Louise Piper’s Oil Pastry

Nicki’s Note:

I ran across this recipe via Slashfood today. I have always had a hard time making the “perfect” pie crust. This article gives me hope! 🙂

Recipe Source: The Oregonian, via Slashfood

Makes one 9-inch double-crust pie.

Louise Piper is a perennial pie winner at the Iowa State Fair, one of the biggest in the country, and she’s been using this crust for almost 40 years. If you substituted olive oil for the vegetable oil, and water for the milk, you’d have my mother-in-law’s crowd-pleasing — and vegan — pie crust recipe instead. Cut the recipe in half for a single-crust pie. Before using, check your oil to make sure it’s not rancid. Sticky oil and a musty, off-odor are clues. To measure the flour, spoon it into the measuring cup and level off.

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup cold whole (or 2 percent) milk

Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl. Measure the oil and milk into the same liquid measuring cup but do not stir. Add to the flour and mix briskly to combine. The dough will pull together into a ball.

Divide the dough in half. Roll out each half to 1/8 inch thick between 2 sheets of wax paper. Use as directed in your recipe. Note: Because this is made with oil, the dough must be used right away. After a day in the fridge the oil will start to separate and seep out.

— From “Pie” by Ken Haedrich