Traditional Pie Crust: Leaf Lard & Butter Dough

Ingredients

• 2½ cups all-purpose unbleached flour
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 8 tablespoons (punsalted butter, in tablespoon-size pieces
• 8 tablespoons rendered leaf lard, in tablespoon-size pieces *
• ½ cup ice water plus 1–2 tablespoons more as needed
• Flour for rolling out dough

* Leaf lard is available at most butcher shops, some farmers’ markets, and also Online.

Directions

• Add all ingredients except the ice water to a large bowl.
• Quickly mix the mixture together with your hands or a pastry blender with an up and down motion, until the ingredients appear like cracker crumbs with lumps the size of peas.
• Sprinkle ice water over the mixture and stir lightly with a fork until a handful of dough holds together. Add more water as needed.
• Divide the dough in two and make two discs about 5 inches across.
• Wrap the dough in two plastic wrap packages, and chill for about an hour.
• Take out the dough and allow to warm slightly  until they feel slightly soft to the touch and easy to roll out.
• Unwrap one and place it on a well-floured board or pastry cloth.  Sprinkle some flour on top. Hit the dough with your rolling pin several times. Turn it over and hit the other side.
• Sprinkle more flour onto the dough as needed to keep the pin from sticking, and roll the crust out from the center in all directions.
• Roll the dough until is is approximately 1 to 2 inches larger than your pie pan, brush off the extra flour.
• Lay the dough in the pie pan carefully.  Don’t worry if the crust has cracks or even a small hole. Brush a little water where it needs to be patched and glue on the patch piece.
• Put the filling in the pie and repeat the process with the other piece of dough.

Note: You may add a teaspoon or two of sugar if you prefer a sweeter dough.