Learn how to make a perfectly buttery, flaky pie crust from scratch using this in-depth tutorial and video. This page includes all of my best success tips, lots of step-by-step photos, and a thoroughly detailed recipe. Millions of readers have been using this helpful guide since it was first published. Become a pro with this crust recipe and the rest will be as easy as… eating salted caramel apple pie!
I originally published this recipe in 2015 and have since added new photos, a video tutorial, and more success tips.
For a baker, there’s nothing more satisfying than making a pie completely from scratch. Pies are often made for special occasions, and there’s a good reason for that: they’re time consuming. This shouldn’t scare you! It should intrigue you. If you’ve ever felt intimidated about making homemade pie crust, I’m here to walk you through it and cheer you on. If I can do this, you can do this.
Pie crust is the foundation for so many delicious desserts (plus savory pies and quiche), so once you build up your confidence in making a crust, you’re opening a door to an entire baking category. And that’s exciting! Whether your favorite pie filling is apple pie or creamy banana cream pie, or even eggs & cheese, the success of the overall pie can really hinge on the quality of the crust.
You wouldn’t hang a beautiful piece of art or favorite photo in a terrible frame, right?
Today I’m teaching you everything about making a buttery, flaky pie crust. This is my absolute favorite pie crust recipe and one of the most popular recipes on this website.
With all the recipe testing that goes into publishing the many pie recipes on this website and in my cookbooks, plus my annual Pie Week, it’s not an understatement to say that I have made a LOT of pies. Along the way, I’ve learned what works and what doesn’t, and I’m happy to share it all with you.
One reader, Laurie, commented: “Wow! I made a batch of my old favorite all-butter dough and a batch of this dough so I could have a ‘bake off’ to see which was better. This crust was fantastic: tender and very flaky. It will be my new standard crust! ★★★★★“
Another reader, Leo, commented: “This recipe was great! The dough was easy to make with the simple and detailed instructions from this recipe. I used it for my peach pie and it’s delicious! I also followed the braid and lattice tutorial and my pie looks great! ★★★★★“
Start With These 5 Ingredients
The ingredient list for pie crust is short & simple:
- Flour: Start with quality flour. Did you know that not all all-purpose flours are equal? King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour is my go-to for not only pie crust, but for everything. (Not working with the brand, just a true fan!) Why? Its high protein level: “At 11.7% protein, it tops ordinary American all-purpose flours by nearly 2 percentage points.” What does this mean? Baked goods rise higher and stay fresh longer.
- Salt: Enhances the flavor.
- Butter: For that unparalleled buttery flavor and flaky layers.
- Vegetable Shortening: For structure and stability. More on this below.
- Ice water: Liquid brings the dough together. Some recipes call for half water and half vodka, because alcohol doesn’t promote gluten formation, which helps the crust stay flaky and tender. Basically, it’s a gift to anyone who accidentally overworks dough. If you want to try using vodka, use 1/4 cup (60ml) each cold vodka and cold water in this recipe.
You can use this pie dough for so many recipes beyond a traditional pie, too, such as mini pecan pies, mini fruit galettes, apple hand pies, and homemade brown sugar cinnamon pop tarts.
Is Pie Crust Better With Butter or Shortening?
I use BOTH shortening and butter in this pie crust because they work together to make the BEST crust. Buttery, flaky, and tender: the pie-fect trifecta.
- What does butter do? Butter adds flavor and flakiness.
- What does shortening do? Shortening helps the dough stay pliable, which is helpful when you’re rolling and shaping it. Plus, shortening’s high melting point helps the crust stay tender and maintain its shape as it bakes. Have you ever had a butter pie crust lose its shape completely? Shortening is “shape insurance.” 😉
If you don’t want to use shortening, try this all-butter pie crust instead. Let’s compare:
- Using all butter creates a lighter-textured crust and this is due to the butter’s water content. As the crust bakes, the butter’s water converts to steam, lifting up the dough and creating flaky layers. But because of all this butter, the crust doesn’t usually have a perfectly neat-edge/shape compared to the shortening and butter combination.
