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 2015. Become a pro with this crust recipe and the rest will be as easy as… eating salted caramel apple pie!
For a baker, there’s nothing more satisfying than making a pie completely from scratch. Pies are often made for special occasions, and there’s a good reason for that: they’re time consuming. This shouldn’t scare you! It should intrigue you. If you’ve ever felt intimidated about making homemade pie crust, I’m 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, you’re opening a door to an entire baking category. And that’s 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 wouldn’t hang a beautiful piece of art or favorite photo in a terrible frame, right?
Today I’m 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, it’s not an understatement to say that I have made a LOT of pies. Along the way, I’ve learned what works and what doesn’t, and I’m 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 doesn’t 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 you’re rolling and shaping it. Plus, shortening’s 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.” 😉
If you don’t 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 butter’s water content. As the crust bakes, the butter’s 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 you’re 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 chop—this is actually optional because, truly, the shortening is quite soft even when cold so it’s easy to mix in.
Now it’s 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 don’t recommend it, because it can lead to overworking the fats into the dough, cutting them up too small—which 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 meal—crumbly with lots of lumps, as you see above. You should still have some larger pieces of butter and shortening when you’re 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 don’t 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, you’ll 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, that’s 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 doesn’t 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 it’s 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 you’re 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 you’re ready to roll it out. You’ll 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 dough—don’t 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 it’s not sticking to your work surface. Sprinkle on a little more flour if it’s 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. It’s 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 around—no air bubbles.
Trim dough around the edges if there’s excess dough in some spots—you 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 recipe’s 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, don’t 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 ingredients—you 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, you’ll be able to see when the sides and bottom of the crust have browned.
- The refrigerator is pie dough’s 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 10–20 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, you’ll 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 it’s 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!).
PrintHomemade 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 you’re 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 dough—don’t 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 it’s not sticking to your work surface. Sprinkle on a little more flour if it’s 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. It’s 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 | 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 ingredients—you 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.
I’m an immigrant to the US, and though I had pie shell recipes from my own country I’ve always wanted to make *real american pie*. I had a real hard time with this recipe. The first time I oversalted, the second time I overmixed, so of course the third time I undermixed and the butter left my pie shell full of holes. But 2.5 times was the charm! I mixed the second half a little more and made a beautifully crumbly shell 🙂 I got lots of compliments on my coconut creme pie. I will definitely be making this again, though I think my pie dish is a little taller than yours so I’ll probably make 1.25 times the recipe to make two shells.
My blind bake pie crust left holes where the butter is in the dough. Did I do something wrong?
Hi Bonnie, If you have large chunks of fat making holes in your pastry, you may need to work the dough a bit more – cut in the fats until you get smaller pieces. The video above may be helpful as well!
I am looking forward to trying this recipe. The tutorial is excellent and specific. I have one question. Have you ever used a pastry cloth? I just recently learned about them and that they were used for earlier decades.
Hi Barbara, we don’t use a pastry cloth when rolling out our dough (just a well-floured work surface!) although you certainly can if you’d like. Let us know what you think of the pie crust!
My new favorite pie crust recipe! Loved the tips you included. I used it for a chicken pot pie and got rave reviews. This crust will be the base for all my future pies.
This pie crust is absolutely delicious! Recipe was easy to follow and very informative. I will forever be grateful for this website!
Hi! I tried this crust for the first time last year when making the peach crumble pie and the crust did not really cook at all on the bottom. I used a stoneware pan though so I’m wondering if that was the issue. I’m getting ready to try again with the plain peach pie and I’ll use a glass dish this time. Do you think that will solve it? Should I blind bake it a little just to be safe? Turn up oven temp? Thanks for any suggestions, I’m a bit nervous because I want it to be edible!!!
Hi Isabelle, we prefer to bake with glass pie dishes for the most even baking (and so we can see when the crust is golden brown on the bottom). You don’t need to par-bake the crust because this pie bakes for so long. Let us know how it turns out!
Beautiful tasty crust!! Made a quiche with half and froze the other.
Can you make pie crust without butter? Is there a substitute for butter?
Hi Jai, you can use all shortening but your pie crust will not be as flaky.
