A well-made butter pie crust is one of my favorite things. It’s just perfect with some lightly sweetened summer fruit or a decadent pecan filling. You can always add some spices like cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg to lend a holiday feeling or you can remove the sugar and add 1/4 teaspoon more of salt for a savory pie crust perfect for quiche!
What You’ll Need for This Recipe
Butter: Your butter should be straight out of the fridge and cold. If you’re using salted butter then omit the added salt in the recipe.
Ice water: You can use other liquids in addition to the ice water to hydrate the dough. See below for some suggestions.
How To Make Pie Crust
1. Add the flour, salt, and sugar to a large bowl and whisk together to combine. See below for steps to make pie dough if using a food processor.
2. Cube the cold butter and toss with the flour.
3. Use your clean hands to break the butter into smaller pieces. You want a range of pieces from small lentil-sized pieces to larger clumps the size of almonds.
4. Drizzle in three tablespoons of ice water and then mix with a fork. The dough should become more “shaggy” and less crumbly.
5. Now you can either add 2 more tablespoons of ice water or sprinkle in two tablespoons of lemon juice or vinegar and/or vodka. Acid in the lemon juice and vinegar will inhibit gluten development. Vodka will help bring the dough together without activating the gluten and the alcohol does bake off. If your crust is a bit crumbly still you can sprinkle in an extra tablespoon of liquid.
6. Gently knead it together until the dough clumps together. I like doing this in the bowl since there’s less cleanup and it’s all contained.
7. Shape it into a disk and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Chill for 1 hour or up to 3 days. Don’t worry if the dough seems a bit dry. It comes together as it chills.
8. Once your pie crust is chilled, remove it from the fridge and let it warm up on the counter for a few minutes. Roll it out to about 1/4 of an inch, then transfer it to a pie pan or baking sheet if you’re making a galette. The bake time will depend on the form and filling.
How to Blind Bake a Pie Crust
If you’re making a pie with a no bake filling like my chocolate pie, or banana cream pie or you’re baking a pie like my pumpkin and pecan pies and don’t want a soggy crust you will need to blind bake the crust. Blind baking is just baking the pie crust either partially or completely before adding the filling in.
- Roll out your pie dough then press it into the baking dish and then trim and finish the edge and chill.
- While the pie shell is chilling cut a circle of parchment paper and frill the edge. Place it in the pie shell.
- Add a layer or two of heavy duty foil onto the paper and gently press into the shell. The foil will help support the sides while the pie crust bakes, preventing it from sagging or even collapsing.
- Fill the shell with dry beans or pie weights then bake at 425F for 15 minutes.
- Remove from oven and take out the weights, foil, and paper. Brush with the egg wash and dock the crust (pierce with a fork) so steam can escape. Cover the edge with a sheet of foil folded in half as this will protect the edge from burning.
- Bake for another 15 minutes at 425F then reduce temperature to 375F and bake an additional 12-20 minutes depending on whether your pie will be baked with a filling or filled with a no bake filling. You’ll want the crust to be baked and golden throughout if you’re adding a no bake filling, but if you’re adding a filling which will be baked like pumpkin or sweet potato then just bake 12 minutes or so to dry the bottom out. You can remove the tenting if you’d like the edge to get some more color
This golden pie crust is baked and ready to be filled. Try whipping up a lemon, coconut, peanut butter, or chocolate filling for an amazing dessert!
Pro Tips for this recipe
- If your dough looks crumbly after adding the water then place a spoonful in the palm of your hand and squeeze together. If it forms into a clump then it’s fine! If it’s still a crumbly mess then add a few more tablespoons of ice water.
- Don’t skimp on the chill time! This is when your dough will rest and come together so its important.
- Adding an egg yolk or two will harden the crust making it more durable but the tradeoff is the crispiness. My tart recipes have egg yolks and the dough is easier to work with and still delicious.
- Give the egg wash a thorough mix for a nice even and golden crust. Globs of egg whites will mar the look and texture.
- When rolling out the dough make sure to move it around frequently and add more flour to the work surface and top.
- If your dough cracks while rolling then pinch together and let it rest a minute or two. It’s probably too cold.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you Make Pie dough in a food processor
- Add the dry ingredients to the bowl of your processor and pulse to combine.