Both crusts taste buttery and flaky. But overall, this butter-and-shortening crust wins in terms of texture and flavor; AND, if you follow the pie crust recipe carefully, it holds shape too.
The Secret to Perfect Pie Crust: COLD
The refrigerator is as important as the oven when you’re making a homemade pie.
Why the emphasis on temperature? Keeping your pie dough as cold as possible helps prevent the fats from melting before the crust hits the hot oven. If the butter melts inside the dough before baking, you lose the flakiness. When the lumps of fat melt in the oven as the pie bakes, their steam helps to separate the crust into multiple flaky layers, as explained above. Warm fats will yield a hard, crunchy, greasy crust instead of a tender, flaky crust.
The colder the ingredients, the easier your pie crust is to work with, and the better it will turn out.
Two Tricks to Start as Cold as Possible:
- I keep some of my butter in the freezer and transfer it to the refrigerator a few hours before beginning the crust. This way it is still a little bit frozen and very, very cold. Simply keep the shortening in the refrigerator.
- Mix the dry ingredients together in a large bowl (the flour and salt). Place the bowl in the refrigerator or freezer while you get the rest of the ingredients ready.
These Step-By-Step Photos Will Help
Take the butter and shortening out of the refrigerator. Cube the cold butter and measure out the cold shortening. Give the shortening a little chop—this is actually optional because, truly, the shortening is quite soft even when cold so it’s easy to mix in.
Now it’s time to combine everything. Add the butter and shortening to the dry ingredients, and use a pastry cutter (or 2 forks) to cut in the fats. Some pie crust recipes use a food processor for this, but I don’t recommend it, because it can lead to overworking the fats into the dough, cutting them up too small—which means you’ll need less water and your dough will fall apart. In this step, you’re only breaking up the cold fat into tiny little flour-coated pieces; you’re not completely incorporating it:
Cut in the fats until the mixture resembles coarse meal—crumbly with lots of lumps, as you see above. You should still have some larger pieces of butter and shortening when you’re done.
From a cup of ice water, measure out 1/2 cup (120ml), since the ice has melted a bit. Drizzle the cold water into the dough 1 Tablespoon (15ml) at a time, stirring after every Tablespoon has been added.
You’ll add just a little water at a time so that you don’t accidentally add too much. Stop adding water when the dough begins to form large clumps. I usually use 1/2 cup (120ml) of water, but if the weather is humid, you may not need as much, and if the weather is really dry, you may need a little more.
If too much water is added, the pie dough will require more flour and become tough.
If too little water is added, you’ll notice the dough is dry and crumbly when you try to roll it out and handle it.
You want the dough to clump together, but not feel overly sticky. Once the dough is clumping together, transfer the dough to a floured work surface.
Using floured hands, fold and smush (yes, that’s the technical term) the dough into itself, forming the dough into a ball. Your hands are your best tool, just like when making homemade puff pastry.
The ball of dough should come together easily. If it feels a bit too dry or crumbly, dip your fingers in the ice water and then continue forming the dough with your hands. If it feels too sticky, sprinkle on more flour and then continue forming the dough with your hands.
Once your ball of pie dough has come together, use a sharp knife to cut it in half:
This is enough dough for 2 pie crusts. You can use both crusts for a double-crust pie, like chicken pot pie and strawberry rhubarb pie; or, if your pie doesn’t require a top crust, like coconut cream pie, brownie pie, and lemon meringue pie, save the second pie crust for another pie. You can also roll out the second dough and use cookie cutters to make an easy pie design, like on this pumpkin pie.
Success Tip: Visible Specks and Swirls of Fat in Pie Dough
Take a look at the inside of the dough where you just sliced it. You want to see pieces of butter and flaky layers throughout the pie dough. These specks and swirls of butter and shortening will help ensure a flaky pie dough. They are a GOOD thing!
