Learn how to make a perfectly buttery, flaky pie crust from scratch using this in-depth tutorial and video. This page includes all of my best success tips, lots of step-by-step photos, and a thoroughly detailed recipe. Millions of readers have been using this helpful guide since it was first published. Become a pro with this crust recipe and the rest will be as easy as… eating salted caramel apple pie!
I originally published this recipe in 2015 and have since added new photos, a video tutorial, and more success tips.
One reader, Laurie, commented: “Wow! I made a batch of my old favorite all-butter dough and a batch of this dough so I could have a ‘bake off’ to see which was better. This crust was fantastic: tender and very flaky. It will be my new standard crust! โ โ โ โ โ “
Another reader, Leo, commented: “This recipe was great! The dough was easy to make with the simple and detailed instructions from this recipe. I used it for my peach pie and it’s delicious! I also followed the braid and lattice tutorial and my pie looks great! โ โ โ โ โ “
For a baker, there’s nothing more satisfying than making a pie completely from scratch. Pies are often made for special occasions, and thereโs a good reason for that: theyโre time consuming. This shouldnโt scare you! It should intrigue you. If youโve ever felt intimidated about making homemade pie crust, Iโm here to walk you through it and cheer you on. If I can do this, you can do this.
Pie crust is the foundation for so many delicious desserts (plus savory pies and quiche), so once you build up your confidence in making a crust, youโre opening a door to an entire baking category. And thatโs exciting! Whether your favorite pie filling is apple pie or creamy banana cream pie, or even eggs & cheese, the success of the overall pie can really hinge on the quality of the crust.
You wouldnโt hang a beautiful piece of art or favorite photo in a terrible frame, right?
Today Iโm teaching you everything about making a buttery, flaky pie crust. This is my absolute favorite pie crust recipe and one of the most popular recipes on this website.
With all the recipe testing that goes into publishing the many pie recipes on this website and in my cookbooks, plus my annual Pie Week, itโs not an understatement to say that I have made a LOT of pies. Along the way, Iโve learned what works and what doesnโt, and Iโm happy to share it all with you.
Start With These 5 Ingredients
The ingredient list for pie crust is short & simple:
- Flour: Start with quality flour. Did you know that not all all-purpose flours are equal? King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour is my go-to for not only pie crust, but for everything. (Not working with the brand, just a true fan!) Why? Its high protein level: “At 11.7% protein, it tops ordinary American all-purpose flours by nearly 2 percentage points.” What does this mean? Baked goods rise higher and stay fresh longer.
- Salt: Enhances the flavor.
- Butter: For that unparalleled buttery flavor and flaky layers.
- Vegetable Shortening: For structure and stability. More on this below.
- Ice water: Liquid brings the dough together. Some recipes call for half water and half vodka, because alcohol doesnโt promote gluten formation, which helps the crust stay flaky and tender. Basically, it’s a gift to anyone who accidentally overworks dough. If you want to try using vodka, use 1/4 cup (60ml) each cold vodka and cold water in this recipe.
You can use this pie dough for so many recipes beyond a traditional pie, too, such as mini pecan pies, mini fruit galettes, apple hand pies, and homemade brown sugar cinnamon pop tarts.
Is Pie Crust Better With Butter or Shortening?
I use BOTH shortening and butter in this pie crust because they work together to make the BEST crust. Buttery, flaky, and tender: the pie-fect trifecta.
- What does butter do? Butter adds flavor and flakiness.
- What does shortening do? Shortening helps the dough stay pliable, which is helpful when youโre rolling and shaping it. Plus, shorteningโs high melting point helps the crust stay tender and maintain its shape as it bakes. Have you ever had a butter pie crust lose its shape completely? Shortening is “shape insurance.” ๐
If you donโt want to use shortening, try this all-butter pie crust instead. Let’s compare:
- Using all butter creates a lighter-textured crust and this is due to the butterโs water content. As the crust bakes, the butterโs water converts to steam, lifting up the dough and creating flaky layers. But because of all this butter, the crust doesn’t usually have a perfectly neat-edge/shape compared to the shortening and butter combination.
Both crusts taste buttery and flaky. But overall, this butter-and-shortening crust wins in terms of texture and flavor; AND, if you follow the pie crust recipe carefully, it holds shape too.
