Easy Pie Crust

1. Combine dry ingredients:

   Mix 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour and 1 teaspoon each salt and sugar in a medium-size bowl. Cut 2 sticks chilled unsalted butter into pieces.

2. Cut in butter:

   With a pastry blender, cut in butter, working until mixture resembles coarse meal.

3. Mix in water:

   Add 4 tablespoons ice water; work with hands until dough comes together. If dough is still crumbly, add more ice water a tablespoon at a time (up to 4 more tablespoons). Do not overwork.

4. Divide and chill dough:

   Divide dough in half, and flatten halves into disks. Wrap disks separately in plastic; refrigerate at least 1 hour.

5. Fit dough into pan:

   To form the pie shell, roll the dough on a floured surface into a 14-inch round. Wrap around rolling pin and carefully unroll over a 9-inch pie plate.

6. Shape crust:

   Fit gently into bottom and side of plate. Use kitchen shears to trim dough to a 1-inch overhang; fold under, and seal to form a rim.

7. Crimp crust:

   Crimp rim with fingertips and knuckle. Repeat with remaining dough; wrap each with plastic, stack, and freeze.

Frequently Asked Questions:

What is the secret to a good pie crust?

In a nutshell:

• Cold fat
• Cold water
• Don’t overmix
• Chill dough before rolling
• Don’t re-roll

Learn more: Five Steps to Perfect Piecrust Every Time

Do you bake pie crust before baking the pie?

It depends what kind of pie you’re making. For double-crust pies (the kind with both a top and a bottom crust), never pre-bake the crust. For single-crust pies (the kind with just a bottom crust), it’s always necessary to pre-bake if the pie will not be baked after the filling is added. This is the case with many custard and cream pies, where the filling in made separately and then transferred to the prepared crust. For single-crust pies that will get baked after adding the filling (such as pumpkin pie or quiche).

Should you use milk or water in pie crust?

Most pie crust recipes call for water, which can be made ice-cold, and has a neutral flavor and reaction in the recipe. Some pie crust recipes do call for milk, which contains proteins and sugars that encourage browning.

What if my pie crust dough is dry or crumbly?

Dry or crumbly dough is usually the result of not adding enough liquid to the mixture. Liquid measurements in pie crust recipes are always approximate because the weather, and the age and variety of your flour, will affect the amount of moisture the mixture can absorb. Sprinkle ice water a teaspoon at a time onto a crumbly dough mixture. It may take less water than you think to turn the dough from dry to perfect.

Is this pie crust flaky?

Achieving flaky pie crust largely depends on how you handle the butter and mix the dough. Follow the recipe instructions and read up on all our tips for mixing and rolling pie crust, and you’ll get a deliciously buttery, flaky crust every time.

Do I need a food processor?

A food processor allows you to mix pie crust dough rapidly, with as little handling as possible. This helps to keep it cold and prevent it from getting tough due to overworking. However, you can still make a fantastic pie crust by hand. Take great care to use very cold butter and icy cold water, and use a pastry cutter or two knives to cut in the butter so you don’t warm it up with your hands.

Should I use butter, lard, or shortening?

All three of these ingredients are widely used in making pie crusts. Shortening and lard can be easier to handle, and a bit less temperamental than butter, but we think the flavor of all-butter pie crust just can’t be beat.

More Pie Crust Recipes to Try:

• Test Kitchen's Favorite Pâte Brisée
  
• Perfect Pie Crust
  
• Cream Cheese Pie Crust
• Easy Pâte Sucrée
• Classic Pâte Sablée
• Cornmeal Pâte Brisée
• Chocolate Pâte Sucrée