Vegan Pie Crust

1. Stage

Whisk together the all-purpose flour and salt together in a large bowl. Editor's Tip: Make sure you know how to measure flour the right way. Remember: Baking is science!

2. Stage

Use a pastry cutter to cut in the vegetable shortening until crumbly. Stop when the crumbs resemble the size of peas. Gradually add the ice water, tossing with a fork until the dough holds together when pressed. If it doesn't hold together, add a bit more ice water. Editor's Tip: If you don't have a pastry cutter on hand, consider a food processor or a fork.

3. Stage

Gently remove the dough from the bowl, and shape it into a disk.

4. Stage

Wrap the dough with plastic wrap, and place it in the refrigerator to chill for an hour or overnight. Editor's Tip: The dough for this vegan pie crust will look a little bit different than a traditional pie crust. It might have some cracks in it, and that's OK.

5. Stage

On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/8-inch-thick circle.

6. Stage

Transfer the dough to a 9-inch or 10-inch pie plate. Trim the crust to 1/2 inch beyond the rim of the plate, and flute the edge. Editor's Tip: Shortening crusts are super fragile, which means they can sometimes be a little crumbly. If this happens, just press your crust back together. If you're having issues with traditional fluting, try a simple fork fluting. Or, for added flair, learn how to decorate pie with cookie cutters.

7. Stage

Finally, assemble or prebake (also called blind baking) the pie crust according to your recipe directions. Editor's Tip: Here's how to blind bake pie crust if you've never done it before.