Pie crust with Lard
Beautiful, flakey, crusty pastry made with Lard.
There was a reason that Grandma’s pie crust was hands down the best you ever had, and that is because… you guessed it, it was made with lard!
Unfortunately, thanks to the unsubstantiated health risks circulated in the mid 1900’s most people moved away from using lard and as this once loved pantry staple fell from grace, it was hard to come by in any grocery store for nearly half a century!!
Today, thankfully the landscape is changing, as consumers are becoming more informed about different fats and oils, how they are produced and what makes a ‘good or bad fat’. At this point I will add that if you are thinking about getting some lard back in your pantry, buying from a local farm will allow you to ask questions about how the pigs are raised and what they are fed. Learn more about the benefits of pork fat here.
If you are a pie lover like me, you will need no convincing that the pastry makes the pie, and so i have a wonderful recipe to share with you, that will give you the no fail, flakey, short crust topping that doesn’t go soggy next to the filling.
Check out my recipe and click on the notes to discover my best kept secret for amazing pastry success.
Pie Crust with Lard
Recipe.
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To cover a 12 inch pie dish
2 cups all purpose four
1/2 cup ( 113g) lard - cold
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tsp salt -
Sift flour and salt together into a mixing bowl.
Add lard to mixing bowl and use a round bladed knife to cut it into small pieces.
Using your fingertips rub the lard and flour together until it resembles breadcrumb texture.
Add in the sour cream, using your round knife to begin mixing and as the dough starts to form use your hands to work the dough into a ball.
Flour a work surface and rolling pin,
then turn dough onto work surface and roll out to 1/4 inch thickness.
Hold your pie dish over top of your rolled pastry to check size and then using your rolling pin, roll the pie crust backwards over the rolling pin and use the rolling pin to place the pastry over the pie dish without breaking.
After assembling your pie don’t forget to add some air holes or slits to let cooking steam escape and if desired brush the pastry over with an egg-white wash. -
There is a rule to making pastry that in truth took me a while to catch on to, so i’m going to spell it out for you.
The higher the FAT content of your dough, the flakier and lighter your crust will be.
Using lard over butter gives a superior quality of pastry, however before i started using lard, I used a butter/sour cream blend.
Just for kicks i decided to try the lard recipe including the sour cream addition and the results have been hands down phenomenal every time. To date its my best kept secret for making no fail pie crust!
I would love to know if you try this recipe, drop me a comment below with your feedback and what type of pie you make with it!