The Secret to Perfect Pie Crust: COLD
The refrigerator is as important as the oven when youโre making a homemade pie.
Why the emphasis on temperature? Keeping your pie dough as cold as possible helps prevent the fats from melting before the crust hits the hot oven. If the butter melts inside the dough before baking, you lose the flakiness. When the lumps of fat melt in the oven as the pie bakes, their steam helps to separate the crust into multiple flaky layers, as explained above. Warm fats will yield a hard, crunchy, greasy crust instead of a tender, flaky crust.
The colder the ingredients, the easier your pie crust is to work with, and the better it will turn out.
Two Tricks to Start as Cold as Possible:
- I keep some of my butter in the freezer and transfer it to the refrigerator a few hours before beginning the crust. This way it is still a little bit frozen and very, very cold. Simply keep the shortening in the refrigerator.
- Mix the dry ingredients together in a large bowl (the flour and salt). Place the bowl in the refrigerator or freezer while you get the rest of the ingredients ready.
These Step-By-Step Photos Will Help
Take the butter and shortening out of the refrigerator. Cube the cold butter and measure out the cold shortening. Give the shortening a little chopโthis is actually optional because, truly, the shortening is quite soft even when cold so it’s easy to mix in.
Now itโs time to combine everything. Add the butter and shortening to the dry ingredients, and use a pastry cutter (or 2 forks) to cut in the fats. Some pie crust recipes use a food processor for this, but I donโt recommend it, because it can lead to overworking the fats into the dough, cutting them up too smallโwhich means you’ll need less water and your dough will fall apart. In this step, you’re only breaking up the cold fat into tiny little flour-coated pieces; you’re not completely incorporating it:
Cut in the fats until the mixture resembles coarse mealโcrumbly with lots of lumps, as you see above. You should still have some larger pieces of butter and shortening when youโre done.
From a cup of ice water, measure out 1/2 cup (120ml), since the ice has melted a bit. Drizzle the cold water into the dough 1 Tablespoon (15ml) at a time, stirring after every Tablespoon has been added.
You’ll add just a little water at a time so that you donโt accidentally add too much. Stop adding water when the dough begins to form large clumps. I usually use 1/2 cup (120ml) of water, but if the weather is humid, you may not need as much, and if the weather is really dry, you may need a little more.
If too much water is added, the pie dough will require more flour and become tough.
If too little water is added, youโll notice the dough is dry and crumbly when you try to roll it out and handle it.
You want the dough to clump together, but not feel overly sticky. Once the dough is clumping together, transfer the dough to a floured work surface.
Using floured hands, fold and smush (yes, thatโs the technical term) the dough into itself, forming the dough into a ball. Your hands are your best tool, just like when making homemade puff pastry.
The ball of dough should come together easily. If it feels a bit too dry or crumbly, dip your fingers in the ice water and then continue forming the dough with your hands. If it feels too sticky, sprinkle on more flour and then continue forming the dough with your hands.
Once your ball of pie dough has come together, use a sharp knife to cut it in half:
This is enough dough for 2 pie crusts. You can use both crusts for a double-crust pie, like chicken pot pie and strawberry rhubarb pie; or, if your pie doesnโt require a top crust, like coconut cream pie, brownie pie, and lemon meringue pie, save the second pie crust for another pie. You can also roll out the second dough and use cookie cutters to make an easy pie design, like on this pumpkin pie.
Success Tip: Visible Specks and Swirls of Fat in Pie Dough
Take a look at the inside of the dough where you just sliced it. You want to see pieces of butter and flaky layers throughout the pie dough. These specks and swirls of butter and shortening will help ensure a flaky pie dough. They are a GOOD thing!
Now your pie dough is ready for a rest in the refrigerator. Flatten each half into 1-inch-thick discs using your hands. The disc shape makes it easier to roll out. Wrap each disc tightly in plastic wrap.
Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 5 days.
Can I Freeze Pie Dough?
Yes, absolutely, and I encourage it! Pie crust freezes beautifully, so itโs a great thing to make ahead of time. Store the tightly wrapped discs of pie dough in the freezer for up to 3 months.
If you know youโre going to want several pies around the holidays, or when your favorite fruit will be in season (cherry pie, anyone?), you can cut down on the amount of time it takes to make pies from scratch the day you want them by making several pie crusts in advance and freezing them.