This pie crust was so good! Flaky, with great structure, and delicious. I used your recipe for peach blueberry pie, and my whole family loved it. Don’t know if you can answer this question, but, im going to be visiting my vegan daughter and would love to make this for her. Could I just swap out the butter for vegan butter? Thanks
Hi Liz, so glad you love this pie crust! We haven’t tested vegan butter substitutes in this recipe, let us know if you give it a try.
Myokos (sp?) vegan “butter” works great! So does non-hydrogenated organic palm oil shortening made by Spectrum.
I have made this recipe so many times! I love it! I use it for all my fruit pies! Thanks so much Sally!!!
Question: (I could look through your comments to see if someone else asked this but I felt like I should just message haha cause you have 23 pages of comments). Can you freeze the pie after you bake it? Does it still taste good? Any instructions on how to reheat it?
Hi Maddy! Generally, baked pies freezes well for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature before serving.
I usually love Sally’s recipes, but this one just fell really flat. The pastry came together and rolled out easily which was nice, but when baking it was oily, far too much fat (and I measured twice using scales).. I think the shortening is a mistake. I’m going to go for an all-butter pastry in my next pie. It also goes really hard after being in the fridge – something pie pastry doesn’t usually do.
I will be using Sally’s pie crust recipe from now on because pie crust taste better and are much easier to handle when rolling and getting into the pie pan. I made the lattice pie crust and is came out picture perfect!
Never Fail Pie Crust (Makes 2 single crusts)
3 cups flour
1 cup LARD…and lard ONLY
1 tsp salt
1 egg
5 T water
1 T vinegar
Combine salt, flour, and lard BY HAND. Mixing w/ your hands allows for thorough combining of ingredients & you get a true feel for when that’s happened.
Mix egg, water, & vinegar WELL. Pour into flour & lard & salt. Mix well w/ hands. Divide in two. Refrigerate for at least 2 hrs before rolling.
This crust recipe is great! Can be re-rolled w/o becoming tough, doesn’t crack at the edges when rolling, and also can take oven heat, i.e. the crust edges don’t necessarily need tenting at high temps.
Enjoy!
Greg, maybe post recipes on your own site rather than one you think tops Sally’s, and save the comment area for comments?
How rude. I think it’s better to go to your own blog.
I really enjoy Sally’s site and don’t mind when people put their tips, tricks, changes, etc., in the comments section. Greg isn’t the only one that has offered his thoughts (albeit a full recipe) but he’s the only one being dissed. Why is that? Either way, I’m anxious to try not only Sally’s recipe but Greg’s too! Thank you both!
I was looking for a peach pie recipe (mine is misplaced) and found yours. Got some great tips and clicked on this pie crust recipe because it sounded like what I make, myself (for 50 years or more). It is exactly the same recipe I use, including the process/steps, tips, and everything (except I use a knife instead of scissors to trip excess crust off). Like you, it is my favorite pie crust recipe. The pie crust tips I learned from my 4-H leader, Mrs. Standish, in Clifton Park, NY. She is long deceased, but her many tips in cooking and sewing are still with me. The other irony is that my name is Sally, too, and I am also a baking addict. 🙂
I got a bit of a soggy bottom – I blind-baked w/ dried beans, 375 F for 15 min then added a simple fruit filling but it did have some liquid (the fruit had sit tossed w/ sugar and lemon juice for a while). Do you think I need to simply reduce the amount of liquid in my filling or should I blind bake longer? I was going to make quiche with this crust but really want to have a little texture and crunch on the bottom crust.
Hi Molly! The amount of par-baking time will depend on each recipe. We usually recommend using a slotted spoon, and leaving excess juice behind in the mixing bowl for fruit pies. Here’s our detailed quiche recipe, with par-baking instructions, if you’re interested!
Molly, you might try brushing some egg white over your bottom crust to seal it, just brush on and pop in the oven 3-5 minutes to dry. Learned this from my son, a pastry chef. Also make sure you’re adding a little flour or instant tapioca to the fruit as a thickener.
Can you use lard instead of shortening?
Hi Suzie! Some readers have used lard in place of shortening with success.
YES! I use lard exclusively! I find the crusts roll better and tolerate temps better, i.e. edges of crust don’t necessarily need tenting at high temps.
