This is the best pie crust recipe I’ve ever used! I’ve been using this recipe for flaky pie crust for over 10 years and haven’t looked back. Don’t miss the helpful video that walks you through every step for guaranteed success.
My favorite foolproof pie crust recipe guarantees perfect results every time. It’s so easy to roll out, and your pies will have a crust with the most wonderful light and flaky layers.
This easy recipe works beautifully for single or double crust pies, both sweet and savory. We recommend this pie dough for almost all the pies on Inspired Taste.
All you need are 5 easy ingredients to make pie crust — flour, butter, salt, sugar (optional) and ice water — plus about 15 minutes of active prep time if you would like to make this recipe completely by hand. (Or less than 10 if you happen to own a food processor, which makes this recipe even easier.)
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The Secret to the Best Pie Crust
The secret to making the best pie crust is to coat a portion of the flour with cold butter before adding in the rest of your flour. This simple step guarantees a super flaky, light pie crust. Gluten forms when you mix flour and water. We want some gluten for structure, but too much will make your crust tough, dense, and less flaky.
Our tried and true pie crust recipe mixes a portion of the flour with our butter first. You can think about it as if we are giving the flour a butter raincoat, which make it difficult for the flour coated in butter to absorb water. In other words, it helps prevent too much gluten development. Less gluten = flakier and more tender pie crusts.
I learned this strategy of coating a portion of the flour in butter from Cooks Illustrated and Kenji López-Alt. I will be forever grateful!
How to Make Pie Dough by Hand
If you prefer to do all this by hand, you can! It will be just as easy to roll out and turns out super flaky. To make this pie crust by hand, we recommend using a pastry cutter to cut the butter into the flour (they are inexpensive and helpful for other recipes like biscuits and scones).
In our recipe video, we show making this recipe in a food processor and by hand using a pastry cutter. You’ll follow the same method as when we use a food processor. Combine a portion of the flour with your butter, and then add the remaining flour and water.
The Most Common Pie Dough Mistake
FAQ
What is pie crust made of?
What is the difference between pastry and pie shell?
What is the shell of the pie?
What is a pie crust?
The Crust may be made from raw ingredients or it can also be purchased in food stores as a prepared crust made by food manufacturers who provide easy to use Pie Crusts for ease of preparation. There are several types of Pie Crusts that are most common for use, either single Pie Crusts or double Pie Crusts.
What is a pie crust shield?
Pie crust shield (optional): Which can help to prevent the edges of your crust from burning in the oven, especially for recipes that require a longer baking time. (Alternately, you can just use a strip of aluminum foil to gently cover the edges of the crust.)
How do you make a pie shell?
To form the pie shell, roll the dough on a floured surface into a 14-inch round. Wrap around rolling pin and carefully unroll over a 9-inch pie plate. Fit gently into bottom and side of plate. Use kitchen shears to trim dough to a 1-inch overhang; fold under, and seal to form a rim. Crimp rim with fingertips and knuckle.
What are the 4 basic ingredients in a pie crust?
1. There are four ingredients in a standard pie crust: flour, fat, liquid, and salt. Flour forms the structure and bulk of the crust, fat adds flavor and creates a flaky texture, liquid binds the dough and keeps it pliable, and salt enhances the flavor and helps brown the crust. See below for more information about the four basic ingredients. 2.