By Nancy K. Crevier

Life is a series of tasks. Some are easier to perform than others. Some are downright tricky. Some tasks we have mastered, while others remain, for one reason or another, a mystery. In the upcoming weeks, The Newtown Bee will present a series of short articles of Little Lessons meant to light the way to a new or easier way to tackle those day to day duties, or even those less commonly encountered tasks, each one accompanied by a video at newtownbee.com. Welcome to the classroom.

Lorraine Hurley has been teaching children and adults to cook for most of her adult life, sharing skills she learned from her accomplished chef mother and practical tips she picked up on her own. No slacker, she has continually sharpened her own skills by taking cooking courses all around the country, and most recently, in Nice, France, where last summer she took part in an intensive five-day cooking school.

Ms Hurley has produced "listen and bake along" Cooking by Cassette tapes, coordinated Learning Luncheonsin restaurants featuring celebrity chefs, and was chairperson for her Boston University alumni cookbook, Cooking By Degrees, filled with recipes from distinguished graduates of Boston University.

So it is not surprising that she has come up with a technique for producing a flaky, delicious piecrust, that, with practice, anyone can master.

"Read the recipe first, all the way through," stressed Ms Hurley. With even a recipe as simple as piecrust, failure to read the recipe through is a common error when baking, she said. Assemble all of the utensils — in this case, a glass or stainless steel bowl, a knife or fork, and a rolling pin — and gather all of the ingredients. The first time through a proven recipe, do not make substitutions, Ms Hurley begged.

"You need to make the recipe, then decide if you want more or less salt, sugar, whatever, the next time," she said.

"Start with the ingredients to the right, and as they are used put them to your left," suggested Ms Hurley, in order to eliminate over- or under-adding ingredients. For her piecrust she uses 1½ cups sifted all-purpose flour, ½ tsp salt, ½ C vegetable shortening, and 4 to 5 Tbs cold water.

"Cold, cold, cold is the key," Ms Hurley said.

The bowl, the utensils, the fork or knife, the rolling pin, and especially the water, must be cold to turn out a perfect piecrust. Add an ice cube to the water and refrigerate it before starting the recipe.

"That is one thing I learned in France. Even the hands must be cold, so I rinse my hands under cold water before I form the dough into a ball," she said. Whether using a board or a smooth counter top, the rolling surface must also be cold to the touch.

Sift the flour and salt together and using the knife or the fork, cut in the shortening using short, swift strokes and continually rotate the bowl with the free hand, until the fat is evenly distributed throughout the flour.

"The dough should be an even color all the way through," Ms Hurley said. Then sprinkle 1 tablespoon of water over the dough and cut it in with the knife or fork. Add the rest of the water, one tablespoon at a time, until the dough comes together.

"The amount of water will vary," she cautioned, "so it is important to not add it too quickly. You want to add enough so that there are not crumbs in the bowl and the dough is not dry, but you don't want to add too much and have a wet dough. And mix, mix, mix so that the dough is uniform."

Form the dough into a ball. If pressed for time, the dough can be prepared up to this point, and refrigerated for several hours before continuing.

Sprinkle the rolling surface with flour and gently flatten the ball of dough on top of it. Using firm but light strokes, roll out the dough from edge to edge, rolling sequentially in four directions. Pressing too hard while rolling it out will cause the dough to stick to the rolling surface and toughen the final product.

"It's not important if it is perfectly round, but you should be sure it is rolled out to an even thickness," Ms Hurley said. Turn the pie plate upside down on top of the rolled dough to make sure it has been rolled out enough to fill the pan. When the pie crust is rolled to the desired thickness, place the rolling pin near the top third of the dough, fold dough up onto the rolling pin, then gently roll the rest of the crust onto the pin as you roll it toward yourself.

Unroll the crust over the pie tin — Ms Hurley prefers a glass pan that allows the baker to check the browning of the bottom crust during baking — and fit it snugly into the pan. Roll the pin over the top edge of the pie tin to release any of the edges hanging over. Then, using a fork or two fingers, crimp the edge of the piecrust. It is ready to fill, bake, and enjoy.

"Pies are not commonly made anymore. We live in a time when everyone wants to get things done quickly. Crust making is not that time consuming, though, once you know how, and this single crust recipe can be used for savory or sweet pies. Just be sure to leave time to bake the pie and eat it," laughed Ms Hurley.

To see Lorraine Hurley demonstrate making and rolling out a piecrust, view the video at NewtownBee.com.