Now your pie dough is ready for a rest in the refrigerator. Flatten each half into 1-inch-thick discs using your hands. The disc shape makes it easier to roll out. Wrap each disc tightly in plastic wrap.
Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 5 days.
Can I Freeze Pie Dough?
Yes, absolutely, and I encourage it! Pie crust freezes beautifully, so it’s a great thing to make ahead of time. Store the tightly wrapped discs of pie dough in the freezer for up to 3 months.
If you know you’re going to want several pies around the holidays, or when your favorite fruit will be in season (cherry pie, anyone?), you can cut down on the amount of time it takes to make pies from scratch the day you want them by making several pie crusts in advance and freezing them.
Thaw the pie crust dough overnight in the refrigerator before rolling it out. It will be extra cold, which is a great starting point.
How to Roll Out Pie Crust
After the dough has chilled for at least 2 hours, you can roll it out. Work with one crust at a time, keeping the other in the refrigerator until you’re ready to roll it out. You’ll need a clean work surface, a rolling pin, and some flour. Lightly flour the work surface, rolling pin, and your hands, and sprinkle a little flour on top of the dough. Use gentle-medium force with your rolling pin on the dough—don’t press down too hard on the dough; you’re not mad at it!
When rolling dough out, start from the center and work your way out in all directions, turning the dough with your hands as you go:
Between passes of the rolling pin, rotate the pie crust and even flip it, to make sure it’s not sticking to your work surface. Sprinkle on a little more flour if it’s sticking. Roll, turn. Roll, turn.
Do you see that beautiful marbling of the butter and shortening throughout the dough? Flaky layers, here you come!
Success Tip: If you notice the dough becoming a lopsided circle as you’re rolling it out, put down the rolling pin and use your hands to help mold the dough back into an even circle:
Roll the dough into a thin 12-inch circle, which is the perfect size to fit a 9-inch pie dish. You want enough crust to have some overhang so you can make a decorative edge for your pie.
Your pie dough will be about 1/8-inch thick, which is quite thin.
Success Tip: Since your dough is so thin, use your rolling pin to help transfer the pie crust to the pie dish. Carefully roll one end of the circle of dough gently onto the rolling pin, rolling it back towards you, slowly peeling it off the work surface as you go. Pick it up, and carefully roll it back out over the top of the pie dish. It’s helpful to watch how I do it in the video below.
Make sure the pie crust is pretty well centered in the dish, with some overhang all around the sides. Tuck the crust into the pie dish, gently pressing it to the interior all the way around—no air bubbles.
Trim dough around the edges if there’s excess dough in some spots—you want about 1-inch overhang. After you add your pie filling and top crust (such as a lattice pie crust), fold overhang back over and pinch the top and bottom crusts together. Now you can create a pretty edge, such as fluting or crimping. I have a full tutorial on how to crimp and flute pie crust, but here’s a quick overview:
Fluting with fingers: To flute the edges, use a knuckle and 2 fingers to press around the edges of the pie crust, to give it a beautiful and classic scalloped look, like this apple pie.
Crimping with fork: You can also use a fork to crimp the edges, like I do with this peach pie.
Again, review my how to crimp and flute pie crust page and video if you need a little extra help with this step.
Your pie crust is ready to bake! Follow your pie recipe’s instructions from here; some recipes may call for a fully baked crust, and some may call for a partially baked (par-baked or blind baked) crust. You can read a tutorial on that here in this How to Par-Bake Pie Crust post. And some recipes, like this blueberry pie or triple berry pie, don’t require baking the crust at all before adding the filling, because the pie bakes for so long; just spoon/pour the filling right in.
Your pie recipe might call for an egg wash on the dough and for that, use a pastry brush. And if you bake a lot of pies, this list of 10 best pie baking tools will be helpful for you.
Troubleshooting Pie Crust
- Pie crust is tough: Tough crusts are the result of not enough fat in the crust, as well as overworking the dough. Use the recipe below (plenty of fat) and avoid handling the dough more than you need.