Thaw the pie crust dough overnight in the refrigerator before rolling it out. It will be extra cold, which is a great starting point.
How to Roll Out Pie Crust
After the dough has chilled for at least 2 hours, you can roll it out. Work with one crust at a time, keeping the other in the refrigerator until youโre ready to roll it out. Youโll need a clean work surface, a rolling pin, and some flour. Lightly flour the work surface, rolling pin, and your hands, and sprinkle a little flour on top of the dough. Use gentle-medium force with your rolling pin on the doughโdonโt press down too hard on the dough; you’re not mad at it!
When rolling dough out, start from the center and work your way out in all directions, turning the dough with your hands as you go:
Between passes of the rolling pin, rotate the pie crust and even flip it, to make sure itโs not sticking to your work surface. Sprinkle on a little more flour if itโs sticking. Roll, turn. Roll, turn.
Do you see that beautiful marbling of the butter and shortening throughout the dough? Flaky layers, here you come!
Success Tip: If you notice the dough becoming a lopsided circle as you’re rolling it out, put down the rolling pin and use your hands to help mold the dough back into an even circle:
Roll the dough into a thin 12-inch circle, which is the perfect size to fit a 9-inch pie dish. You want enough crust to have some overhang so you can make a decorative edge for your pie.
Your pie dough will be about 1/8-inch thick, which is quite thin.
Success Tip: Since your dough is so thin, use your rolling pin to help transfer the pie crust to the pie dish. Carefully roll one end of the circle of dough gently onto the rolling pin, rolling it back towards you, slowly peeling it off the work surface as you go. Pick it up, and carefully roll it back out over the top of the pie dish. Itโs helpful to watch how I do it in the video below.
Make sure the pie crust is pretty well centered in the dish, with some overhang all around the sides. Tuck the crust into the pie dish, gently pressing it to the interior all the way aroundโno air bubbles.
Trim dough around the edges if there’s excess dough in some spotsโyou want about 1-inch overhang. After you add your pie filling and top crust (such as a lattice pie crust), fold overhang back over and pinch the top and bottom crusts together. Now you can create a pretty edge, such as fluting or crimping. I have a full tutorial on how to crimp and flute pie crust, but here’s a quick overview:
Fluting with fingers: To flute the edges, use a knuckle and 2 fingers to press around the edges of the pie crust, to give it a beautiful and classic scalloped look, like this apple pie.
Crimping with fork: You can also use a fork to crimp the edges, like I do with this peach pie.
Again, review my how to crimp and flute pie crust page and video if you need a little extra help with this step.
Your pie crust is ready to bake! Follow your pie recipeโs instructions from here; some recipes may call for a fully baked crust, and some may call for a partially baked (par-baked or blind baked) crust. You can read a tutorial on that here in this How to Par-Bake Pie Crust post. And some recipes, like this blueberry pie or triple berry pie, donโt require baking the crust at all before adding the filling, because the pie bakes for so long; just spoon/pour the filling right in.
Your pie recipe might call for an egg wash on the dough and for that, use a pastry brush. And if you bake a lot of pies, this list of 10 best pie baking tools will be helpful for you.
Troubleshooting Pie Crust
- Pie crust is tough: Tough crusts are the result of not enough fat in the crust, as well as overworking the dough. Use the recipe below (plenty of fat) and avoid handling the dough more than you need.
- Don’t have enough pie dough: This recipe yields 2 pie crusts. To ensure you have enough pie dough for overhang and a pretty topping, roll your dough out to a 12-inch circle, about 1/8 inch thick.
- Pie crust shrinks down the sides of the dish when baking: This can happen when par-baking a pie crust. See section below.
- Pie dough is dry & cracking around edges when rolling: Use enough ice water when preparing the pie dough. If you work the fats into the dry ingredients too much, the dough will feel too wet before you can add enough water. (And the dough will be dry and thirsty.) Do not overwork the fats in the dry ingredientsโyou still want those nice crumbles. If it’s too late and you notice the edges of your pie crust are cracking as you roll it out, dip your fingers in ice-cold water and meld the edges back together. Wait a minute, and then try rolling out again.
