Today, I’m going to teach you everything you need to know about making the perfect buttery flaky pie crust. This is the one and only pie crust recipe I use. Old-fashioned inspired, yet never out of style. Wins my heart every single time.
This Homemade Pie Crust Recipe is buttery, flaky and my tried and true favorite. Today I’m sharing all my foolproof tips and tricks to show you how easy making pie crust from scratch can be.
Here’s my all time favorite pie crust recipe! Double it if you plan on making a lattice top or decorative edge. You can make this in the food processor or by hand with just a grater for the butter. It’s so easy and can be made well in advance and kept in the fridge for perfect pie crust whenever an abundance of fruit shows up at your door!
Perfectly Flaky Pie Crust
yield: 2 9-INCH SHELLS prep time: 10 MINUTES cook time: 20 MINUTES additional time: 30 MINUTES total time: 1 HOUR
Ingredients
- 5 cups all purpose flour, divided
- 1/2 cup white granulated sugar, divided
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
- 4 sticks butter, cold
- 6 tablespoons ice cold water
- 4 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream or milk
Instructions
Pie Dough in Large Bowl
- If using same day, make pie crust 30 minutes in advance.
- Add 2 & 1/2 cups all purpose flour, 1/4 cup white granulated sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon salt to large bowl and combine.
- Cut 2 sticks of cold butter into the flour mixture in tablespoon sizes.
- With either your hands or pastry blender, cut the butter into the flour mixture until butter is broken into a range of pea-sized to peanut sized pieces.
- Add in 3 tablespoons of ice cold water and mix dough. Continue to mix until you have a tousled looking dough.
- Follow up with 2 tablespoons of lemon juice as you continue to work your dough.
- Kneed the dough 3-4 times in the bowl to help it come together. Flatten your pie dough into a 1-2 inch disc and cover in plastic wrap.
- Allow to chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to an hour if using same day. If making in advance, pie dough will keep up to a week.
Pie Dough in Food Processor
- Add 2 & 1/2 cups all purpose flour, 1/4 cup white granulated sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon salt to the bowl of your processor and pulse to combine.
- Cut 2 sticks of cold butter into small cubes then add to the dry mixture and pulse until you have pea-sized pieces.
- Add ice cold water in a tablespoon at a time (total of 3) along with 2 tablespoons of lemon juice. 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.
Baking Pie Crust
- When ready to use, remove from the refrigerator and allow to warm to room temperature for a minute or two. This will help prevent cracking in the crust.
- Roll out your pie crust to about 1/4 of an inch on a lightly floured surface and transfer to pie pan.
- Add a layer of parchment paper on top of your pie crust followed by a layer of aluminum foil.
- Fill with dry, uncooked rice. You can also use pie weights or beans.
- If you’re using the pie crust for a no bake filling, bake at 425 degrees and bake for 15 minutes. Bake time will depend on what filling you will be using.
- Remove pie pan from oven, remove the weights, aluminum foil, and parchment paper.
- Whisk together egg and heavy cream in a small bowl.
- Brush your pie crust with your egg wash and pierce the bottom of the crust with a fork. This is called docking and will allow steam to escape.
- When ready, tent your pie by covering the edges so that they do not burn.
- Place back in the oven and allow to bake for another 15 minutes at 425 degrees.
- After that 15 minutes, reduce the heat to 375 degrees and bake for an additional 10 if you are baking the pie once more after filling. If you are using a non-bake filling, bake for an additional 20 minutes at 375 degrees.
Notes
- Blind Baking: It’s the secret to a flaky crust. This baker’s technique also comes in handy when the pie filling takes less time to cook than the crust itself, when you have a filling that doesn’t require baking, and prevents your pie from having a soggy bottom (especially when baking fruit pies). To blind bake, line the pie crust with parchment paper and fill with baking weights. You can also use uncooked beans or rice. The extra weight will prevent the crust from puffing while baking.