Lard Piecrust

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Based on Flaky Pastry Dough from the Joy of Cooking.

Ingredients

• 2-½ cups organic sprouted white wheat or this brand for example
• 1 teaspoon sugar (I used organic evaporated cane sugar)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup lard, from pastured pigs
• ⅓ cup plus 1 tablespoon ice water

Instructions

Combine dry ingredients, then add lard using a pastry blender. Blend until some of the lard is in pea-sized pieces. Drizzle the ice water over the dry mixture and cut it in with a rubber spatula until it is evenly moistened. Press down on the dough with the spatula. If it sticks together you do not need to add more water, but if it is still dry, add 1 to 2 more tablespoons of water. Divide the dough in half and press each half into a round flat disk and wrap tightly in plastic. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or for several hours (up to 2 days). You will only need one half of the pie dough for this recipe. I froze the second one for later use.

Roll out the pie crust on a lightly floured surface.  I use my counter top.  Carefully place the crust in the pie plate.  Trim to fit and crimp the edges.  To keep the crust from puffing, I line the crust with foil lined parchment paper filled with dry beans.  You could also use pie weights.  Bake the bean-filled crust in a preheated 400 degree oven for 20 minutes.  Remove the parchment paper and beans.  Bake for about 10 more minutes until evenly browned.

If you haven’t worked with pie dough very much, I recommend reading the excellent and very detailed instructions for making pies in the Joy of Cooking.

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