Miracle Flaky Lard Pie Crust

I've made this twice now. I was attracted to the reviewer's detail oriented approach and apparent refining of the recipe/approach. Both times, the recipe yielded a much too wet dough. The final result was indeed a tender crust, but not at all flakey (and I used All Purpose flour!). Even as a beginner I was not impressed at all. I did not realize until after researching pie crust recipes that the liquid in a crust cannot be measured; you have to go by feel, giving only enough liquid to pull the dough together. Also, some experts say that a flaky crust cannot be obtained with pastry flour because there's not enough protein. This recipe is complicated, whereas the majority of recipes out there call for QUICK combining of the cold ingredients, avoiding overworking. A food processor is the best approach according to what I've read. Now I am trying it again. I am still inspired by this recipe; keeping with the vinegar for extra flakiness, and the large chunks of lard for better flakes. But I am using AP flour, a food processor, and adjusting the liquid rather than using a pre-set amount. ******UPDATE******: The 4th time is a charm!! I finally got an OUT-OF-THIS-WORLD super-flaky crust unlike any crust I have EVER tried!!! I used the ingredients here, opting for AP flour. I FROZE the lard rock-hard in a shallow wide dish, then cut it into big pieces. Then I made the whole crust in the food processor, pulsing it 5 times between spraying the water/cider vinegar solution over the mixture, until the mixture would stick together without falling apart when pressed in a fist. Resume at step 12. Simply AMAZING!!!

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I followed the typical fashion of making pastry in the food processor (all dry ingredients first, then pulsed in the lard and finally added the water and vinegar and just pulse until it came into a ball. I then chilled in the fridge for 2 hrs. Pastry was beautiful! Light, flaky, easy to roll and nice tasting. This will now be my only pastry recipe. Thanks for sharing!

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this makes a good pastry, however i did not follow all the rules. I used chilled lard, blended it with a pastry blender, added the liquid, formed the ball and chilled. It turned out good, I do not know if all those extra steps woould have improved the product.

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