- Pie dough is falling apart & crumbling when rolling: The dough is likely crumbling because there’s too much fat, and not enough flour and water. Again, this is usually a result of fat being worked in too much, which can easily happen if the ingredients weren’t cold enough. (Refrigerate those dry ingredients before you start!) If it’s too late and the pie dough is crumbling as you roll it out, try adding more water AND more flour. Sprinkle a tiny bit of ice water and flour onto the cracks and crumbled pieces, and gently work it all in with your fingers. Wait a minute, and then try rolling out again.
Gently work ice water drops and flour into your crumbly pie dough to bring it back together:
Blind Baking Pie Crust
If your pie recipe requires a fully baked or par-baked pie crust before adding the filling, follow the directions and success tips in this How to Par-Bake Pie Crust guide. You need 2 packs of pie weights, which are metal or ceramic beads that serve to weigh down the crust to prevent the puffing/shrinking. You could use dried beans instead. Whichever you choose, be sure to line the crust with parchment paper, then fill the empty pie crust shell with the weights prior to baking. Without pie weights, the dough will puff up, and then shrink down the sides.
Pie Crust Success Tips
- Use a glass pie dish. I prefer using a glass pie dish when I make pie. Why? Glass dishes conduct heat evenly, which allows the bottom of the crust to bake thoroughly. Also, youโll be able to see when the sides and bottom of the crust have browned.
- The refrigerator is pie doughโs best friend. Keep everything cold every step of the way: ingredients, the bowl, and the dough before rolling. When taking the pie crust out of the refrigerator to roll out and fill, make sure your pie filling is ready to go. If not, keep the pie crust in the refrigerator until it is.
- Keep dough cold when rolling out: Warm pie dough is unworkable. If the dough becomes too warm when you’re rolling it out, stop what you’re doing, pick it up as gently as you can, put it on a plate or small baking sheet, and then cover and refrigerate it for 10โ20 minutes.
- Protect the crust edges from burning: Use a pie crust shield to prevent the edges from burning. A shield keeps the crust edge covered, but the center of the pie exposed, protecting the edges. I usually just make a pie shield out of a piece of aluminum foil. Take a piece of aluminum foil and fold it in half. Cut out a half circle. When you open it back up, youโll have a square of foil with a circle cut out of the center. If you notice the edges of your pie crust are browning before the pie has fully baked, carefully and gently place the foil over the top of the pie, centering the cut-out hole over the pie. Carefully (obviously itโs very hot!) and lightly tuck the sides of the foil around the pie crust edges, then let the pie finish baking.
- Create a beautiful topping: For designing the top crust, see How to Lattice Pie Crust, How to Braid Pie Crust, or these Pie Crust Designs. And here is my tutorial on How to Crimp and Flute Pie Crust, too.
For more pie crust inspiration, see my graham cracker crust and homemade chocolate pop tarts (with a chocolate crust!).
Print
Homemade Buttery Flaky Pie Crust Recipe
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours, 15 minutes
- Yield: 2 pie crusts (1 lb, 8 ounces dough total)
- Category: Pie
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This recipe is enough for a double crust pie. If you only need 1 crust for your pie, freeze the other half per the Freezing Instructions below. Is your pie dough tearing, cracking, or crumbling as you try to roll it out? See recipe Notes.
Ingredients
- 2 and 1/2 cups (315g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled), plus more for shaping and rolling
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 6 Tablespoons (85g) unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
- 2/3 cup (130g) vegetable shortening, chilled
- 1/2 cup (120ml) ice cold water
Instructions
- Whisk the flour and salt together in a large bowl.
- Add the butter and shortening. Using a pastry cutter or two forks, cut the butter and shortening into the mixture until it resembles coarse meal (pea-sized bits with a few larger bits of fat is OK). In this step, you’re only breaking up the cold fat into tiny little flour-coated pieces; you’re not completely incorporating it. Do not overwork the ingredients.
- Measure 1/2 cup (120ml) of water in a cup. Add ice. Stir it around. From that, measure 1/2 cup (120ml) of water, since the ice has melted a bit. Drizzle the cold water in, 1 Tablespoon (15ml) at a time, and stir with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon after every Tablespoon has been added. Stop adding water when the dough begins to form large clumps. I always use about 1/2 cup of water, and need a little more in dry winter months. Do not add any more water than you need.
