Paste with Lard

Steps

1. Mix salt with flour. Reserve one and one-fourth tablespoons lard, work in remainder to flour, using tips of fingers or a case knife. Moisten to a dough with water. Toss on a floured board, pat, and roll out. Spread with one tablespoon reserved lard, dredge with flour, roll up like a jelly roll, pat, and roll out; again roll up. Cut from the end of roll a piece large enough to line a pie plate. Pat and roll out, keeping the paste as circular in form as possible. With care and experience there need be no trimmings. Worked-over pastry is never as satisfactory. The remaining one-fourth tablespoon lard is used to dot over upper crust of pie just before sending to oven; this gives the pie a flaky appearance. Ice-water has a similar effect. If milk is brushed over the pie it has a glazed appearance. This quantity of paste will make one pie with two crusts and a few puffs, or two pies with one crust where the rim is built up and fluted.