Valentina Ablaev
This is the only pie crust recipe you will ever need. A homemade pie crust is truly a labor of love, and believe us when we say it is 100% worth it! This crust is flaky and buttery and will perfectly suit all of your sweet and savory pie needs!
A pie crust can be used for everything from a classic peach pie to creamy chicken pot pies! You can even use it to make homemade mini quiches! The options are endless!
Making homemade pie dough doesn’t have to feel intimidating or out of reach. This recipe uses pantry staples and you’ll be surprised how quickly the dough comes together. Once baked, the pie crust becomes oh-so flakey and crispy, and there is so much flavor in every bite!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe:
- Homemade is better. This crust surpasses any store-bought pie crust.
- Simple ingredients. You would be surprised to know how simple the ingredients are for this easy pie crust.
- Quick recipe. Making a pie crust is easier than you would think!
Ingredients for Pie Crust:
- All-purpose flour – it’s important to measure the flour accurately and sift before using.
- Salt – gives the crust a good balance.
- Sugar – not only does this give flavor to the crust, but it also helps the crust brown!
- Unsalted butter – cold butter is the key to getting this buttery, flaky crust.
- Cold water – ice water is crucial to getting the perfect crust texture.
See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and quantities.
| Chef’s Tip: You also want to make sure you have a good pie dish so that your pies will always come out perfect. Try our go-to pie dish for all our pie-related recipes. |
How to Make Pie Crust:
- Dry ingredients – Into a large bowl, sift flour, salt, and sugar. Butter – Cube the cold butter and add it to the flour.
2. Using a pastry cutter, mix in the butter until it forms crumbles. Overmixing will cause the butter to melt, so you want to stop once you get chunks.
3. Slowly stream in the cold water and mix in. Transfer the dough onto a lightly floured surface and continue mixing. Once the dough is smooth, divide the dough into 2 disks. Tightly cover the disks in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour.
What if I don’t have a pastry cutter? A pastry cutter helps to ensure that you aren’t stirring together the butter and causing it to melt. You could also use a fork to crumble the butter into the flour.
How to Roll Out & Shape Dough:
Let the dough rest at room temperature for 10 minutes before rolling out.
- Dust the surface with flour, add the pie dough, and roll out into 12” disks.
2. Wrap the dough around the rolling pin, transfer the pie dough to the pie dish, and press down lightly.
Expert Tips:
- Pro Tip: To get the most accurate amount of flour, spoon the flour into the measuring cup before leveling off. Even better, use a kitchen scale to measure the flour in grams. This will give you the most accurate amount of flour.
- Temperature matters: Using cold butter and ice-cold water is vital to getting the perfect texture.
How to use Pie Crust:
Flute pie crust:
A flute crust is the edge of the pie being crimped to have a wavy pattern. Just like in our homemade strawberry pie, you can achieve this by adding the bottom crust layer to a pie plate. Trim off the excess dough on the outside and use your thumb and index finger to create little “u”s on the outside.
Lattice crust:
A lattice crust is a gorgeous crust that is laid on top of the pie and baked. Strips are cut and arranged to create a basket-woven pattern, just like in our blackberry pie recipe. Here’s how to achieve that look:
- Roll the top dough into a circle of the same size as the bottom crust. Using a pizza cutter, cut out 1” thick strips.
2. Once the bottom pie crust is in a pie pan and filled, arrange 6 long strips on top of the pie, next to each other. Fold every other strip back before placing a short strip across the pie. Folding those strips back, then pull back the other long strips, and add another short one.
3. Repeat this until you have used all the strips, being sure to alternate every row.
Blind Baking:
Blind baking is when your crust needs to be cooked before adding the filling. After adding the pie dough to your pie dish, top it with parchment paper. You will want to fill the parchment paper with either pie weights, dry beans, or a smaller plate.
Bake at 400°F for 18-20 minutes. Take the pie out of the oven and remove the weights. Prick the dough with a fork and bake for an additional 5-8 minutes or until the pie is golden brown.
| We love using a pie dough cutter with ridges for a pretty effect on the strips! |
Frequently Asked Questions:
Yes! You can make this recipe ahead of time and store it in the fridge for up to a week or freezer for up to 3 months.
You want to let your dough rest at room temp for a couple of minutes before using it so that the dough rests and isn’t so hard.
The cold water is KEY! You want to make sure your water is extra cold, we add ice cubes to get our water cold then measure it from there.
If you do not use some form of weight the dough tends to rise and puff. You want a nice flat pie bottom so using pie weights, dried beans or rice will help you achieve the flat bottom.
Yes, to freeze the pie dough, place tightly wrapped pie dough in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
This recipe doesn’t require a food processor.
Store & Reheat
- Storage. Wrap the pie dough tightly and store in the fridge for 2-3 days before ready to use.
- Freeze. Freezing pie dough will allow you more time to put it to use! In fact, you can store pie dough in the freezer for up to 6 months. Thaw: Place the frozen dough in the fridge overnight, and when ready to use, allow it to cool to room temperature for about 10 minutes.
More Homemade Dough Recipes
If you enjoyed this pie dough recipe, be sure to try our other homemade dough recipes; here are some of our favorites:
If you tried this homemade pie crust recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below – we appreciate it!
Easy Pie Crust Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 1/3 cup all-purpose flour, measured then sifted
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 cup unsalted butter, cold
- 1/3 cup water, cold
Instructions
How to Make Pie Crust-
- In a large bowl, combine sifted flour, salt and sugar.
- Using a pastry cutter, mix in the cold cubed butter into the flour mixture until crumbly.
- Add in ice water and continue to mix with the pastry cutter. Don’t overmix, it should be crumbly.
- Transfer onto working surface and shape into 2 disks. Cover the disks with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour (or overnight).
How to Roll Out & Shape Dough-
- Dust the work space with flour. With a rolling pin roll each disk into a 12” circle.
- Wrap the pie dough around your rolling pin and transfer the pie disk to a pie dish and unroll the dough over the pan.Gently press the dough down to lay flat in the pie dish.
How to Flute Pie Crust-
- After adding the pie dough into the pie dish, fold the excess overflowing dough underneath itself creating a thicker edge.
- Using both hands you want to pinch the edge of the crust to “flute the crust”, then with your index finger push in to create a U shape. Repeat going all around the baking dish.
How to Lattice Pie Dough-
- Roll out the second dough disk into a 12-inch circle.
- With kitchen sears or with a pizza cutter cut the dough into even-sized strips. We cut ours about 1-inch thick. You want to have about 10-12 strips.
- After your pie is filled with pie filling and ready for the lattice topping, layout 6 strips on top of the pie. Using the longer pieces in the center of the pie and shorter pieces on the ends of the pie, allowing the strips to hang out the edge if the strips are longer.
- Fold every other of the strips halfway over, then add one strip going the other way, and then unfold the strips back. Repeat again and this time fold back every other of the strips you just used. Repeat this weaved look created the lattice look.
- Fold the extra dough that is hanging over the edges and flute the edge of the pie.
How to Blind Bake Pie Crust-
- Line the pie dough with parchment paper and fill with pie weights or with dried beans, making sure they are evenly spread out.
- Bake the pie at 400°F for about 18-20 minutes, until the edges begin to brown. Remove the pie from the oven and take out the parchment paper and weights.
- Prick the button of the dough with a fork all over and add back to the oven. Bake for about 5-8 minutes or until the dough is golden.