- Don’t have enough pie dough: This recipe yields 2 pie crusts. To ensure you have enough pie dough for overhang and a pretty topping, roll your dough out to a 12-inch circle, about 1/8 inch thick.
- Pie crust shrinks down the sides of the dish when baking: This can happen when par-baking a pie crust. See section below.
- Pie dough is dry & cracking around edges when rolling: Use enough ice water when preparing the pie dough. If you work the fats into the dry ingredients too much, the dough will feel too wet before you can add enough water. (And the dough will be dry and thirsty.) Do not overwork the fats in the dry ingredients—you still want those nice crumbles. If it’s too late and you notice the edges of your pie crust are cracking as you roll it out, dip your fingers in ice-cold water and meld the edges back together. Wait a minute, and then try rolling out again.
- Pie dough is falling apart & crumbling when rolling: The dough is likely crumbling because there’s too much fat, and not enough flour and water. Again, this is usually a result of fat being worked in too much, which can easily happen if the ingredients weren’t cold enough. (Refrigerate those dry ingredients before you start!) If it’s too late and the pie dough is crumbling as you roll it out, try adding more water AND more flour. Sprinkle a tiny bit of ice water and flour onto the cracks and crumbled pieces, and gently work it all in with your fingers. Wait a minute, and then try rolling out again.
Gently work ice water drops and flour into your crumbly pie dough to bring it back together:
Blind Baking Pie Crust
If your pie recipe requires a fully baked or par-baked pie crust before adding the filling, follow the directions and success tips in this How to Par-Bake Pie Crust guide. You need 2 packs of pie weights, which are metal or ceramic beads that serve to weigh down the crust to prevent the puffing/shrinking. You could use dried beans instead. Whichever you choose, be sure to line the crust with parchment paper, then fill the empty pie crust shell with the weights prior to baking. Without pie weights, the dough will puff up, and then shrink down the sides.
Pie Crust Success Tips
- Use a glass pie dish. I prefer using a glass pie dish when I make pie. Why? Glass dishes conduct heat evenly, which allows the bottom of the crust to bake thoroughly. Also, you’ll be able to see when the sides and bottom of the crust have browned.
- The refrigerator is pie dough’s best friend. Keep everything cold every step of the way: ingredients, the bowl, and the dough before rolling. When taking the pie crust out of the refrigerator to roll out and fill, make sure your pie filling is ready to go. If not, keep the pie crust in the refrigerator until it is.
- Keep dough cold when rolling out: Warm pie dough is unworkable. If the dough becomes too warm when you’re rolling it out, stop what you’re doing, pick it up as gently as you can, put it on a plate or small baking sheet, and then cover and refrigerate it for 10–20 minutes.
- Protect the crust edges from burning: Use a pie crust shield to prevent the edges from burning. A shield keeps the crust edge covered, but the center of the pie exposed, protecting the edges. I usually just make a pie shield out of a piece of aluminum foil. Take a piece of aluminum foil and fold it in half. Cut out a half circle. When you open it back up, you’ll have a square of foil with a circle cut out of the center. If you notice the edges of your pie crust are browning before the pie has fully baked, carefully and gently place the foil over the top of the pie, centering the cut-out hole over the pie. Carefully (obviously it’s very hot!) and lightly tuck the sides of the foil around the pie crust edges, then let the pie finish baking.
- Create a beautiful topping: For designing the top crust, see How to Lattice Pie Crust, How to Braid Pie Crust, or these Pie Crust Designs. And here is my tutorial on How to Crimp and Flute Pie Crust, too.
For more pie crust inspiration, see my graham cracker crust and homemade chocolate pop tarts (with a chocolate crust!).
Print
Homemade Buttery Flaky Pie Crust Recipe
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours, 15 minutes
- Yield: 2 pie crusts (1 lb, 8 ounces dough total)
- Category: Pie
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This recipe is enough for a double crust pie. If you only need 1 crust for your pie, freeze the other half per the Freezing Instructions below. Is your pie dough tearing, cracking, or crumbling as you try to roll it out? See recipe Notes.
