The Thanksgiving countdown is on! 17 days and counting....
It's the Super Bowl of food and the only holiday that literally resolves around one single meal.
It's also the only holiday that can put you in a food coma in 5 minutes flat. Bring on the naps!
Pie is the star of the show and it needs a solid foundation. I am sharing all of the tips and tricks to make a perfectly flaky, foolproof, all butter pie crust.
I have had epic fails in the pie department so you can learn from my mistakes! I am going to break down this Butter Flaky Pie Crust step by step.
TIPS + TRICKS TO MAKE PERFECT ALL BUTTER PIE CRUST EVERY SINGLE TIME:
- Use Cold Butter. I store my butter in the freezer and take out sticks of butter, as needed. Place them on a cutting board and with a knife, slice them into tiny shreds. The shreds of butter are going to make the crust flaky and you want it to be evenly dispersed in the pie dough. If your butter gets warm, put it back into the freezer or refrigerator to solidify.
2. Use a Pastry Cutter, a Fork, a Food Processor, or even your hands to cut in butter and flour together. If you want the quickest route, the most time effective method is to use a food processor. A pastry cutter or fork is old school and works well too. I also found using your hands and squishing the butter with your thumbs into the flour works brillianty as well. It takes more time, but sure makes a flaky crust. If you use a food processor, add flour and salt and then pulse the butter bits until the mixture resembles coarse meal. You don't want to overmix it so use the pulse button on the food processor.
3. Add Ice Cold Water or Buttermilk. Fill a bowl or cup with ice cubes and add water. Remove ice cold water from it and add it a few tablespoons at a time to the bowl or food processor. My Grandma Faye used milk with a tablespoon of vinegar. You can use that mixture or just cold buttermilk.
4. Use Vinegar to create a more tender pie crust. Use plain white vinegar or apple cider vinegar in your recipe. Both help to minimize the gluten forming in the crust and creates a more tender texture.
5. Chill the Pie Dough. This is one of the most important steps. After the pie dough is made, wrap it tightly in Saran Wrap and put it in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. I prefer to chill mine for at least 2 hours.
6. Don't Overwork the Dough. The key is to work the dough quickly and keep it as cold as possible. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and roll it out, using a rolling pin. Keep the pie tin nearby so you can check the size of the circle. You usually want to roll it to at least a 13 inch diameter circle. I love my marble rolling pin -- you can find it HERE.
7. Fold the Dough in Half. It's one of the tips I remember most from my Mom. It can be difficult to transfer such a large circle of dough onto a pie plate, so fold the dough in half. This makes it so much easier. Unfold the dough once it is in the pie plate.
8. Make beautiful designs on the edges. Press the dough against the sides and bottom of pan. Flute the edges by pressing the dough between the index finger and thumb of one hand and using the index finger of the other hand to make the scallop. You can also roll out strips of dough and make a braid to place on top of pie crust.
9. Poke holes using fork along sides and bottom of crust. This will help keep the crust from puffing up while it bakes.
10. Use Pie Weights, Rice, or Beans to keep crust in place. If you are blind baking your crust to be filled later with a cream filling, it is important to keep it in place. Line the crust with foil or parchment paper. Fill it with pie weights, rice, or beans and press against the sides of the crust. I will sometimes double line the crust with parchment paper to ensure that the rice doesn't somehow get stuck into the dough (learned the hard way on this one). Buy pie weights HERE.
11. Let Dough Chill. Once it is a rolled out into the pan, chill again for 20 minutes. This is going to to give it time to firm up and get cold so that it stays put against the heat of the oven.
12. Bake at a High Temperature. After the dough has chilled, place it in hot oven. The hot oven helps the crust keep it's shape. The edges will be the first to brown. Avoid this by covering the edges with foil or pie shields, after about 20-25 minutes of baking. The pie shields are essential for making pie! Click HERE for a pie crust shield I recommend.
13. Watch it closely while baking. Butter flaky pie crust can turn golden brown quickly so watch it like a hawk. Let the crust cool completely before adding filling.
All Butter Flaky Pie Crust
Ingredients
For Double-Crust Pie:
- 1 cup Cold Butter (2 sticks, sliced into small pieces)
- 2 ½ cups Flour
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- ¼ - ½ cup Ice Cold Water (or Buttermilk or Milk/Vinegar Mixture)
- 1 teaspoon Vinegar
For Single-Crust Pie:
- ½ cup Cold Butter (1 stick, sliced into small pieces)
- 1 ¼ cups Flour
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 2 Tablespoons - ¼ cup Ice Cold Water (or Buttermilk or Milk/Vinegar Mixture)
- ½ teaspoon Vinegar
Instructions
- Stir together flour and salt. Slice cold butter into tiny shreds (I store my butter in the freezer) and add to bowl or food processor. Pulse until coarse meal or small peas form.
- Slowly add ice cold water, 1-2 tablespoons at a time to butter-flour mixture. Add vinegar and pulse until it starts to form together.
- Press dough into a ball. Pat each ball into a disk, tightly wrap in Saran Wrap and let it chill in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. 2 hours is preferred.
- Unwrap the dough, turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and roll it out, using a rolling pin. Don't overwork the dough. The key is to work quickly to keep the dough as cold as possible. Keep the pie tin nearby so you can check the size of the circle. Roll it to at least a 13-inch diameter circle.
- Fold the dough in half and gently lift and position it over the pie pan. Unfold.
- Press the dough against the sides and bottom of a pan. Flute the edges by pressing the dough between the index finger and thumb of one hand and using the index finger of the other hand to make the scallop. You can also roll out strips of dough and make a braid to place on top of pie crust.
