Tender, flaky, delicious whole wheat pie crust

Ingredients

• 1 C sifted stone ground whole wheat flour
• 1/2 C sifted stone ground whole wheat pastry flour
• 2 t sugar
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/2 C unsalted organic butter
• 4-5 T cold milk
• Grey Poupon or whole grain mustard (optional)

Instructions

Chill utensils and all ingredients.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees, if making a pre-baked shell for quiche or other savory dishes.

1. Combine flours, sugar and salt. Sift again.
2. Dice the butter, divide into three portions, refrigerate two and cut in the third till largest pieces are pea-size. Cut in each of the other two portions, one at a time, keeping the remaining portion refrigerated until ready to use.
3. Sprinkle 3-5 T cold milk over mixture, 1 T at a time, tossing with a fork after each addition, till moistened just enough to hold together. Add less or more as needed.
4. Quickly form into ball, working dough as little as possible.
5. Flatten ball slightly so it is ready to roll, and wrap in wax paper. Chill 35-40 minutes.
6. Lightly sift flour onto large piece of waxed paper or baking parchment. Place chilled ball in center of waxed paper or baking parchment and roll a circle to 1/8" thick.

Tip:Roll from the center to the edge, turning the waxed paper 1/8 turn with each roll.

7. Gather pastry loosely onto floured rolling pin by gently rolling the dough up and peeling away waxed paper as you go.

8. Lay pin over adjacent pie plate and carefully unroll pastry. Quickly press into pie plate so the butter does not melt from the heat of your hands. Whole wheat pastry tends to split and break more than white flour pastry. You may have to do a little gentle patching. Don't worry, flute the edge nicely and no one will know.
9. Trim edge, leaving about 1/2 inch overlapping pie plate. Tuck this flap under all the way round and crimp or flute.
10. If preparing crust for a sweet or fruity pie, fill and bake accordingly. If preparing crust for a savory dish, such as quiche, continue with steps 11-13.
11. Brush a small amount of Grey Poupon or whole grain mustard on the bottom and partially up the sides of the pastry. This helps prevent bubbling and adds a delectable "secret ingredient" that gives your quiche or savory tart a little zip.
12. Prick bottom of crust with fork a few times to prevent bubbling.
13. Bake in 450 Fahrenheit pre-heated oven for eight minutes. Remove, cool, fill, and bake according to pie-filling recipe.

Tip: Some folks use the tines of a fork to crimp. Giddy, like her mother and grandmother, uses two fingers and the thumb on one hand to push the dough against her other thumb. This gives a nice old-fashioned scallop.

Quick filling idea: See Giddy's Broccoli-Pepper Quiche recipe.

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