Nobody can deny the convenience of store-bought pie crust, but is it really as good as homemade? No – nothing holds a candle to a buttery, flaky, crispy homemade pie crust. If you’re like me, you’ve been loyal to the stuff from the store because it’s easy and takes no time at all. For some reason, making my own felt intimidating so I never really gave it a fair show.
I’m here to tell you that it’s just as easy and well worthwhile to make your own pie crust. It requires just a handful of ingredients and a few minutes of your time. Keep reading for step by step instructions with pictures every step of the way.
This recipe makes 1 9” pie crust:
- 1 ¼ C (150) grams of all-purpose flour
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 stick cold, unsalted butter, cut into ½ inch cubes
- 6 Tb ice cold water
*It’s important that your butter stays cold, so if you’re like me and have hot hands, or are in a warm kitchen, I find it helps to freeze the flour and butter for 10-15 minutes prior to getting started.
In a large bowl, combine the flour and salt.
Add the cubes of butter and toss them to coat them all in the flour/salt mixture.
You want to smush each cube of butter into thin, flat pieces. You can either pinch them with your fingers or use your thumb and press it into the heel of your hand. Find what works for you!
As you flatten the butter, make sure to keep it well coated with flour. Flatten, toss in flour to coat. Repeat. Your hands should NOT end up buttery while you’re doing this. If they do, you might want to chill everything for a few minutes.
For a flaky crust, you want some large flakes of butter. Keep breaking it up until you have pieces about the size of a penny. If you prefer a firmer crust, keep cutting the butter until pieces are the size of peas.
You can see there are some larger chunks of butter, as well as some smaller bits. This looks good!
Dump your flour butter mixture onto your counter or a large cutting board and make a well in the middle.
Add 2-3 Tb of ice water to the well and start to work the mixture together with your hands.
Add 1 Tb at a time until the dough JUST comes together. It should not be sticky to touch, but you should be able to form a ball with it. Unfortunately, there’s no exact amount of water to use as it will depend on the humidity of your kitchen.
Press the ball into a fat disc and wrap it well with plastic wrap. Let it chill in the refrigerator for an hour, or up to overnight.
Flaky Pie Crust
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 C all purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 stick unsalted butter cold, cut into 1/2" cubes
- 6 Tb ice water
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the flour and salt.
- Add the cubes of butter and toss them to coat them all in the flour/salt mixture.
- You want to smush each cube of butter into thin, flat pieces. You can either pinch them with your fingers or use your thumb and press it into the heel of your hand. Find what technique works for you!
- As you flatten the butter, make sure to keep it well coated with flour. Flatten, toss in flour to coat. Repeat. Your hands should NOT end up buttery while you’re doing this. If they do, you might want to chill everything for a few minutes.
- For a flaky crust, you want some large flakes of butter. Keep breaking it up until you have pieces about the size of a penny. If you prefer a firmer crust, keep cutting the butter until pieces are the size of peas.
- Dump your flour butter mixture onto your counter or a large cutting board and make a well in the middle.
- Add 2-3 Tb of ice water to the well and start to work the mixture together with your hands.
- Add 1 Tb at a time until the dough JUST comes together. It should not be sticky to touch, but you should be able to form a ball with it. Unfortunately, there’s no exact amount of water to use as it will depend on the humidity of your kitchen.
- Press the ball into a fat disc and wrap it well with plastic wrap. Let it chill in the refrigerator for an hour, or up to overnight.