The effort to make homemade pie crust pays off in a flakier and tastier result than anything you buy pre-made. Use this list of simple tips, from choosing the best ingredients to using the proper technique, to turn out a perfect pie crust every time.
1. Use Very Cold Butter or Fat
Butter, shortening, lard, or suet—whatever fat the recipe calls for should be well-chilled and cut into small pieces to start with for the flakiest crust in the end. Thefat in a pie crustmust maintain some of its integrity in the dough to make the crust truly flaky. Starting withvery cold fatmakes it easier to keep from overworking the fat into the dough. On a hot day, you may need to chill the fat in the freezer for 10 to 15 minutes before you start making the dough.
2. Retain Some Chunks
Many recipes direct you to work the fat into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Just be sure to retain a few larger chunks of fat in the dough to ensure optimum flakiness. As it heats up, the fat creates steam, causing little pockets of air that create the flaky character. Maintaining a few bigger pieces of fat also deters you from overworking the dough.
3. Limit the Water
Start off using the minimum amount of water or other liquid called for in the recipe. Water aids gluten development, which you want to avoid for a tender pie crust. Add just enough water (or other liquid) so the dough holds together when you pinch a piece between your fingers. The dough should look quite shaggy.
One way to limit the water?Use vodka instead—it contains less water by volume than actual water and the alcohol bakes off.
4. Make a Disk
Before you chill or roll out the dough, take the time to shape it into an even disk less than 1-inch thick and with smooth edges. Well-floured hands and a well-floured work surface makes this easier. This step makes the doughmucheasier to roll out quickly and evenly and helps prevent cracking on the edges.
5. Chill the Dough
Chill the dough before you roll it out for at least 30 minutes and up to 2 days. Again, on a very hot day, you may want to put the dough in the freezer for about 10 minutes just before you start to roll it out.
6. Roll the Dough, Turn the Dough
Roll out the dough on a well-floured work surface with a well-floured rolling pin. With each pass of the rolling pin, turn the dough a quarter turn (about 90 degrees). This alerts you if the dough starts to stick. In that case, lift up one side and throw a bit of flour underneath.
7. Think Curbs, Not Driveways
Roll out and away from yourself, then pick up the rolling pin to start from the center again. Be careful to keep even pressure on the rolling pin across the entire circle of dough so the edges of the dough remain as thick as the center—you want curbs, not driveways.
8. Let the Dough Fall Into the Pan
When you line the pie plate with the dough, lower the dough loosely into the pan, letting the dough fall down into the creases at the edge rather than pushing or forcing it. Stretched dough simply pulls back to its original shape when you bake it.
9. Chill the Lined Pie Pan
Cover and chill the lined pie pan (and any rolled out top crust) beforeblind-bakingor filling the pie. This helps the pie keep its shape (and size!) when you bake it.
10. Bake Until Brown
To get the full tenderness and flakiness of agreat pie crust, be sure to bake the pie until the crust turns fully brown, not just golden.
FAQs
Start with chilled ingredients
Butter creates a sturdy, crisp pie crust. For this, it is important to keep all ingredients cold which will inhibit the development of gluten in the flour. Use butter right out of the refrigerator and add ice-cold water to make the dough.
What is the number 2 most important thing when making pie crust? ›
#2—Add cold water
Before you start making the dough, fill a glass with ice and water. Add the ice water gradually to the dough, about one tablespoon or so at a time, and stop when the dough is just moist enough to hold together when a handful is squeezed.
What are the 5 tips for pie perfection? ›
My 5 Best Pie-Making Tips
- 1 - Cold dough equals flaky crust. I could have started with “Make Your Own Pie Crust” and I do feel that's important. ...
- 2 - Overfill your pies on purpose ... most of the time. ...
- 3 - Bake on the low rack. ...
- 4 - Hold down your pre-baked crusts. ...
- 5 - Hold off on slicing your pie.
Keep the Butter Cold
If your butter melts during the mixing or rolling process—before the pie crust hits the oven—you won't achieve those flaky layers we're looking for in this buttery pastry. With this goal in mind, the cardinal rule of pie crusts is to keep things as cold as possible.
What is the secret to crispy bottom pie crust? ›
Choose the Right Rack in the Oven
Which rack you use in the oven can help ensure a crisp crust. Baking the pie on a lower rack will concentrate heat on the bottom of the pie and help the crust crisp.
Is pie crust better with butter or crisco? ›
“My preferred fat for pie crusts will always be butter. To me, it is all about flavor, and no other fat gives flavor to a crust like butter does. Other fats, even though they have great pros, lack flavor,” De Sa Martins said. “The more flavorful the butter, the more flavor your pie crust will have,” Huntsberger added.
What is the secret of good pastry? ›
Water, however, is absorbed much less easily into flour proteins when the temperature is colder. That's why purists recommend cold ingredients, cold equipment and marble boards. Keeping the butter cold also helps when making short crust pastry because it doesn't melt into the flour when you are working it in.
What is the cardinal rule of pie dough making? ›
It's also about having confidence in what you're doing, which you'll gain by grasping the science of pie dough—how fat, gluten, and water interact. The cardinal rules of pie dough: Keep it cold, work fast, and don't overwork your dough.
Which oven rack should you bake a pie on? ›
A pie's place in the oven is on the bottom rack. The worst mistake you can make with your pie is under-baking the bottom crust—it makes for a soggy, doughy mess. Baking your pie on the bottom rack will ensure that bottom crust gets nice and golden brown. Speaking of which: bake your pie in a glass pie dish.
What is one thing you should not do when making pie crust? ›
The Most Common Pie Crust Mistakes (And Ways To Avoid Them)
- The ingredients are too warm. ...
- The pie dough is overworked from excessive mixing or rolling. ...
- The pie dough isn't given enough time to relax and chill. ...
- The pie dough is shrinking down the sides of the pan.
Traditionally, what you're looking for in a pie crust are three basic things: you want it to be fully cooked through, without any doughiness between the filling and the bottom crust, you want the crust to be light and flaky with discernible layers, and, of course, you want there to be a rich, buttery flavor.
What is the best flour for pies? ›
What kind of flour makes the best pie crust? Well, not high-protein bread flour! Use that for your chewy bagels. What you want for pie is flour that yields a tender, flaky crust, which means medium-protein all-purpose flour or low-protein pastry flour.
What is the secret to making flaky crust? ›
While butter, shortening, or lard make equally light and tender crusts, an all-butter crust will be flakier due to butter's higher water content: as the crust bakes the butter melts and its water turns to steam, creating thin, crisp layers (flakes).
What does an egg do to pie crust? ›
Egg: The egg in this recipe acts as a binder that allows for a flakier, more delicate crust. It also binds all of your ingredients together so that you can roll out your pie dough without it breaking apart.
