How to Make a Flaky All Butter Pie Crust

Pie is sublime.

Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against cakes (even with the slightly overdone cupcake phase we're in), cookies, or ice cream in general. In fact, I encourage them all with equal gusto. But there's something special about pie.

Perhaps it's because pie is more dimensional than other treats, meaning that pie doesn't just have to be dessert. Pies can be sweet or savory, and the latter category opens up a whole world of possibilities with which other baked products just can't compete.

Give pie the ability to be held in your hand, and you've got a meal on the run.

And how many other baked items have their own special day? Pie has Pi Day, March 14th, 3/14 (3.14..., get it?). Yes, my math geek is showing.

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For the best pie, make an all butter pie crust recipe. Pie crusts made with butter have a superior flavor with a tender and flaky texture that's prized in pie.

What you need

A basic pie crust recipe has 3 ingredients: flour, fat (in this case, butter), and liquid. The amounts generally follow this recipe ratio: 3-2-1. That is, 3 parts flour, 2 parts fat, and 1 part liquid (as measured by weight). By the way, if you don't have one already, invest in a good kitchen scale. They're not too expensive, and they're invaluable in baking.

The pie crust ratio helps in deciding how much flour-fat-liquid to use. A double crust pie will have a 12-8-4 ratio, that is 12 ounces (330 grams) flour, 8 ounces (227 grams) butter, and approximately 4 ounces (114 grams) ice water. The water is variable based on the weather conditions of the day.

A single crust pie will use a 9-6-3 ratio: 9 ounces (250 grams) flour, 6 ounces (170 grams) butter, and 3 ounces (85 grams) ice water.

No more scoop and level guesswork! However, if you still want the volume measurements, I've provided them in the recipe card below.

In addition to the flour, butter, and water, this pie crust recipe uses a little salt for flavor, sugar (if the crust is for a sweet pie), and apple cider vinegar.

(Wait, what was that last one?)

Adding a little bit of apple cider vinegar helps tenderize the dough. You can also use white vinegar or even lemon juice. It's the acid that does the trick. Don't worry, you won't taste it.

Chill out that dough

Many people are intimidated by making pie crust from scratch, but they needn't be. (As a side note, many people are intimidated by anything with more than four legs, and they are perfectly justified in that. Just saying...)

The real key to pie crust is bein' chill about it. Wait, no, I mean chilling it...a lot. The idea is to keep small pockets of butter within the flour so that when baked the fat releases steam and creates the flakiness so desired in pie crust.

Keep your butter cold (grating frozen butter is my method of choice), and your water very cold so as not to melt the butter (half water and half ice). Chilling also helps protect against crust shrinkage, especially if you are blind-baking the crust, i.e., baking the crust before filling it with something that doesn't get baked, like a pudding pie.

So chill your butter before using it, chill the dough at least an hour after making it, chill it again after rolling it out, and chill it again after transfering it into your pie pan. You want the crust cold when it goes into the oven!

How to make an all butter pie crust

Step 1: Stir the dry ingredients together

Mix together the flour, sugar (if you're making a sweet pie crust), and salt (photo 1).

Step 2: Cut in the butter

How you cut up your butter isn't as important as keeping it cold. Either grate frozen butter on a box grater, or cut the chilled butter into small ½-inch cubes. Either way will work. Toss the butter into the flour mixture (photo 2).

Step 3: Add the liquid

Combine the ice water with the vinegar or lemon juice and whisk them together.

Slowly pour in the liquid and use a bowl scraper to mix until the dough just holds together (photo 5). The bowl scraper helps to keep your hands out of the bowl so they don't warm the dough.

You have to be flexible about the amount of water to add as the actual amount will depend on the humidity of the day. Squeeze a small amount of dough between your fingers and if it is very crumbly, add more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time (2 tablespoons maximum). Adding too much water will make the resulting dough tough after baking.

Try not to over mix the dough (you want to keep that butter cold and separate from the flour). Don't worry if the dough has a slight vinegary smell. That will dissipate during baking and/or be overwhelmed by the filling.

Step 4: Chill the dough

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and push together into a rough ball. Knead a few times to combine, then divide into two equal balls (I use a bench scraper, but a knife will do). Flatten each ball into a disk with smooth edges (no cracks), cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate at least 1 hour or up to overnight (photo 6).

Step 5: Roll out the dough

Lightly dust your rolling surface with flour. Use even pressure to roll the dough out front to back and on the diagonals. Turn and loosen the dough occasionally as you continue to roll the pastry out into a circle about 2 to 3 inches larger than your pan. For a 9-inch pie pan, that's about 11 to 12 inches. The thickness should be approximately ¼-inch (about the height of two stacked quarters), unless otherwise directed by your recipe (photo 7).

Step 6: Transfer the dough to a pie pan

Transfer the dough to the pie pan you're using. Ease the crust into the pan, pressing up on the sides and leaving the dough overhanging the rim (photo 8).

• For a single crust pie: Trim the overhang to 1-inch, then turn the overhang inward and crimp as desired.
• For a double crust pie: Trim the overhang to ½-inch. Roll out the second disk to the same dimensions and chill until needed.

Save the dough scraps to repair the crust later if needed. Chill the pie shell until you're ready to fill the pie.

Questions asked and answered

Here are some questions that you might have...

Pro Tip: How to blind bake the crust without pie weights

Here's a trick I learned from Smitten Kitchen to successfully blind bake pie dough and shortcrust pastry: freeze the crust in its pan tightly covered with foil.

You don't need to use pie weights or dried beans using this frozen-foil method.

1. Tear off a piece of foil that fits over the entire pan with overhang (or add extra foil as needed).
2. Spray the foil with baking spray to keep it from sticking to the dough.
3. Press the foil into the pan and tightly up against the sides. Bring the foil up over the rim and mold it to the sides of the pan.
4. Freeze the crust for 15 minutes.
5. Bake the crust with the foil on for 20 minutes. At this point the crust is par-baked.
6. Carefully remove the foil from the crust. If the crust has puffed up, gently press it back down. Any tears or cracks in the crust can be repaired with dough scraps. Return the crust to the oven and bake the crust until golden brown, 5 to 10 minutes more.

There you have it. No more slumping sides or messing around with dried beans.

I'm all in for that!

A flaky pie crust is at hand

Making a homemade pie crust produces a pie with a wonderful buttery flavor and all those flaky layers you're looking for. Best of all, there's no chemicals or presevatives, so the crust tastes fresh and free of off flavors.

For a pretty pie, don't forget to crimp the edges using your favorite methods. Just know that all butter pie crusts won't hold fancy shapes as well as pie crusts with shortening, but chilling the pie well before baking will help a lot.

For double crust pies, remember to cut decorative slits to release steam in your top crust. And if you want a fancier top crust for your double crust pies, try your hand at making a lattice topped pie. It's easier than you think!

Pie crust dough can be frozen after being portioned into disks. Wrap each disk with plastic wrap and store in an airtight plastic bag. When you're ready to use it, defrost the dough overnight in the refrigerator. Allow the dough to sit out on the counter a few minutes to warm slightly before proceeding with rolling out the dough.

You don't always have to use pie crust for pies. They can also be made with a graham cracker crust (like this Chocolate Cream Pie) or as a tart using shortcrust pastry (like these cute Two-Bite Lemon Tartlets). Such variety!

Now go forth and bake a beautiful pie with wonderful flavor and texture with confidence!

p.s. Happy Quarter-Century Birthday to the wonderful woman who first made me a mommy. This pie's for you!

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