Pie crust dilemma

Rolling out pie crust is tough. Push the rolling pin over the ball of dough and the edges begin cracking. Before very long, the dough spreads into a mass that looks like a continent on a map. Irregular edges form and flour collects along the sides. You’re supposed to get a circle out of this? I’ve got to be doing something wrong. Is the culprit the combination of ingredients in the dough, too much time in the refrigerator, the rolling technique, a combination or all of the aforementioned? My mom helped me with the  blackberry-blueberry pie with lemon-cornmeal crust from Fine Cooking last week. I had trouble with this dough. I didn’t like the crust, both for its stubbornness when rolling out and for the taste. In all fairness, the problem may lie with me and the way I handled it. Some of you might like lemon zest and cornmeal in the batter. In terms of crust, I am a traditionalist. I prefer a plain flour and butter crust sans accoutrements like citrus zest. The dough, separated into two balls, rested in the refrigerator for several days. My mom said it’s better if dough is flattened into a disk so it’s easier to roll out. Well, once the dough found its way to the board, it fell apart. It was so crumbly. My mom rolled out one ball and came over to help with the second. She massaged the dough and tried to keep it in a solid mass. It eventually rolled out, albeit with crackly edges. Patchwork around the rim was required. In went the blueberries, blackberries, cornstarch, allspice, cinnamon, and sugar. I also got to play with the lattice top. A sprinkling of sugar and the pie went into the oven to bake.

I am not a fan of this pie for three reasons: the filling wasn’t sweet enough and I didn’t care for the lemon zest or the cornmeal in the crust. The cornmeal added a bit of crunch to the crust, but nothing else. Cornmeal is more apt to grace the bottom of a pizza crust.  

Is there a recipe that yields a buttery tasting, flaky texture that is easy to roll out? I have at least two cooking challenges: caramel and pie crust. What do other recipes say? I checked Martha Stewart’s Baking Handbook. The recipe for pate brisee calls for all butter. Mmm! Last summer I made an apricot pie with streusel topping found from Gourmet magazine’s web site that was an adaptation from Comfort Me with Apples by Ruth Reichl, editor in chief of Gourmet. The pastry dough uses butter and vegetable shortening, as did the lemon-cornmeal crust. Then I browsed three pie crust recipes from the Food Network web site. Alton Brown’s uses butter and lard. Shirley Rooney’s recipe calls for equal parts butter and shortening, cake flour and all-purpose flour and sugar. Paula Deen’s contains butter, shortening and sugar. Take your pick. Try them out and tell me what you think. I’ll have to pay attention to the next pie and judge the taste and texture. One thing is for certain: it won’t have any lemon zest or cornmeal in it.