- Transfer the pie dough to a floured work surface. Using floured hands, fold the dough into itself until the flour is fully incorporated into the fats. The dough should come together easily and should not feel overly sticky. Avoid overworking the dough. If it feels a bit too dry or crumbly, dip your fingers in the ice water and then continue bringing dough together with your hands. If it feels too sticky, sprinkle on more flour and then continue bringing dough together with your hands. Form it into a ball. Use a sharp knife to cut it in half. If it’s helpful, you should have about 1 lb, 8 ounces dough total (about 680g). Gently flatten each half into 1-inch-thick discs using your hands.
- Wrap each tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 5 days.
- After the dough has chilled for at least 2 hours, you can roll it out. Work with one crust at a time, keeping the other in the refrigerator until youโre ready to roll it out. Lightly flour the work surface, rolling pin, and your hands, and sprinkle a little flour on top of the dough. Use gentle-medium force with your rolling pin on the doughโdonโt press down too hard on the dough; you’re not mad at it! When rolling dough out, start from the center and work your way out in all directions, turning the dough with your hands as you go. Between passes of the rolling pin, rotate the pie crust and even flip it, to make sure itโs not sticking to your work surface. Sprinkle on a little more flour if itโs sticking; don’t be afraid to use a little more flour. If you notice the dough becoming a lopsided circle as you’re rolling it out, put down the rolling pin and use your hands to help mold the dough back into an even circle. Roll the dough into a very thin 12-inch circle, which is the perfect size to fit a 9-inch pie dish. Your pie dough will be about 1/8 inch thick, which is quite thin. Visible specks of butter and fat in the dough are perfectly normal and expected.
- Because your dough is so thin, use your rolling pin to help transfer the pie crust to the pie dish. Carefully roll one end of the circle of dough gently onto the rolling pin, rolling it back towards you, slowly peeling it off the work surface as you go. Pick it up, and carefully roll it back out over the top of the pie dish. Itโs helpful to watch how I do it in the video below.
- Proceed with the pie per your recipe’s instructions. If your dough requires par-baking, see helpful How to Par-Bake Pie Crust tutorial.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: Prepare the pie dough through step 5 and freeze the discs for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before using in your pie recipe.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Large Glass Mixing Bowl | Pastry Cutter |ย Rolling Pin | For more tools you may need to completely assemble and bake your pie, see my 10 Best Pie Baking Tools list.
- Salt: Use regular table salt. If using kosher salt, use 1 and 1/4 teaspoons.
- Shortening: This recipe uses a butter and shortening combination. Butter for flakiness and flavor, and shortening for its high melting point and ability to help the crust hold shape. You can use butter-flavor shortening if desired. If you want to skip the shortening, feel free to try this all-butter pie crust instead. Some readers have substituted lard for shortening in this recipe with success.
- Can I use a food processor? You can use a food processor to bring the dough ingredients together in step 1, but I find it quickly overworks the dough. For best results and a light, flaky crust, I recommend a pastry cutter.
- Pie dough is dry & cracking around edges when rolling: Use enough ice water when preparing the pie dough. If you work the fats into the dry ingredients too much, the dough will feel too wet before you can add enough water. (And the dough will be dry and thirsty.) Do not overwork the fats in the dry ingredientsโyou still want those nice crumbles. If it’s too late and you notice the edges of your pie crust are cracking as you roll it out, dip your fingers in ice-cold water and meld the edges back together. Wait a minute, and then try rolling out again.
- Pie dough is falling apart & crumbling when rolling: The dough is likely crumbling because there’s too much fat, and not enough flour and water. Again, this is usually a result of fat being worked in too much, which can easily happen if the ingredients weren’t cold enough. (Refrigerate those dry ingredients before you start!) If it’s too late and the pie dough is crumbling as you roll it out, try adding more water AND more flour. Sprinkle a tiny bit of ice water and flour onto the cracks and crumbled pieces, and gently work it all in with your fingers. Wait a minute, and then try rolling out again.
- More Crusts: If you need more than 2 pie crusts, make another separate batch of dough. Doubling or tripling the recipe leads to over- or under-working the dough, which ruins all of your efforts.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Wow best pie crust Iโve ever made!
This is my new go to pie crust. Followed the directions and left big pieces of butter in the dough. I found this dough was easy to roll out right from the refrigerator where others I have tried were so hard I needed them to soften and that defeats the purpose of a cold dough. It was flaky and didn’t stick to my pie dish. I make lots of different desserts but was always intimidated by pie crust. Not anymore!!