- Cut the cold butter into small cubes then add to the dry mixture and pulse until you have pea-sized pieces.
- Drizzle with the ice water in a tablespoon at a time while pulsing until the mixture comes together. You’ll know it’s ready when the dough rises and collapses together as you end a pulse. You can also squeeze a tablespoon or so of the dough in your hand, if it’s ready the clump will hold together.
- Transfer to pastry mat or plastic and knead together 2-3 times then flatten into a disk, cover in plastic and chill for at least 30 minutes.
Is it better with Butter or Shortening ?
Shortening gives you a very flakey crust, but butter is much better for you than shortening and it also tastes much better. With that being said, if you can live without an extra flakey crust, then I would recommend using butter but you can always split the difference and use both.
Why do You add Vinegar, Lemon Juice, or Vodka?
Adding vinegar or lemon juice provides a little protection against overworking the dough. Also, a splash of vinegar will keep your dough from oxidizing and turning gray. The vodka will burn off during baking but help your dough come together without activating the gluten.
How do you protect the edge from burning?
Cut a piece of foil a bit longer than the diameter of your pie dish then fold in half and gently wrap around the edge of your pie. This is called “tenting” your pie; it prevents the edge from burning while you patiently wait for the bottom and center to bake through.
IF YOU LOVE THIS RECIPE TRY THESE OUT!
If you’ve tried this homemade pie crust recipe then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!
Pie Crust Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 300g, plus more for rolling
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar 50g
- 1/4 tsp sea salt 1g, heaping
- 1 cup unsalted butter 226g, frozen
- 5 tbsp ice water 75 mL
- 2 tbsp vodka 30mL
Instructions
- You will need to make the pastry crust at least 30 minutes in advance
- Add the flour, sugar, and salt to a large bowl and whisk to combine.
- Cut COLD butter into tbsp size pieces then add to flour mixture and use your clean hands to break It into pieces ranging in size from almonds to lentils.
- Sprinkle in about 3 tablespoons of the ice water then mix with a fork. Add more Ice water a tablespoon at a time and mix until you have a shaggy mixture that hold together when squeezed.
- Knead the dough 2-3 times in the bowl just to help it come together a bit. Gently flatten into a one inch-thick disk, and cover in plastic wrap.
- Place in the fridge to chill for about 30 minutes to an hour.
- Once your pie crust is chilled, remove from fridge and let it warm up on the counter for a few minutes, this will prevent cracking. Roll our pie crust to about 1/4 of an inch and transfer to pie pan or baking sheet if making a galette. Bake time will depend on form and filling.
- In a small bowl, lightly beat the egg with a tablespoon of cream. Set it aside in the fridge until ready to use.
- If you're using the pie crust for a no bake filling then set oven to 425F. Cut a round of parchment paper and frill the edge.
- Press inside then add a layer of aluminum foil and press against edge, this will support the empty shell during baking.
- Fill shell with pie weights or dry beans and bake at 425F for 15 minutes.
- Remove from oven and take out the weights, foil, and paper. Brush with the egg wash and dock the crust (pierce with a fork) so steam can escape. Cover the edge with a sheet of foil folded in half, this will protect the edge from burning.
- Bake for another 15 minutes at 425F then reduce temperature to 375F bake an additional 12- 20 minutes depending on whether you are adding a no bake filling or baking the pie once more after filling.
Video
Notes
- If your dough looks crumbly after adding the water then place a spoonful in the palm of your hand and squeeze together. if it forms into a clump then it's fine! If it's still a crumbly mess add a few more tablespoons of ice water.
- Don't skimp on the chill time! This is when your dough will rest and come together.
- Adding an egg yolk or two will harden the crust making it more durable but the tradeoff is the crispiness. My tart recipes have egg yolks and the dough is easier to work with and still delicious.
- Give the egg wash a thorough mix for a nice even golden crust, globs of egg whites will mar the look and texture.
- When rolling out the dough make sure to move it around frequently and add more flour to the work surface and top.
- If your dough cracks while rolling pinch together and let it rest a minute or two. It's probably too cold.
