I just realized this was a year old thread. Anyhow, if anyone ever reads it again - pie crust isn't all that hard to make. Just remember that what you're doing is shortening the flour, in other words you're rubbing grease onto the flour grains and that prevents the gluten from linking up too easily and making a chewy, rubbery crust. You want to develop gluten in bread, you don't want it in crust. What would you use besides butter? Maybe duck fat or even lard. Don't use margarines or commercial shortenings - they ruin the dough and leave a horrible coating on your mouth and to their credit, the good folks at the NYC Dept of Health banned them in baked goods. Butter has different amounts of water / butterfat ratios. That water isn't going to work on your crust like the water you add to the dough, but it will have an effect on the final product. When you cut the butter in, make sure you leave some larger pieces - pea size for example. It shouldn't be all uniform, which can happen if you use a food processor and run it too long. Pulse it. I always add the water by hand. Add a bit then pinch it together with your fingers. Toss those bits aside and add some more to the dry stuff. It's hard to give precise measurements because you have to go by feel, but figure one part butter to 3 parts flour and slightly less than one part water. And a bit of salt. So in measuring cups, that's like a stick of butter, 1 1/2 cups flour, and somewhere between 1/3 and 1/2 cups of flour. And obviously you can vary those proportions - a little more flour, a little less flour, and your need for water will change accordingly. So add the water by hand and just gently work it with a fork and / or your fingers to make the clumps of dough stick together. Then gather them into a ball and smear the mass across the counter with the heal of your hand. You don't want to knead the dough like bread, but just smear it once or twice. The French call this fraisage and the purpose is to distribute the water and fat. Then gather into a ball and let it rest. Don't roll it right away. Leave it for an hour or more - you'll be surprised at how much easier it is to handle once it rests. The globs of butter you've distributed thru the dough when you rolled it out will melt, the water will create steam, and that will fill the vacuum created by the butter, blowing the crust apart into flakes. If your butter has a higher water content than some, you'll get a harder crust than if it's got a higher fat content - that's because the moisture will be incorporated throughout the crust with the butter. But even with the widely available commercial butters, you'll get a delicious crust. Duck or goose fat make a beautiful crust as well, as does good lard. The texture will differ however, as the water content is different from butter. Also, if you're using rendered duck fat, you may want to eliminate the salt from the dough if the duck has been salted. But taste and adjust accordingly. Any liquid will work, but water is the basic one. Milk contains some fat and solids. Cider, which I use sometimes, contains sugars, which affect the taste - not always for the worse. Vinegar and/or lemon juice also affect the flavor. Cold stock, which is kind of cool to use if you're using duck fat or lard, will have it's own seasonings and may have additional salt. Make sure the liquid is cold - you don't want to melt the fat at all, or make it too warm. It's tricky to use duck fat because it melts so quickly, so you have to work extra fast. Good luck.

shambo- Maybe this recipe from "Natural Meals In Minutes" by Rita Bingham will work for you, or give you an idea for changes you can make to the original recipe. -Grainlady WHEAT AND SESAME TORTILLAS 2 c. whole wheat flour 3 T. dry milk powder 1/3 c. sesame seeds 2 T. butter or applesauce 1/2 t. salt 2 T. yogurt 1/2 c. lukewarm water Combine dry ingredients. Use hand or electric beaters to cut in butter or applesauce until mixture resembles fine crumbs. [Grainlady note: I love this hint. Since the first time I made these, I now use my electric hand-held beater to cut fat into dry ingredients - it's so easy and so fast compared to cutting fat in with a pastry blender.] Slowly pour in water and yogurt, mixing lightly with a fork. On a floured board, knead dough until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Shape into a ball, cover and let stand for 10-minutes. Divide and shape dough into 8 balls. Cover, removing one ball at a time and roll paper-thin on floured board. Place on heavy, hot, ungreased skillet, over medium-high heat. Blisters should appear right away. Brown on one side and turn. Cook about 30 seconds. Makes eight 9-inch tortillas. [I like to use this recipe for wraps - LOVE the addition of sesame seeds - yum!!!] -------------------------------------- The link below has another favorite recipe and it has variations using cornmeal and all-purpose flour or whole wheat and all-purpose flour, and 2 T. shortening. It's especially easy to mix in a zip-lock storage bag and a great project with children. -Grainlady Here is a link that might be useful: Native American Tortillas In a Bag

Thank you both. I'm looking forward to it - we usually like strawberry rhubarb pie but this rhubarb looks so good I think it needs to stand alone. Happy 4th

Twoyur, thank you for finding the omission and letting me know. I've edited. I always add it so I just never noticed I hadn't included it in the directions. You could probably leave it out if you don't have a lemon on hand. ~Ann Here is a link that might be useful: Blueberry Pie