Do you have a version of this recipe for a deep dish and/or 10 inch pie plate? I find that this recipe does not create enough crust for a plate that size?
Hi Tim, we don’t have a version for that size, but recommend you 1.5x the recipe. Hope it works for you!
Such a tasty pie crust! Perfectly flaky and stays together enough to pick up and place in the pie pan! My family deemed this it’s favorite!
I accidentally used the whole stick of butter and the 2/3 cup of shortening, will this affect how the 2 crusts bake and what can I do to correct this when I roll them out? Thanks
Hi Connie! How did the dough come together? You may need a little extra flour to compensate for the extra fat. Be generous with the flour when rolling your dough out and make sure to keep it very cold before baking.
Can I use Gluten free Flour? If so, what brand would you recommend? Ratio still the same?
Hi Bill, we haven’t tested this recipe with gluten free flours, but some readers have reported success using 1:1 flour substitutes (like Cup4Cup). If you try it, let us know how it goes!
I have seen suggestions to use a box grater to grate the butter into the crust. Do you recommend this method for integrating the butter into the flour?
Hi Faith, you can use frozen butter and grate it for this pie dough. However, you’ll still need to cut it in. You can use a fork and mix very well.
This crust is super delicious—I just have one problem. Every time I try to make a quiche with this crust, the filling leaks through! What’s the trick?
Hi! You can try to keep the crust a little thicker for a quiche if it keeps leaking through. When dividing the dough in half to refrigerate, you can keep 1 half a little larger so you have more dough for a quiche. This means you can keep it thicker, while still rolling out large enough.
This was just ok for me. I make a lot of pie crusts (and have had a lot of failures) and was drawn to this one because of the number of positive reviews and because I was making a decorative crust. The texture was very good and the dough was easy to handle and retained its shape when baking. But I didn’t like how it tasted. It had a strong shortening flavor and was also very bland and just really unpleasant. If I were to make this again I would add more salt and some sugar too. Or I would find a recipe with a higher butter-to-shortening ratio (or return to my trusty all-butter recipe). 2/3c shortening is too much.
Amazing blueberry pie! The crust, the filling, and all the wonderful tips to get there. I am not new to baking pies but your’s is easily the best berry pie ever. Thank you for sharing it with us!
I followed the recipe exactly as listed and it was AMAZING!!! I used it as a savory snack by spreading homemade pesto on it after rolling the dough out and then sprinkling pepper jack on top of pesto then rolled it up like a cinnamon roll and baked it!! What an amazing snack!! Thank you sharing this wonderful recipe..
Wow!! I was about to use a store bought crust but resisted due to bad reviews. I am so glad I didn’t!! Truly makes this delicious blueberry pie. Crispy crunch on the bottom still and a beautiful lattice. My first pie attempt and this recipe helped me nail it. Thank you Sally!
I’m 67 and finally decided to try making my own crust. Your instructions and pictures were so wonderful….my pie was beautiful. My husband said best pie ever, it was strawberry/rhubarb. Due to your directions everything was done so easily. Thank you….I will continue to view & use your recipes.
This is a straightforward recipe that works! It is delicious and everything a crust should be – flakey, buttery. I used in the blueberry pie on this website. I’ve finally found a pie crust that is very ‘doable’ and a keeper!
This was my first time making pie crust and it turned out great! I’ve always had a fear of making crust because everyone says how difficult it is. I didn’t have any issues. Followed the recipe exactly and let it chill for a day before rolling. Very flaky, buttery, and delicious! I used with your strawberry rhubarb recipe, but can’t wait to make it again for other pies this fall!
Delicious. I used fresh spinach instead of frozen – about two big fistfuls, cut up with kitchen shears. Used 2% milk. Also sautéed about a half cup of diced yellow onion with the mushrooms. Turned out really well and was a bit hit with my guests.
Delicious!!! But every time I make this I have one single problem. It’s removing the parchment paper with the pie weights during the per bake. The dough always seems to stick to it. I’m crumbling in the parchment paper. I’m using Reynolds parchment paper and I’m using beans as pie weights. What am I doing wrong?
Hi B! Some sticking is normal – just be very careful and gentle when removing the pie weights. If your parchment paper has a more non stick side, be sure to place that side down.