When it comes to baking, a pie is only as good as its pie crust. What you don’t want is a tough, dry, soggy, chewy, or dense pastry. The best pastry is light, fluffy, flakey, and crisp.

Flaky pastry . The most American of pie crusts, flaky crusts range from super-puffy all-butter crusts (my preference) to tender lard or shortening-based crusts.

Blind-bake the bottom shell first. I do that until the crust is 90 percent done. I like to line my disposable aluminum foil pie pan with dough and then seat a second foil pan, filled with uncooked ...

Match your pie to the right crust, whether you’re making a classic fruit pie or a custard tart. Food & Wine / Photo by Greg Dupree / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Christine Keely ...

Pastry chef Pichet Ong, author of “The Sweet Spot” cookbook and pastry chef of Hiraya Café and Kayu in Washington, D.C., recently tried a frozen pie crust that exceeded expectations.

Pie bakers are made, not born, according to Rose Levy Beranbaum, author of “The Pie and Pastry Bible.” She submits that “making pie crust is a craft, and one must develop a feel for the dough.

1 pie crust. Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a saucepan, combine sugar, syrup, bourbon, and butter and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. ... 1 nine-inch unbaked pastry pie crust.