Here's something I've experienced and I'm wondering if anyone else has witnessed the same thing. I don't like the idea of shortening, so for vegetable fat I use Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks. I often use a blend, but when I use pure butter, the crust seems to 'contract' while baking. For pies, any crimping on the edge is lost, or if I pre-bake a quiche shell, it wants to pull into a little ball in the center of the pan (even with beads or beans 0 I have to use a foil pie pan to keep it in an acceptable shape). Pure vegetable fat holds its shape through baking much better, and a vegetable butter blend, mezzo-mezzo. Has anyone else observed this? And a second question - your crust video shows a technique that is somewhat like an abbreviated version of the one I use for a rough paste - using big chunks of butter and folding the dough until it comes together (a rough paste would then chill and fold a few more times). Other tutorials use a technique of using the heel of the hand to push the dough out, theoretically making thin layers of fat. Any comments on the relative merits of these two techniques?

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