A Bountiful Kitchen: Best Basic Flaky Pie Crust

I posted this a month or so ago, with my Chicken Pot Pie recipe. Here it is again, with tips. Don't tell me you can't make crust. DO NOT BE AFRAID. It's only flour and shortening. And a little water. You can do it.

Best Basic Flaky Pie Crust
A Bountiful Kitchen

2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup shortening
½ cup very cold water

Mix flour and salt. Cut in shortening with pastry blender or knives. Add water. Stir with fork until flour is absorbed and ball forms. Flour surface and rolling pin well. Flatten dough with hand to make round pancake shape. Roll out from center to about 1/8” thickness. Fold in half, lift onto pie plate. Open and shape to pan. Cut off excess dough and crimp edges.
If baking for single crust pie needing baked shell follow directions below for Single Blind Baked Crust.

Tips:
-Dough will be easier to handle if chilled for an hour or so if you are a beginner baker. Not necessary, but it may help in handling of dough.
-Try rolling the dough around the rolling pin and then unrolling right onto the plate.
-Try ½ regular and ½ butter flavor Crisco.
-Some people like to “cut” the flour in with their fingers.
-Don’t cut the flour and shortening too much, the pieces of shortening are what make the crust flaky.
-If your pie is getting too brown on the edges, take a piece of foil, fold in half to make a square then cut a half circle out of the middle. Unfold and put over your pie.
-Brush beaten egg or egg white over your pie dough before filling with pumpkin to avoid soggy crust.

-To bake a single crust:
It is important when baking a single crust to form the edges of the pie to the very edge of the pie plate. Do not skimp on dough on the edge of the crust. You want to have a thick layer of crust in order to prevent shrinkage. Poke holes in the bottom and sides of the crust to prevent bubbles from forming.
Place the rack on the bottom shelf of your oven.
Turn oven to 500 degrees. Yes, 500. You want the oven to be very hot when you place the crust into the oven. I let it preheat for at least 15 minutes.
Place the formed pie shell into your refrigerator for 30-40 minutes.
After the crust has been refrigerated bake on the bottom shelf for 10 minutes. Keep an eye on your crust through the window in your oven if you have one after about the 5 minute mark. This takes about 8 minutes in my oven if I am baking two single crusts at once.