When a devastating tornado came through Paris, TX, in 1982, a wonderful Mennonite group came in to help with cleanup. The wives cooked (in the school cafeteria; it was spring break) for everyone working, and made dozens of pies each day. Here is their recipe for 18 9" pie crusts (9 double crust pies), which I use every time I make pies in quantity for the freezer: 5 lb all-purpose flour (King Arthur, of course!) 3 lb can of Crisco 2 Tbsp. salt 1 cup white Karo syrup 2 cups cold water Cut the shortening into the flour and salt using your mixer (I actually use about one cup less shortening than the full 3 lb. can, but using it all makes a very tender crust). Pour the syrup and water over all. Toss together until the crust begins to cohere and make a ball. If you have kitchen scales, weigh out 240 grams (a smidgen more than 1/2 lb) of dough for each crust. Depending on my freezer space, I either roll these out and cut big flat circles, or shape in 1" thick rounds and separate with waxed paper in a bread sack. (That is after I fill all the pie plates I own with fruit pie filling :) ). Tupperware used to make a 12" diameter pie saver that would hold 6-8 rolled crusts so that they were easier to store in the freezer.

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