I live in the rural part of America, so lard, fresh and tasty is my go-to for most everything. I am all about taste when it comes to a crust, and next flakey. I never want a tough crust. And I use an old recipe passed down to me from my mother. So I go against ALL of your advice here, sorry, but my crust is delish and I’ll never change. I use lard, AND I use boiling hot water. And I whip my lard and hot water and salt until I have a creamy consistency. Next, it is the gentle folding in of the flour, and rolling it out. Oh, let’s not forget that I cook on a wood stove, so it’s into an oven that has differing temps on where you place your pie. I even cook Cheesecake in that oven with wonderful success.

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