• Mix the flour and salt together, then add the shortening. *It is very important not to skimp on the shortening or else the crust will be harder to roll out. I use a handheld dough blender to mix the flour and shortening together so that it is in very tiny pieces.
  1½ cups all-purpose flour, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, ½ cup vegetable shortening
  
• Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of ice water (make sure it is ice-cold and not warm) onto the flour mixture and gently toss with a fork. Repeat until all the flour mixture is moistened. (It usually takes me 7-8 tablespoons of ice water for a double crust.)
  5 tablespoons ice water
  
• Sprinkle some flour on the counter; put a small amount of flour on top of the dough and also on the rolling pin.
• Use your hands to form the dough into a ball. If you are making a double pie crust, set aside one-third of the dough for the top crust.
• Roll out the dough starting from the center and working your way out to the edges. Once it is about half the size you want it, fold the dough over slightly to flip the dough to the other side, and then continue to roll from the center outward until it is large enough to fit into the pie plate. I flip it so that it isn't stuck to the counter when you are trying to pick it up and place it into the pan.
  
• To pick up the dough and place it into the pie plate, fold it over a few times (like a burrito) and then unfold it once the dough is centered over the plate. Press the dough slightly in the corners of the plate. Cut off extra dough from the edges with a knife.
  
• For aesthetics and texture, I press my two thumbs together around the edges to make little ridges.
• If this is a double pie crust, roll the remaining third of the dough and repeat the steps of rolling out the dough starting with putting flour on the counter.
  2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, ⅔ cup vegetable shortening, 7 tablespoons ice water
  
• This dough will be placed on top of whatever filling you choose. Once you have placed it on top of the filling, press the two crust edges together and make ridges as described above.
  
• Then, dip a fork or pastry bush into milk and dab on the top layer of crust a few times.
  
• Sprinkle sugar or cinnamon-sugar on top of milk. (You could also use an egg wash for this step.)
• Cut a few vent holes and your pie ready to bake!
  

Baking Instructions

• If the filling you are putting in your pie is not cooked, bake it according to the recipe for whatever type of pie I'm making. (Do not prebake)
• If you are making a pie with filling that is already cooked, you should bake the crust before filling it (prebake). If prebaking: the crust needs to bake for 10 minutes at 450°F.
• When the pie is done baking, place it on a cooling rack until it has reached room temperature. Cutting slices will be easier if the pie has cooled completely.