Making a great pie crust gets easier with practice. For the perfect pie crust, work the dough as little as possible and refrain from using too much flour. The big question is whether to use vegetable shortening, oil or vegan butter. Shortening makes a flakier crust, but vegan butter tastes better even though it is more difficult to handle and requires more practice. The key to success is to have all of the ingredients as cold as possible and to place the dough in the refrigerator between each step to keep the mixture firm. There are other great crusts in this cookbook that are easier to make if you prefer fewer steps and less preparation time.

One single crust for a 9” pie plate

• 6 tablespoon vegan butter stick
• 1 cup all-purpose or whole-wheat pastry flour
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons ice cold water

Two crusts (top and bottom) for a 9” pie plate

• 2 cups all-purpose flour or whole-wheat pastry flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 12 tablespoons vegan butter stick 
• 5 tablespoons ice cold water 

Preheat oven to 425°F (220°C)

Take one vegan butter stick, and use the markings on the wrapper as a guide to cut into six one-tablespoon slices. Cut each slice into 4 pieces and spread the pieces on a small plate. Place plate in the freezer for 30 minutes.

Stir flour and salt together in a large bowl. Cut all the pieces of butter into the mixture with a fork or pastry cutter or use your hands and work the mixture until the texture is like a bowl of small English peas. Add ice water one tablespoon at a time, stirring with a fork until mixture will hold together when you make a ball. The ball should look a little rough in texture and not smooth. If you are making the double recipe, divide the dough in half, forming each half into a flat, round disk-like shape about 5” in diameter and 1” thick. Wrap each disk with plastic wrap. Put both wrapped disks of dough into the freezer for one hour.

Remove one of the disks from the freezer and let it stand until the disk becomes pliant enough that you can roll it out. Place 2 sheets of wax or parchment paper on a hard surface and lightly flour the surface of the paper. Place the disk of dough on the paper. Starting in the middle of the dough, use a rolling pin to push outward in all directions until you form a circle. Do not roll out too thin, especially around the edges. Roll dough 3” wider than your pie pan or plate.

Flour your rolling pin to keep the dough from sticking. If sticky dough is a problem for you, then place dough in the middle of two floured sheets of wax paper and roll the dough that way.

When you are ready to place the dough into a pie plate or pan, loosely wrap the dough around the rolling pin and then unroll it into the pan or fold the dough in half and move it to the pan. Press the dough into the pan and trim edges, but don’t worry about fluting them at this point. 

If you are baking a single crust, place the pan and dough into the freezer for 30 minutes. Remove the pan with the dough from the freezer, flute the edges and take a fork and prick the dough all over on the bottom of the pan. Then line the dough with parchment paper and fill with dried beans. The dried beans will help the dough bake evenly. Bake for 15 minutes or until the sides and edges are golden brown.

If you are using a top and bottom crust, then placing the dough and pan into the freezer is not necessary. Fill the bottom crust in the pie pan with filling. Place top crust on pie and pinch or flute top and bottom crusts together. Prick the top with a fork or cut out a center design. Bake until golden brown on top and edges. If you notice that the edges are browning too fast, then cover the edges of the pie pan with a 3” strip of aluminum foil. Remove the foil for the last 15 minutes of baking time for the pie. Place pies in a 425°F (220°C) preheated oven and then lower the temperature setting to 350°.