There is an ongoing debate among pie bakers regarding lard vs shortening. I prefer to use just butter myself, to avoid using either hydrogenated oils or preservative-laden lard from the grocery store. A butter crust is rich and flaky and smells wonderful while it bakes. If only cholesterol was no object. Butter is very high in cholesterol.
This crust recipe contains no lard, shortening, or butter. Instead, it features olive oil and flaxseed meal, with a touch of baking powder for lift. I sighed with relief when it was approved by G-man because he is a connoisseur of pie crust.
For either three single crust or one extra large double-crust pie:
1 1/2 cups unbleached flour
1/2 tsp lite salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup flaxseed meal (preferably golden flaxseed)
1/4 cup olive oil
2/3 cup warm water
Mix the dry ingredients together well. Add the olive oil and stir with a spoon until the mixture looks like crumbs.
Add the water. Unlike a traditional crust, a bit too moist works better than a bit too dry.
Allow he dough to sit for at least 15 minutes to relax the gluten in the flour.
Roll the dough out. It will not be dainty or crumbly like traditional crust. It will expand some during baking, so roll it thinner than regular pie crust.
Fold the crust onto into the pie plate and proceed with your pie recipe.
For a pre-baked shell, bake for 10-11 minutes at 400F.
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