- If you are blind baking the crust and not filling the crust with a baked filling, poke holes using fork along sides and bottom of crust. This will help keep the crust from puffing up while it bakes.
- Use Pie Weights, Rice, or Beans to keep crust in place. If you are blind baking your crust to be filled later with a cream filling, it is important to keep it in place. Line the crust with foil or parchment paper. Fill it with pie weights, rice, or beans and press against the sides of the crust.
- You can double line the crust with parchment paper to ensure that the rice doesn't get stuck into the dough.
- After the dough has chilled, place it in a hot oven. The hot oven helps the crust keep its shape. The edges will be the first to brown. Avoid this by covering the edges with foil or pie shields, about halfway through baking. The pie shields or foil sheets are essential for making pie!
- If making a double crust, bake according to pie directions.
- If baking pie crust only, bake at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Remove parchment paper and pie weights and return to oven and cook for an additional 6-8 minutes (for a total of 16-20 minutes cooking time).
- If baking a filled pie such as pumpkin, cherry, or apple, cook according to pie directions.
Video
Notes
I can't wait to hear all about your amazing pies with this Butter Flaky Pie Crust on Thanksgiving! Share your photos with me and tag me by using #modernhoney.
Happy Baking, my friends! xo
Kathy R
I've been making pie crusts for 50 years. This recipe is by far the best I have ever made. I've made it 4or 5 times.
Full of rich buttery flavor that makes the crust exceptionally flaky and rich in flavor . No one who eats this crust will think it was a store-bought crust. Be sure the butter is frozen before using. There will be little pockets of butter in the crust - absolutely the BEST Recipe.
Stacey a vavrinek
Let me just say this was the best pie crust recipe ever! I did modify it a little bit and mixed it with a pastry cutter instead of a processor. I have been looking for a flaky buttery crust recipe for so long and have never been happy with anything I found. The key is frozen butter, ice-cold water, and to let the dough sit in the fridge for at least 2 hours. I made little hand pies with this recipe and they came out great. I made multiple fillings ahead of time and cut all my rounds of dough ahead and layer in between parchment in the fridge. The day of is just assembly and baking which take no time at all. I find that hand pies are just so much easier to bake and you never have to worry about a soggy bottom! This will be my go-to favorite pie crust recipe - thanks for sharing!
Julia G.
1. Should you blind bake the crust for best results or can you just add the pumpkin pie filling with raw crust?
2. If you can add filling with raw crust should you still cover the crust to avoid browning? If so please clarify for how long and such.
First time ever making a pie!
Tracy
I had the same questions! I ended up putting the pie filling into the raw pie crust and baked. I put a pie crust guard (aluminum foil) on after 20 minutes. My crust looked quite nice, no browning. My husband immediately commented on the great flavor the crust had.
Zeena Ali
Can I use salted sweet cream
Butter? The only thing in stock here.
Modern Honey
Absolutely! I use it all of the time. I would just slightly reduce the salt amount.
Tracy
I made this pie crust. When it came to the point of adding the cold water, I ended adding 1/4 cup. But it wasn't forming a ball on it's own. I was pulsing it in the food processor. Should I have taken the flour+butter mixture out at and add the water on my work surface? After adding the cold water and it wasn't forming a ball (it was just crumby), I was able to form it into a ball in my hands. I went with it, wrapped it, chilled iet. It was very hard to roll. In the end, the crust tasted fine. Was it flakey? Kind of. It seemed dense, not light. I'd like to know where I went wrong to improve on it.
Gabriela Kilgore
I tried this recipe to make chicken pot pie. It was delicious and very flanked. I like that only uses butter and it doesn’t need any shortening.
LeeAnn
My recipe calls for one 9 inch deep dish pie crust. If I make a single is it going to be enough?
Tracy
Can I use apple cider vinegar in place of the 1/4 tsp vinegar?
Frances
For years I made Martha Stewart's Pate Brisee for pie crust. It was always good but I kept trying other pie crust recipes because I knew something better was out there. I made a double crust of this recipe. I used it for a pumpkin cream pie that has cream cheese in it. My gosh, this recipe made it the best pumpkin pie ever. Crust is tender in the middle and gets more flaky towards the edges. The crust is so flaky yet has enough structure to give just enough bite to it. Bravo Modern Honey! I have found my forever go-to pie crust. Thank you!
Claire Eckman Bebbington
I am sooo thrilled that l did NOT DELETE THIS FROM MY PAGE!!! Was very intrigued while l was reading your information!!! Unfortunately l don't cook very much due to my Health!!! I want to try to work with my daughter, in her mid 30's, to learn to cook more!!! She and her Dad made a pie the other day and realized she meeds6a little more help in some areas!!! Loved what l saw of your FABULOUS INFORMATION!!! WANT TO SEE MORE!!! SOOO EXCITED!!!!????????????????????????
Jessica
I love this! Is this crust safe to pre make and freeze in a ball and let thaw and roll out to use at a later date?
Brenda Pinter
Absolutely the best flaky buttery pie crust ever and I used buttermilk! I wish I could figure out how to post a picture of my Chicken Pot Pie using your recipe which was awesome. Thank you so much for sharing!
Valerie
Can you use this type of pie crust for apple pie?
Kellie
I have used this crust since she published it and it is amazing. I have used it for apple, pumpkin, quiche, pot pie. This recipe works great for all. Love it!
Modern Honey
Thank you so much, Kellie! I appreciate that so much. Homemade, all-butter pie crust is the best!