Flaky, buttery, and golden brown ⎯ this Homemade Pie Crust is the perfect pie crust for both sweet and savory pies!
Only 4 ingredients and 5 steps, this pie crust recipe is easy to follow and straight to the point so you can make the perfect crust to impress your guests!
Homemade Pie Crust
When I first started baking, I really struggled with Homemade Pie Crust and even tried all the different oddly-specific tips out there before finding out that, actually, pie crust is incredibly simple to make!
After all, it’s just 4 ingredients (5 if you’re a fan of some sugar in your crust), 5 steps, and a few things to keep in mind such as using cold ingredients! No need to overcomplicate something as easy as pie, right?!
Why this recipe works:
- Pro quality. Flaky, buttery, and golden brown ⎯ this pie crust looks like it jumped out of your favorite cookbook!
- Straight to the point. No need to overcomplicate something so simple as pie crust! This recipe will tell you exactly what you need to do, no fluff!
- 3 ingredients. This is an all-butter pie crust which is the best kind of pie crust out there (more on that below) and it only calls for 3 ingredients.
- Make-ahead. Busy? Make pie crust ahead of time and chill or freeze for later use!
What is homemade pie crust made of?
Flour. Regular all-purpose flour is used in pies to obtain a dough.
Butter. Make sure it’s unsalted and very cold as you don’t want it to dissolve into the crust, you need bits of butter here and there because those bits will turn into flaky air pockets! This is an all-butter pie crust which means that the only fat used for this crust is butter. I highly recommend sticking to butter because it truly is the best fat for pie crust, down below I explain why while comparing it to shortening, lard, and oil.
Salt for flavor.
Sugar. This is optional and many people leave it out and make a totally neutral pie crust but when making sweet pies I like to add in some sugar!
Water. It’s essential that you use ice-cold water, this way you know that the butter won’t warm up any further (some warming up is normal) and completely dissolve into the flour which you don’t want.
How to make Pie Crust from scratch
STEP ONE: Cut the butter into the flour. In a food processor, add in the flour, salt, and sugar (if using sugar) and pulse once to combine. Dice the cold butter and add it to the food processor and pulse 1-2 times or until the butter turns into pea-sized crumbs coated in flour.
STEP TWO: Make the pie dough. Immediately transfer the flour mixture into a bowl, then add in the water 1 tbsp at a time and mix until a dough comes together. You want the butter to still be visible and not fully melted into the dough or the crust won’t turn out flaky (the bits of butter here and there create flakiness).
Avoid overworking your pie crust as it may cause the butter to warm up too much. If you find that the dough is sticky, sprinkle in some extra flour. If you find it’s too dry, wet your hands and keep kneading.
STEP THREE: Chill. Form the pie dough into two 1-inch (2-5 cm) disc, wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or up to 2 days.
STEP FOUR: Roll out the discs separately. Remove the first disc from the refrigerator, sprinkle your work surface with flour, remove the plastic wrap and begin rolling out the dough using a rolling pin. Start from the center and work your way out in all direction, turning the dough from time to time to create an even 12-inch (30 cm) disc to fit a 9-inch (23 cm) pie dish.
You may flip the dough a few times to make sure it doesn’t stick and add more flour if you find it’s sticking. Place the dough into your pie dish and use a fork to create dots in the bottom of the crust. Begin rolling out the second disc when ready to top the pie with it.
STEP FIVE: Bake, if necessary. Whether you pre-bake, fully bake or not bake the crust depends on the pie you’re making. Pre-baking the pie crust before adding the filling (blind-baking or par-baking) promotes a flaky crust that won’t turn soggy as the dough has the chance to set before a moist filling is added but is only necessary for pies with wet fillings such as Pumpkin Pie or Sweet Potato Pie.
To blind bake, add a layer of parchment paper to the pie crust and add in the pie weights or rice on top and bake at 350F (180C) for 10-15 minutes or until the edges begin to brown. To fully bake (for no-bake pies such as Banana Cream Pie), bake for 15-20 minutes. If you don’t need to bake it at all, simply add your desired filling.
Why butter is better than shortening, lard, and oil
You may have noticed that a lot of recipes call for a mix of fats such as butter and shortening or even just oil or just lard (especially older recipes).
I always stick to all-butter crust and here’s why:
Butter provides good flavor unlike the other fats and turns into a beautiful golden brown crust (thanks to the milkfats present in butter) with lots of flaky layers. It also creates a very sturdy crust that can hold any type of filling. It literally has no cons but all the pros.
Shortening doesn’t provide as much flakiness which is why people started cutting it with butter. Shortening also doesn’t provide any flavor but does increase the overall greasiness of the crust which isn’t ideal (we want flaky, not greasy). The final result isn’t as sturdy and tends to crumble easily which isn’t good for heartier fillings.
Lard was the fat of choice back in the day and while it does provide some flavor, it results in a very easy and crumbly pie dough (similar to shortening, basically, as both are 100% fat but with better flavor). Lard, just like shortening, doesn’t provide the same flakiness that butter provides but is very greasy. Basically, the pro is flavor when compared to shortening.