I love this pie dough! Several years ago I wanted to try my hand at making homemade pumpkin pie with a homemade crust. I found this recipe along with Sallyโs pumpkin pie recipe, and even for someone who at the time never baked from scratch, snd even now bakes twice a year (thanksgiving pies and Christmas Eve cookies), it was a super easy recipe to follow and turns out perfect every time! Every year I take a photo of my perfect flake layers in the dough before making them into discs and freezing them and send it to my family to brag about it lol. Thank you for giving me something to brag about every thanksgiving, Sally!!! Itโs beautiful, easy, and delicious.
Side note: I also make a vegan pie in addition to a regular pumpkin pie because my brothers girlfriend is allergic to dairy, and this recipe works great with dairy free butter and shortening too! Usually need a bit more water but other than that no major differences. ๐
I’m a believer! I’m 71 and haven’t made a successful shortening-type pie crust since 1978. I’ve been through the oil pie crust recipe, the never-fail pie dough with egg, sugar, and vinegar, and finally devolved into grocery store pie dough. I decided to cross my fingers and try this one for the Thanksgiving lemon meringue pie. I followed all the instructions and was worried but it turned out beautifully. The crust was crisp, tender, flaky, tasty, and not soggy. So happy I ventured into the unknown and tried this one. Thank you, Sally!!
Is it possible to use a food processor instead of making it by hand?
Hi Kimi, While you could use a food processor to make this pie crust, itโs strongly recommend to use a pastry cutter, or even two forks, to avoid over-mixing. Food processors are quick to over-work pie dough. If you do use one, be careful not to over mix it.
Hi! How can I adjust this recipe for altitude? (Denver) thank you!!!
Hi Julia, I wish we could help, but have no experience baking at high altitude. Some readers have found this chart helpful: https://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/high-altitude-baking.html
Hi! I tripled the recipe so I could make 6 crusts, and I found I only needed less than โ cup of water, and my pie dough was still maybe a little over hydrated. I checked my calculations for tripling the recipe and everything is right, is it normal to need way less water?
Hi Tali, we don’t usually recommend multiplying this dough, as it can make it easier to over or under work the dough and lead to less than ideal outcomes. We wouldn’t expect there to be less water. As you roll out your dough, keep in mind that you may experience some cracking and can simply moisten your fingers with water and help bring the dough back together. Hope this helps!
I would like this recipe with vodka, how would I do this?
Hi Miss Kelly, if you want to try using vodka, use 1/4 cup (60ml) each cold vodka and cold water in this recipe.
Hi Sally! We have a dairy and soy allergy in our house. I was going to use a soy free shortening and eliminate the butter or I was wondering if I should substitute the butter for a dairy/soy free option. Just wondering if you had any recommendations, thanks!
Hi April, we do not recommend swapping the butter for more shortening. You could try a plant-based butter instead, but we haven’t tested this ourselves to know the results. It may be best to search for a dairy-free and soy-free pie recipe instead!
Chosen Avocado Shortening works great in play of regular soybean shortening. (I bake daily for a soy allergy. I have done this swap for 3 years with no differences.)
I have not ever done dairy free so no advice on the dairy free butter.
If doubling the recipe for multiple pies is it best to make two separate dough or simply double the recipe?
Hi Nadia, for best results, we recommend making separate batches rather than doubling.
Hi Sally,
Thanks so much for sharing your crust recipe!
I got daring and tried to make your crust. I followed your directions to the tee…2 1/2 cups flower with the salt and then added the 6 Tbl. butter and 2/3 cups shortening. It looked just like your pics/video but came out dry and started cracking and falling apart when rolling it out. I don’t think I mixed it altogether too much at all. I definitely could clump it together with my hand (as you show in your video) with no problem. I did plastic wrap them and put in the frig, but when I took them out to start rolling, they were very hard. Frig too cold?
Thank you for any thoughts you could toss my way ๐
Hi Dominic, Weโre happy to help โ pie crust can definitely be tricky! It sounds like the dough might not have enough liquid. We highly recommend at least 1/2 cup of ice water. If itโs cracking as you try to roll it out, moisten your fingertips with water and meld the dough back together as best you can. (As if it were play doh.) Hope these tips are helpful!
