[Mamzelle]

I’ve heard that if you substitute vodka for half the water in making pie crust, it prevents toughness..never tried it...

[Oberon]

The texture of the crust depends as much on one's dough-handling skills as it does ingredients. You need to start with cold shortening and keep it cold throughout the process. If the little fragments of solid shortening melt before the crust is on the pie, you'll have problems.

Chop the shortening into fine small bits, cubes perhaps 1/8th inch on a side, and use no more water than you need. When you roll out the pastry, you want those little chunks of shortening to flatten out; these will make boundaries between the pastry layers, keeping them from sticking together. Hence flakes.

A pie crust so construsted is extremely fragile. When it comes time to put it on the pie pan, roll it around a floured rolling pin then unroll it onto the pan. This enables you to transfer it without putting a finger through it. Same for the top crust.