Oil is basically fat in liquid form which means that it’s easy to work with and you don’t have to freak out about it turning too warm and melting into the dough because it’s already melted which is a pro, however this same feature is exactly what keeps it from providing the flakiness of a regular all-butter pie crust. If it’s already melted, how are the air pockets that translate into flakiness going to form? Flavor-wise, it isn’t the best option either.
Do you bake pie crust before making pie?
It depends on the pie you’re making.
If you’re making a pie with a wet filling such as Pumpkin Pie or Sweet Potato Pie, pre-baking crust (or blind-baking) is recommended because it allows the pie crust to set before the filling is added.
A wet filling is obviously very moist and unbaked pie crust will absorb part of the filling without having the chance to set, crisp up, and turn flaky first which may result in a soggy crust.
If you’re making no-bake pie like Banana Cream Pie, you also need to fully bake the crust before adding the filling (full directions in the recipe card down below).
If you’re making a fruit pie or a savory pie like Apple pie or Artichoke and Ham Pie then, no you don’t have to pre-bake.
Do you have to use pie weights?
If you have to blind-bake because of the pie you’re making (see paragraph right above), yes.
Pie weights are a way to keep your pie crust flat as it bakes. Because there’s no filling weighing it down, it will puff up without some sort of extra weight.
I like using these pie weights because they’re made of high-quality ceramic and are Made in the USA, so you know they’re food-safe and you’ll be able to use them pretty much forever.
A lot of people use rice, beans, lentils, or even sugar but I honestly don’t find it convenient at all as you’re basically wasting food and you have to use fresh rice/beans, etc. for every pie you make. With pie weights, you buy them once and are good to go, no waste.
Can you freeze homemade pie crust?
Yes! You can freeze pie dough for up to 3 months so you can make a bunch ahead of time and keep it for later use so it’ll be much quicker to make pies, especially during the Holidays!
To freeze pie dough, follow the recipe through step 3 and add a layer of aluminum foil to the plastic wrap and freeze for up to 3 months.
Thaw in the refrigerator overnight and roll out the next day (step 4).
How long can homemade pie crust last in the fridge?
I recommend storing it in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. I know some recipes recommend up to 5 but I find that the sweet spot, for me, is 2 days. Use your best judgment, I’d say!
HAPPY BAKING!! I hope you’ll love this Homemade All-Butter Pie Crust as much as I do!
PS: Please leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating ⭐️ if you make it! Your comments make my day!! You can also tag me on Instagram @itsdamnspicy 🌈💘
Homemade Pie Crust
Ingredients
- 2 and 1/2 cups (325 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp sugar, optional (only add this in if you're making a sweet pie and like a light hint of sweetness to your dough)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 sticks (230 g) cold unsalted butter
- 4 to 8 tbsp (60 to 120 ml) ice-cold water
Instructions
- Cut the butter into the flour. In a food processor, add in the flour, salt, and sugar (if using sugar) and pulse once to combine. Dice the cold butter and add it to the food processor and pulse 1-2 times or until the butter turns into pea-sized crumbs coated in flour.
- Make the pie dough. Immediately transfer the flour mixture into a bowl, then add in the water 1 tbsp at a time and mix until a dough comes together. You want the butter to still be visible and not fully melted into the dough or the crust won’t turn out flaky (the bits of butter here and there create flakiness).Avoid overworking your pie crust as it may cause the butter to warm up too much. If you find that the dough is sticky, sprinkle in some extra flour. If you find it’s too dry, wet your hands and keep kneading.
- Chill. Form the pie dough into two 1-inch (2-5 cm) disc, wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or up to 2 days.
- Roll out the discs separately. Remove the first disc from the refrigerator, sprinkle your work surface with flour, remove the plastic wrap and begin rolling out the dough using a rolling pin. Start from the center and work your way out in all direction, turning the dough from time to time to create an even 12-inch (30 cm) disc to fit a 9-inch (23 cm) pie dish.You may flip the dough a few times to make sure it doesn’t stick and add more flour if you find it’s sticking. Place the dough into your pie dish and use a fork to create dots in the bottom of the crust. Begin rolling out the second disc when ready to top the pie with it.
- Bake, if necessary. Whether you pre-bake, fully bake or not bake the crust depends on the pie you’re making. Pre-baking the pie crust before adding the filling (blind-baking or par-baking) promotes a flaky crust that won’t turn soggy as the dough has the chance to set before a moist filling is added but is only necessary for pies with wet fillings such as Pumpkin Pie or Sweet Potato Pie.To blind bake, add a layer of parchment paper to the pie crust, place the pie weights or rice on top and bake at 350F (180C) for 10-15 minutes or until the edges begin to brown. To fully bake (for no-bake pies such as Banana Cream Pie), bake for 15-20 minutes. If you don’t need to bake it at all, simply add your desired filling.
Notes
📷 DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?!
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