Pastry Dough

9-inch Pie Shell - 
1 ½ cups flour
½ cup shortening
1/4 tsp salt
3-4 Tbsp cold water

9-inch Two–Crust Pie - 
2 ½ cups flour
3/4 cup shortening
½ tsp salt
6-7 Tbsp cold water

Mix the flour and salt. Cut in the shortening with a pastry blender or a knife. Combine lightly only until the mixture resembles coarse meal or very tiny peas: its texture will not be uniform but will contain crumbs and small bits and pieces. Sprinkle water over the flour mixture, a tablespoon at a time, and mix lightly with a fork, using only enough water so that the pastry will hold together when pressed gently into a ball. Prepare and cook crust as instructed in pie recipe.