pies?  In fact maybe that should be a nightly chore.  The other person I knew that was a master in pie making was my grandmother.  To me pie is a nostalgic desert that brings much more to the table than sweetness.

Ingredients

2 2/3 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/3 cups shortening
1/2 cup water + 1 tablespoon water

Directions

Mix flour and salt in a bowl. Scope the shortening into the bowl and cut into the flour with a pastry blender.  If you really want to do pies, this is the right piece of equipment and makes it easy.  You can use 2 knives, a hand mixer, or even a food processor, but a pastry blender is pretty cheep and really easy.  The flour and shortening mixture should look like little peas or pebbles.

Drizzle the water over the flour. Stir with a fork until it comes together.  This gives you a crumbly, loosely packed ball.  Take that and put it on your floured surface and roll it out.  Try to make it circular and about a 1/8 inch thick.  When in doubt, we likely it thicker than thinner.

Make sure to see how this recipe fits into the entire menu we have cooked up for LDS Pioneer Handcart Trek recreations.