How to Make Pie Crust (All-Butter, Flaky)

Flaky pie crust is made by cutting cold butter into flour so it stays in visible, pea-sized pieces, then adding just enough ice water to bind it. Chilled, rolled and baked, those butter pieces melt and release steam, puffing the dough into crisp layers.

The basic ratio

A classic all-butter double crust for a 23 cm (9 in) pie uses roughly 3 parts flour to 2 parts fat to 1 part water by weight. Here's a reliable recipe:

Halve everything for a single crust.

Why cold fat makes flaky pastry

Two things compete in pie dough: tenderness and structure.

Flakiness comes from butter pieces. When you roll the dough, the pea-sized bits of butter flatten into thin sheets sandwiched between layers of flour. In a hot oven, the water in that butter (about 16 percent) flashes to steam and pushes the layers apart, while the fat melts and fries the surrounding dough crisp. If the butter melts before baking, it blends into the flour and you lose those layers. That's why everything stays cold.

Toughness comes from gluten. Flour proteins form gluten when they meet water and are worked. A little gluten is needed to hold the crust together. Too much makes it chewy, and makes it shrink in the oven as the stretched protein network springs back. Fat coats flour particles and limits how much gluten can form, which is where the word "shortening" comes from: fat "shortens" gluten strands.

So the goal is the minimum water and the minimum handling that still produces a cohesive dough.

Steps

1. Whisk the flour, salt and sugar together in a large bowl.
2. Cut very cold butter into 1 to 2 cm cubes and toss them in the flour.
3. Cut or press the butter into the flour until the largest pieces are the size of peas.
4. Sprinkle ice water over the mixture a tablespoon at a time, tossing with a fork.
5. Stop when a handful of dough holds together when squeezed.
6. Divide the dough in two, press each into a flat disc and wrap tightly.
7. Chill for at least 1 hour, or up to 2 days.
8. Roll out on a lightly floured surface to about 3 mm thick and 30 cm across.
9. Ease the dough into the pie plate, trim, crimp and chill again for 15 minutes before filling or baking.

Why the dough must rest

Chilling does three jobs. It re-firms the butter after your hands have warmed it. It lets the water spread evenly through the flour, so dry patches disappear. And it relaxes the gluten, so the dough rolls easily without springing back and won't shrink as much in the oven.

If the dough cracks badly when you start rolling, let it sit at room temperature for 5 to 10 minutes. It should bend without snapping.

Rolling and shaping tips

• Roll from the centre outward, giving the dough a quarter turn every few strokes so it stays round and doesn't stick.
• Use only enough flour to prevent sticking. Excess flour toughens the crust.
• If butter starts smearing or the dough gets soft, slide it onto a baking sheet and chill for 10 minutes.
• Transfer by rolling the dough loosely around the pin, then unrolling it over the plate.
• Lift and settle the dough into the corners. Don't stretch it; stretched dough shrinks.
• Leave about 2.5 cm (1 in) overhang, fold it under and crimp.

Baking temperatures

Pie crust needs strong heat at the start for steam to lift the layers.

• Fruit pies: Bake at 220 °C / 425 °F for 20 minutes, then reduce to 190 °C / 375 °F and bake until the filling bubbles thickly through the vents, 30 to 50 minutes more.
• Blind baking (for custard, cream or quiche fillings): Line the chilled shell with parchment and weights. Bake at 200 °C / 400 °F for 15 to 20 minutes, remove the weights, then bake 5 to 10 minutes more until dry and lightly golden.
• Bake on the lowest rack, ideally on a preheated baking sheet, so the bottom gets enough heat to crisp instead of going soggy.

Optional upgrades

Vodka for some of the water. Replacing up to half the water with cold vodka gives a moist, easy-to-roll dough. Ethanol doesn't contribute to gluten formation the way water does, so the crust stays tender. Most of the alcohol evaporates during baking.

A splash of vinegar. About 1 teaspoon per crust. Acid slightly weakens gluten and many bakers find it makes the dough more forgiving.

Half butter, half shortening. Shortening has no water and a higher melting point, so it is easier to work and very tender. You trade some flavour.

Common mistakes and fixes

Soggy bottom. Bake lower in the oven and longer. For wet fillings, blind bake the base first or brush it with beaten egg white.

Butter melting into the flour. Use a pastry blender, not your palms, and freeze the cubed butter for 10 minutes before you start.

Crust shrinking. Overworked dough or skipped chilling. Chill the shaped crust before baking, and dock the base with a fork when blind baking.

Crumbly dough that won't hold. Too little water. Sprinkle on another tablespoon and press it together; it will hydrate more as it rests.

Pale, dull top. Brush with egg wash (1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon milk or water) and sprinkle with sugar before baking.