Ingredients
- 2 and 1/2 cups (315g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled), plus more for shaping and rolling
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 6 Tablespoons (85g) unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
- 2/3 cup (130g) vegetable shortening, chilled
- 1/2 cup (120ml) ice cold water
Instructions
- Whisk the flour and salt together in a large bowl.
- Add the butter and shortening. Using a pastry cutter or two forks, cut the butter and shortening into the mixture until it resembles coarse meal (pea-sized bits with a few larger bits of fat is OK). In this step, you’re only breaking up the cold fat into tiny little flour-coated pieces; you’re not completely incorporating it. Do not overwork the ingredients.
- Measure 1/2 cup (120ml) of water in a cup. Add ice. Stir it around. From that, measure 1/2 cup (120ml) of water, since the ice has melted a bit. Drizzle the cold water in, 1 Tablespoon (15ml) at a time, and stir with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon after every Tablespoon has been added. Stop adding water when the dough begins to form large clumps. I always use about 1/2 cup of water, and need a little more in dry winter months. Do not add any more water than you need.
- Transfer the pie dough to a floured work surface. Using floured hands, fold the dough into itself until the flour is fully incorporated into the fats. The dough should come together easily and should not feel overly sticky. Avoid overworking the dough. If it feels a bit too dry or crumbly, dip your fingers in the ice water and then continue bringing dough together with your hands. If it feels too sticky, sprinkle on more flour and then continue bringing dough together with your hands. Form it into a ball. Use a sharp knife to cut it in half. If it’s helpful, you should have about 1 lb, 8 ounces dough total (about 680g). Gently flatten each half into 1-inch-thick discs using your hands.
- Wrap each tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 5 days.
- After the dough has chilled for at least 2 hours, you can roll it out. Work with one crust at a time, keeping the other in the refrigerator until you’re ready to roll it out. Lightly flour the work surface, rolling pin, and your hands, and sprinkle a little flour on top of the dough. Use gentle-medium force with your rolling pin on the dough—don’t press down too hard on the dough; you’re not mad at it! When rolling dough out, start from the center and work your way out in all directions, turning the dough with your hands as you go. Between passes of the rolling pin, rotate the pie crust and even flip it, to make sure it’s not sticking to your work surface. Sprinkle on a little more flour if it’s sticking; don’t be afraid to use a little more flour. If you notice the dough becoming a lopsided circle as you’re rolling it out, put down the rolling pin and use your hands to help mold the dough back into an even circle. Roll the dough into a very thin 12-inch circle, which is the perfect size to fit a 9-inch pie dish. Your pie dough will be about 1/8 inch thick, which is quite thin. Visible specks of butter and fat in the dough are perfectly normal and expected.
- Because your dough is so thin, use your rolling pin to help transfer the pie crust to the pie dish. Carefully roll one end of the circle of dough gently onto the rolling pin, rolling it back towards you, slowly peeling it off the work surface as you go. Pick it up, and carefully roll it back out over the top of the pie dish. It’s helpful to watch how I do it in the video below.
- Proceed with the pie per your recipe’s instructions. If your dough requires par-baking, see helpful How to Par-Bake Pie Crust tutorial.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: Prepare the pie dough through step 5 and freeze the discs for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before using in your pie recipe.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Large Glass Mixing Bowl | Pastry Cutter | Rolling Pin | 9-inch Pie Dish | For more tools you may need to completely assemble and bake your pie, see my 10 Best Pie Baking Tools list.
- Salt: Use regular table salt. If using kosher salt, use 1 and 1/4 teaspoons.
- Shortening: This recipe uses a butter and shortening combination. Butter for flakiness and flavor, and shortening for its high melting point and ability to help the crust hold shape. You can use butter-flavor shortening if desired. If you want to skip the shortening, feel free to try this all-butter pie crust instead. Some readers have substituted lard for shortening in this recipe with success.