I think you’re right on Lexi, more water! Thanks so much! Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!
Iโm making a blueberry pie. The filling is ready to go (homemade) what would you suggest I bake the pie at? 350? Do I partially bake the pie crust before adding blueberries? Your recipe and the filling recipe didnโt say and mamas stressin lol
Hi Amanda, here’s our blueberry pie recipe.
Thank you soooooo much for this recipe and all the care with specific tips. You have saved me a lot of grief and tears shed many times attempting pie crust in the past. One thing that’s thwarted me twice now in the rolling out is that I think I take too much time and the dough becomes too warm. The larger pieces of butter started sticking to my counter and peeling away from the rest of the dough. Do I just need to work faster? I tried keeping the counter well-floured. It’s taking me longer because the dough breaks apart and I have to add some water and then some flour to fix it, wait a min and then start again. That’s a lot of extra time! Help? Thanks so much!
Can I use gluten free flour for this?
Hi Brandie, We havenโt tested this recipe with gluten free flour but let us know if you give it a try.
First time making this and followed the directions. I’m not sure where I went wrong but after baking an apple pie, wherever there were bits of butter in the dough, I cooked a hole completely through the dough. Has anyone else had this issue?
Hi Sierra! This can happen if the butter pieces were a little too big in the dough. Next time try working the butter in a little more for smaller pieces.
Hello Sally,
For a single pie crust, 9 inch pie plate, what temperature should I bake it at and what is the duration?
Hi Sharon, that will depend on the pie filling you’re making – bake times vary. Does the pie recipe you’re using include bake times? If you’re hoping to fully bake an empty crust for a no-bake filling, here’s our guide to par-baking pies.
Do you put a cold Pyrex pie plate with the fully made pie into a hot oven or put it in a cold oven to bake if you make the pie ahead of time?
Hi Nancy! We do and have never had an issue with it, but the change of temperature can be a concern for the pie dish. You can let the pie crust sit at room temperature for a few minutes before putting in the hot oven.
Can you add sugar to this crust? If so, how much and are there any adjustments to the other ingredients needed?
Hi Shelle, You can add 1 Tablespoon of granulated sugar with the dry ingredients. Let us know if you give it a try!
Any thoughts on using lard instead of shortening? Will it alter the taste? I have a ton of lard and no shortening so contemplating if I should use it or if it will ruin my pies.
We havenโt tested it ourselves, but some readers have reported success using lard in place of the shortening. Let us know if you try it!
Hi sally! I only have salted butter on hand. Can I use that and just emit the tsp of salt? Thanks ๐
Hi Hilary, if using salted butter, you can reduce your added salt to 1/2 teaspoon.
Hi! Making pumpkin pies this week w this crust to give to some friends. I know you say glass pan is best, but not an option in this case. Will aluminum disposable pans be ok? Any tips/suggestions when using them? I couldnโt for the life of me find deep dish foil pie pans, so standard size it is, unfortunately. Thanks so much!
Hi Becca, a disposable aluminum pan is just fine! Bake time should be about the same.
Can I use just butter and if so how much?
We’re sure you could, Christine!
Canโt wait to try this, pie crust is always a little scary for some reason! Quick question, how much of the dough would I use for a deep dish pie? Thank you!
Hi Emily, this makes enough dough for two 9-inch pie crusts. We often use this same crust in deep dish pans. However, you could always make 1.5x the recipe to ensure you have enough. Hope this helps!
This crust recipe achieves an excellent result! It is not difficult at all- and Iโve had my share of pie crust challenges!
This is more a question than a comment. We have made this recipe several times using the scale but our dough is never near 680 g so we always feel like our pie crusts too small . Any tips on what we may be doing wrong?
Hi PB, itโs totally normal for pie dough weights to vary a bit. Some batches simply take more water than others, especially depending on humidity, flour brand, and how quickly the dough comes together and absorbs moisture. Youโll also add extra flour when dusting your work surface, and that additional flour builds weight even though it isnโt part of the base recipe. As long as your dough is coming together smoothly (not crumbly or dry) and you can comfortably roll it into a 12-inch circle, youโre doing everything right. If you want to add a little more volume. Add a few extra Tablespoons of flour in the beginning, and then you’ll likely need a touch more ice water.