Cornstarch Pastry Recipe

Ingredients

• 1¼ cups cornstarch
• 1¼ cups flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ cup vegetable shortening
• 1 egg yolk
• 5 to 8 tablespoons milk

Instructions

1. Combine the cornstarch, flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder in a large bowl and stir to combine.
2. Add the shortening and cut in with two knives or a pastry blender. Keep working until the mixture is crumbly and pieces are the size of small peas.
3. Combine the egg yolk and 5 tablespoons milk in a small bowl and beat to combine.
4. Add the milk mixture to the cornstarch mixture and stir with a fork to combine. You may need to add more milk for the mixture to come together into a dough.
5. Form the dough into two balls.
6. Place the balls on a lightly floured surface. Roll out using a floured rolling pin to 14" circles.

Makes enough for 2 one-crust pies, or one 2-crust pie

Variations and Tips

• This recipe is good for people who have issues making a tender piecrust. If the piecrusts you have made in the past have been tough, this recipe is for you. As you gain practice, you can gradually reduce the cornstarch in the recipe and increase the flour proportionally.
• Cornstarch is used in this recipe in place of some of the flour to make a tender dough. The carbohydrate in cornstarch interferes with the gluten that forms when flour is mixed with a liquid.
• Handle this pastry carefully, since it can fall apart more easily than an all-flour dough. When you transfer the pastry from the work surface to a pie plate, roll the pastry onto the rolling pin. Then unroll it over the pie plate.