This is the basic new pie crust to be used for all your pies and quiches. It has heart healthy fats and whole grains. Coconut oil gets very hard when cold. It must be pliable enough to cut into the flour along with the butter. If your oil is hard to begin with, soften jar in some warm water before measuring and adding to flour mixture. Alternatively, replace up to half of the total fat with yogurt cream cheese or regular cream cheese.
Yield: 1 (9X1) 1/4-inch pie crust
1-cup whole wheat pastry flour, chilled in the freezer
1/2 cup spelt flour or a gluten-free flour, chilled in the freezer
2 tablespoons raw sugar (eliminate sugar if making, say, a pot pie)
Pinch baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 1/2 tablespoons soft, but not liquid unrefined extra virgin coconut oil
4 tablespoons organic grass-fed butter
1/4 cup ice water or ice buttermilk
Mix the flours, sugar, baking soda, and salt in a food processor. Drop pieces of butter and coconut oil into flour mixture and pulse machine until mixture is uniform and fats are evenly distributed. Then add ice water or ice buttermilk a tablespoon at a time. Pulse after each addition and mixture should come together into a workable dough.
If you do not have a food processor, with a fork, drop the coconut oil into the flour mixture and toss until covered. Start to mix it in with the fork or a pastry cutter. Toss in the butter pieces one tablespoon at a time. Using a fork or pastry cutter, push straight down on the oil and butter to further break into bits. Toss flour with the cutter as you go. Stop when the fats are cut into pea-size pieces, and evenly distributed throughout the flour. Quickly work the fat into the flour by pinching the fat between your fingers and thumb. Then let it drop back into the bowl and start again. Chunks of coconut oil take a bit more pressing and a bit more time than the butter alone, so work hard to minimize the amount of chunks in your finished crust. When texture of mixture is consistent, start adding the ice water or buttermilk a tablespoon at a time until mixture forms dough easily when pressed with fingertip.
Form dough into a flat circle on a piece of waxed paper big enough to accommodate the full-size pie crust. Mold dough into a disk and cover with another piece of waxed paper. Roll it out into an 11 1/2 - 12-inch circle to finish it. It will fit a deep-dish pie plate or regular pie plate. Cut edges to make crust even and shape edges as desired. You may wish to roll out excess dough to cut out shapes with either a knife or small cookies cutters to make decorations for the top of your pie.
If your pie recipe calls for pre-baking, prick crust with a fork before baking. Pre-bake for 10-15 minutes.