CRUST PROTECTOR

To protect the crust edge from overbrowning, fold a 12-inch square of foil into fourths. Cut 3½ inches o? folded corners; unfold to reveal a 7-inch center hole. Loosely mold foil over pie edge before baking.

butter or shortening?

All types of fat coat flour proteins so gluten doesn’t form. This prevents a tough pastry. Because shortening has a higher melting point, it stays in pockets in the pastry dough longer than butter while baking. When the shortening finally melts, steam forms in the pockets and the layers puff apart. This makes a flaky pastry. Butter, however, adds rich flavor to pastry. For the best results, this recipe uses both types of fat.

SPOON FINISH

Trim pastry even with edge of the plate. Use a spoon to press design into edge.

BRAID

Cut rolled pastry into long narrow strips. Lay three strips next to each other and braid. Attach braid to edge of pie with water or milk.

LEAVES

Use a knife or small leaf cutter to cut out rolled pastry. Use a table knife to make veins in leaves. Attach leaves as for CIRCLES.

RECTANGLES

Cut rolled pastry into narrow strips, then cut strips into rectangles. Prick with a fork. Attach as for CIRCLES.

CIRCLES

Cut small circles out of rolled pastry. Brush edge of crust with water or milk and attach cutouts, slightly overlapping.

THE WEAVE

Trim pastry even with edge of plate. Cut at ½-inch intervals. Fold every other section in.

CRISSCROSS

Trim pastry even with edge of plate. Use tines of fork to make crisscross pattern.

PRESSED FLUTE

Crimp pastry; flatten flutes slightly. Press inside flutes with tines of fork.

decorate

If you’re making a fancy finish (like Braids, Leaves, Rectangles, or Circles), make an extra half batch of pastry dough to use for the cutouts.

FREEZING PASTRY SHELLS

Have a pastry shell ready whenever you want to bake pie. Fit the pastry dough into a freezer-to-oven pie pan or tart pan. Place the whole thing in a resealable freezer bag; seal. Freeze up to 3 months. Fill frozen pie shell as desired and bake. You may need to add 5 to 10 minutes to the baking time.