Page 37 - United States of Pie

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt until well
blended and free of lumps. Add the butter and lard and toss gently to
coat. With your fingertips, work the fats into the flour, rubbing the

larger pieces of butter and lard until the mixture resembles gravel.
Sprinkle on the water, 1 tablespoon at a time, starting with a total
of 3 tablespoons and then gradually adding more water if needed.
Blend it in with your fingertips, as quickly as possible, pulling the
mixture together and creating a dough. The dough will become less
sticky and more of a mass when enough water has been added.
Finally, knead the dough minimally in the bowl to make sure it has
just enough moisture.

Divide the dough in half. (One mound of dough should weigh
approximately 10½ ounces.) Place each half on a sheet of plastic
wrap and seal it. Gently form each one into a disk roughly ¾-inch
thick. Place the wrapped dough in the refrigerator and leave it for at
least 1 hour, or up to 2 days, before rolling it out. The dough can be

frozen for up to 1 month and defrosted in the refrigerator before
using.

ABOUT LARD

What is sticky and smooth, off-white like a scoop of French

vanilla ice cream, smells remotely like a barnyard yet tastes
flavorless, and makes the lightest, flakiest pie dough imaginable?
The substance is lard, and before gasping about trans fats and hy-
drogenation, let me tell you that lard is actually lower in saturated
fat than butter and is 45 percent monounsaturated fat.
Lard is, simply put, rendered pork fat. The highest quality lard
is leaf lard; it comes from the fat that surrounds a pig’s kidneys.

When this lard is rendered and cooled it is virtually flavorless,
making it ideal for baking. When you hear people reminiscing
about their grandmother’s featherweight pie dough made with
lard, this is the lard they’re talking about. Fatback is the next
grade of lard; it comes from the back skin and muscle of the pig.