Hot Water Pie Crust

This is a recipe that breaks just about every rule there is in making pie crusts, but it produces a delicious pie crust anyway! Hot water pie crusts appear to have originated in England and were often used to produce meat pies in a firm enough crust that it could be taken in a lunchbox. It was used as the technical challenge in an episode of "The Great British BakeOff", that episode also featured a segment on the Thames eel. (Thankfully, the contestants didn't have to make eel pie.)

This recipe is adapted from one in Susan Purdy's book, As Easy As Pie, I often use it to make a large chicken pot pie in a 10" pie pan. For a smaller pan, size the recipe down accordingly.

I find shortening much easier to measure by weight, no worrying about air pockets.

3/4 cup unsalted butter, cubed
5 tablespoons (2.15 ounces) shortening
1/2 cup boiling water
3 cups flour (I use a lower protein AP flour for this, like Gold Medal)
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
3/4 teaspoons baking powder

Dissolve the butter and shortening in the hot water. (Cutting the butter into cubes speeds this up.)

Allow to cool to lukewarm/tepid, then add to the dry ingredients slowly. It will produce a slightly sticky ball that will get less sticky as it cools. Divide into 2 pieces, one using about 2/3 of the dough for the bottom crust, and the smaller piece for the top crust. Form into disks, wrap in plastic and chill for 2 hours before rolling out.