Simple Pie Crust Recipe

This is my simple pie crust recipe made with all- butter and a few basic ingredients. Flaky and crisp, you will love this for all your pie recipes.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword pie crust

Prep Time 20

chilling the dough 4

Servings two 9 inch pies

Calories 298kcal

Author sanna

Equipment

1 rolling pin affiliate link
1 pastry cutter
1 pastry scraper affiliate link
1 pie dish affiliate link

Ingredients

2½ cup all-purpose flour
¾ tsp salt
1 tbsp. sugar
1 cup butter cut into little cubes, chilled
⅓-½ cup ice cold water plus more as needed (see note 1)

Instructions

In a large and wide bowl, whisk together flour, salt and sugar. Add the cubed butter. Using a pastry cutter, cut the butter into the flour mixture until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs with bits of butter here and there.
Pour the ice water into the bowl. Using the pastry cutter or a wooden spoon, incorporate the liquid until the flour starts to moisten and long strands of dough forms.
Add more water, one tablespoon at a time, working it in the dough until the mixture is just wet enough to gather when pressed together. If you still see more dry crumbs, add water little by little. The result should be a dough that holds together, but is not too wet (see note 2).
This recipe makes enough crust for two 9 inch pies, or one pie with a top crust. Turn the dough into a lightly floured surface. Knead gently just to gather. Divide it into two portions. Pat and shape each portion into a disc. Wrap it in plastic film.
Pat and flatten the dough a bit more until it is a somewhat an inch thick disc. Repeat the process with the other portion. Chill the dough in the fridge for at least 4 hours.
After chilling, the dough is now ready for your pie recipe. Allow it to rest for about 3-5 minutes before rolling it out. Work in a floured surface, and remember to dust your rolling pin and your dough lightly as needed to prevent sticking.
Rolling the Pie Dough: On a floured surface, use a rolling pin to do a gentle rolling stroke from the center of the disc then going out. Rotate the disc and repeat all around. This manner of rolling ensure the dough gets rolled out in a circle-ish shape. Make use of a pastry scraper to lift the dough each time you rotate as it can get sticky (see note 3).
Placing the Dough into the Pan. Once your circle is about 2-3 inch larger than your pie pan, lift one edge of dough and place it in the rolling pin. Roll the rolling pin so that the dough wraps around it. Position the pin over the pie pan, and unroll the dough out on top (see photo in the post).

Notes

Cold Water. The water in the recipe is a starting guideline. You will have to add more as needed until the dough gathers nicely with minimal dry crumbs. However add little by little as you do not want a wet dough, just a dough that hold its shape together.
Working the Dough. Work with the dough as fast and as minimally as you can. Overworking the dough can make it tough and can introduce heat that can warm the ingredients (the butter), and that can be a hinder to making a flaky texture.
Dough Tearing/ Sticking/ Cracking. If at anytime the dough tears, or cracks, simply patch them together. If a portion is so sticky that it tears, dab some flour to patch that portion.
Freezing the Pie Dough. To freeze, wrap the disc well in plastic then in foil. Freeze for up to three weeks, Thaw in the fridge to use.

Nutrition