Pie Crust

This dough needs to sit overnight in the fridge, so plan ahead, but it's totally worth it. Out of the half dozen different recipes of piecrust I've made for my family, they've always voted this one as consistently the best. Other than that overnight stay, it's a very simple recipe and easy to work, especially if you have a food processor to help.

While the ingredients list is exactly the same, the steps to mix the piecrust are slightly different, as I've mixed in some of my own experience working with it. I highly recommend you use the weighed measurements instead as they will provide the most consistent ratios.

• 130 grams (1/2 cup + 1 tbsp) warm water
• 28 grams (2 tbsp) granulated sugar
• 6 grams (1 tsp) fine salt
• 312 grams (2.5 cups) all-purpose flour
• 170 grams (3/4 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch cubes and frozen
• 60 grams (1/4 cup) vegetable shortening, preferably in baking stick form, cut into 1/4-inch pieces, frozen​

1. Keep some butter and shortening in the freezer as a ready supply whenever you wish to make piecrust. Otherwise, make sure you put some in the freezer far enough in advance of when you want to make the piecrust that the butter can freeze solid (the shortening won't freeze solid, but it should become very very cold).
2. ​In a large bowl or cup, mix the sugar and salt with the water and stir until they have all melted into the water. Place the water mixture into the freezer; you will want it to be ice cold by the time you use it.
3. Measure the flour out and also place this in the freezer.
4. Measure out the required amounts of butter and shortening and cut them up. I don't usually bother going down as much as a 1/4-inch when using a food processor; usually 1/2-inch chunks or smaller are okay.
5. Take the flour out of the freezer and pour it into the food processor's bowl. Add the butter to it. Turn on the processor for several seconds (don't pulse - if you do, you'll get flour flying everywhere with each pulse) and then stop it to check on the size of the butter pieces. You'll want them to be roughly pea-sized, so continue processing them if necessary.
6. Add the shortening, then process. Because shortening is so much softer, it will take much less time to get them cut down to size. They should be mostly pea-sized also, but if you find just a few larger pieces, you can smoosh them between your fingers instead of over-processing.
7. Pour everything into a large bowl. Take the water mixture out of the freezer and drizzle it over the dough. Using a plastic bowl/bench scraper, fold the mixture until the water is roughly mixed throughout, then switch to your hands. Working quickly so that the heat from your hands don't warm up the dough too much, lightly gather the clumps with your fingers and use your palm to fold over and press the dough into the bottom of the bowl a few times (don't knead it, just give it a few quick squishes) until the dough just starts to come together into one large mass. Divide into two equal discs of about 1-inch thickness (mine turn out to be roughly 320 grams each if you want something more precise than just eyeballing). 
8. Double-wrap them in plastic wrap and then let them rest in the fridge for at least 8 hours. They can stay in the fridge for up to 3 days this way, or you can freeze them for up to a week. When taking them out of the freezer, let them defrost in the refrigerator overnight.

To prebake:

1. Roll out the dough and pan and flute the piecrust. Chill it in the freezer until firm, 15-20 minutes.
2. Preheat the oven to 375 F with a rack in the center. Prepare a square of parchment about 13" on each side. Set the pan on a baking sheat and set the square of parchment in the pie shell, gently smoothing it into place and pleating as needed to fit against the bottom and sides of the shell. The edges will project beyond the rim of the pan.
3. Fill the shell to the top with dried beans or uncooked rice. Gently stir the beans around to ensure there are no air pockets down in bottom edges. Top up as needed so that the beans/rice are level with the top of the piecrust edges.
4. Bake the shell for 25 minutes. Take the piecrust out and set on a cooling rack. Set a heat-proof mixing bowl nearby, and then carefully bringing together the points of the parchment, lifting the beans/rice out and transfering them to the mixing bowl.
5. Using a fork, pierce the bottom of the piecrust a few times, then slide the piecrust back into the oven and bake for another 7 minutes for prebaked, or 10 minutes for fully prebaked. Cool on a wire rack.