Easy Pie Crust
Total Time
2 hrs 20 mins
Prep Time
20 mins
Rating
5 out of 5 stars
(12)
Ingredients
8 servings
- 2⅔ cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- ¾ teaspoon sea salt
- 20 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, 2½ sticks, cut into ¼-inch pats
- 6 tablespoons ice water
- 1 teaspoon cold apple cider vinegar
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Preparation
Step 1
In a food processor, place 1⅔ cups of the flour and the salt. Pulse to combine. Spread the butter pats evenly on top of the flour mixture. Pulse until the butter is well combined with the flour and the dough starts to form clumps. There should be no dry flour remaining.
Step 2
Spread the mixture evenly in the bowl of the food processor and sprinkle the remaining 1 cup flour on top. Briefly pulse until the dough becomes crumbly.
Step 3
Transfer the dough to a large bowl and sprinkle the water and vinegar on top. Use a spatula to fold and press the dough until it comes together into a ball. Divide the ball in half and form each half into a 1-inch-thick disk. Wrap each disk tightly in plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours or up to 2 days.
Step 4
To roll out the dough: Place 1 disk of the chilled dough on a lightly floured surface. Dust the top with flour and use a rolling pin to roll it out into a large circle about ⅛-inch thick. If you invert your pie plate over the dough, the circle should be 1 inch larger than the edge of the pie plate on all sides. As you work, rotate the dough a quarter turn every few rolls to prevent it from sticking to your work surface. I also like to dust the top of the dough with flour and flip it over a few times during the rolling process.
Step 5
To transfer the rolled-out dough to your pie plate, roll the dough over the rolling pin and unroll it over the pie plate. Use your fingers to press it firmly into the bottom and up the sides of the plate. Trim the edges of the dough so that there is a ½-inch overhang on all sides of the pie plate. Loosely cover the dough with plastic wrap and chill while you roll out the top crust.
Step 6
Repeat the rolling process with the remaining dough disk, rolling it out into a large, ⅛-inch-thick circle.
Step 7
Assemble and bake according to your desired pie recipe.
Step 8
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Chef's notes
Keep everything cold. Making pie crust with butter has huge benefits, especially in terms of flavor. But the downside of working with butter is that it melts easily. In order to make a light and flaky crust, you want the butter to melt in the oven, not while you’re making the dough or assembling the pie. My best tip for ensuring this happens is just keeping your ingredients cold. I like to take butter straight from the fridge, cut it into pats, and stick it back in the fridge while I gather the rest of the ingredients. I also use cold vinegar and ice water in the dough. In addition, it’s important that you don’t cut the chilling time short. Make sure to refrigerate the pie dough for at least 2 hours before you roll it out!
Fold in the water using a spatula. I find that when I add it in the food processor it gets stuck under the blade, so it doesn’t evenly hydrate the dough. Folding the dough with the spatula helps create nice layers, too.
Don’t let it scare you. With this easy pie crust recipe, you’ll be able to make great homemade pie crust on your first try. It removes a lot of the guesswork that you’d find in a traditional pie crust recipe, and it yields a dough that’s pliable and easy to work with. Don’t be afraid to try it! I hope you love the results, and like anything else, the more you practice making perfect pie crust, the easier it gets.
