Perfect Pastry for Country Pies

Country cooks need no introduction to perfect pastry; they know a good pie crust when they see, cut and taste it. The top of the pie is light-golden to golden in the center, the brown deepening slightly toward the edges. It has what our grandmothers called “bloom,” a soft luster rather than a dull look.

The surface of the baked crust is a little blistery or irregular, although pastry made with hot water or oil usually is smoother (it also is more mealy than pastry made with lard or other shortening). The crust is thin. It’s delicately crisp and flaky, easy to cut, fork-tender and not crumbly; it holds its shape when cut.