Yield: Pastry for one double crust (9-inch) pie
2½ cups (10 ½ ounces) all-purpose flour (I like King Arthur brand all-purpose flour for the crust
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon baking powder
1 cup (16 tablespoons, 8 ounces) cold unsalted butter
2 teaspoons vinegar or lemon juice
4 to 6 tablespoons ice water
Whisk together the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder. Dice the butter into small cubes.
With a pastry blender (or your fingers), work butter into the flour mixture until it’s well distributed and resembles large peas, leaving some pieces as large as your thumbnail. Add vinegar (or lemon juice) then water, a tablespoon at a time, and stir with a fork until moist clumps form. Alternatively, if you have a food processor, place flour mixture and diced butter in the bowl of a food processor. Using on/off turns, cut butter into dry ingredients until the mixture looks like sand. Add vinegar, then water, a tablespoon at a time, and process just until a dough ball is formed. (I used the full 6 tablespoons.)
With floured hands, place the dough on a lightly floured surface, flattening into a disk. Or, divide disk in half I you are making a two-crust pie. Wrap disc(s) in plastic wrap. Chill for 1 hour before proceeding with your recipe.
Kitchen Ade note: Dough may be refrigerated for up to 3 days before using. Dough that has been chilled for an extended period will need to stand at room temperature, about 10 to 15 minutes, so that it will soften enough to roll easily. Dough may be frozen, double wrapped, for up to a month. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator for use the next day.
Contributed by Teresa Difrancesco, Hardeeville, SC
Yield: 1 (9-inch) pie
1¼ cups sugar
¼ cup all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon grated orange peel
1½ cups ½-inch rhubarb pieces
1½ cups strawberries, hulled and cut in half lengthwise
1 tablespoon butter
Unbaked pastry for a double-crust 9-inch lattice pie
Heat the oven to 425 F.
Whisk together the sugar, flour and orange peel. Fold in rhubarb and strawberries. Pour fruit into a pastry-lined 9-inch pie dish. Dot with butter.
Place lattice strips of pastry over filling; seal and flute.
Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until bubbly and hot. Allow to rest for at least 20 minutes on a wire rack before serving.