- Can I use a food processor? You can use a food processor to bring the dough ingredients together in step 1, but I find it quickly overworks the dough. For best results and a light, flaky crust, I recommend a pastry cutter.
- Pie dough is dry & cracking around edges when rolling: Use enough ice water when preparing the pie dough. If you work the fats into the dry ingredients too much, the dough will feel too wet before you can add enough water. (And the dough will be dry and thirsty.) Do not overwork the fats in the dry ingredients—you still want those nice crumbles. If it’s too late and you notice the edges of your pie crust are cracking as you roll it out, dip your fingers in ice-cold water and meld the edges back together. Wait a minute, and then try rolling out again.
- Pie dough is falling apart & crumbling when rolling: The dough is likely crumbling because there’s too much fat, and not enough flour and water. Again, this is usually a result of fat being worked in too much, which can easily happen if the ingredients weren’t cold enough. (Refrigerate those dry ingredients before you start!) If it’s too late and the pie dough is crumbling as you roll it out, try adding more water AND more flour. Sprinkle a tiny bit of ice water and flour onto the cracks and crumbled pieces, and gently work it all in with your fingers. Wait a minute, and then try rolling out again.
- More Crusts: If you need more than 2 pie crusts, make another separate batch of dough. Doubling or tripling the recipe leads to over- or under-working the dough, which ruins all of your efforts.
Reader Comments and Reviews
I don’t have Crisco on hand but I did pick up lard from the butcher shop. Can I just substitute lard for shortening?
Absolutely — lard should work in place of the shortening without any other changes.
Hi Sally,
I have just started learning to bake in the last month. I really appreciate your recipes and instructions! I have never made pie dough until I tried this one. My dough came out delicate and soft so it was very difficult to roll and there was no way it could have been crimped around the edges. Because I’ve never made pie crust, I don’t know what I did wrong. What are your thoughts?
Hi Krisi! We’re happy to help troubleshoot. When the dough is overly soft, flour will help. Whenever we accidentally over-work the fats into the dough (creating a softer, wetter dough) and/or add too much water, using enough flour during the rolling process is always a nice saving grace. It can be easy to overwork the fats into the dough especially in the summer months, so feel free to put your dough mixture into the refrigerator at any time if you find it becoming too soft to handle. Hope this helps for next time!
This was a very good recipe with very clear and useful instructions. I used it to make a peach pie and it worked very well. I didn’t have any vodka… I used half tequila and half water (both very cold). It worked fine. Thanks!
Should the shortening be frozen or just cold out of the fridge?
Hi Madeleine, just (very) cold out of the fridge will work well. Happy baking!
Thank you!
Hi Sally: Can this pie crust recipe be doubled? Thanks! My 11 year old continues to love your recipes – you’re her “rock star”!!!
Hi Jackie! You can double, but we find results are much more consistent and successful making two batches. 1 recipe yields 2 crusts. Enjoy!
Hi Sally, I love this pie. I have a quick question. If you are out of shortening, is it ok to use lard with the butter?
Hi Jackie! Lard should work in place of the shortening without any other changes.
When weighing the ingredients, 148 grams of shortening looked like more than 3/4 cup. I took the 148 grams of shortening and put them in measuring cups, and sure enough they exceeded the 3/4 cup measure. Which is correct?
Hi Ro, I’m just seeing your question now. Shortening can be tricky to measure using cups because it’s so sticky and dense. 3/4 cup of shortening is around 140-150g.
Hi Sally, thank you for the thorough and thoughtful instructions! My first pie was a hit! I definitely have room for improvement, and I’m excited to try again this weekend.
You mentioned that your go-to flour has a higher protein content, I wonder if it would be acceptable to use bread flour for this reason?
Hi Caitlin, We are thrilled your pie was a hit! This is a great question. We don’t recommend bread flour for pie crust. It would yield a very chewy texture, which is perfect for bread, bagels, etc. but not for a tender, flaky crust. It’s best to stick to all-purpose flour here.
Can I mix in my food processor instead of pastry cutter/forks?? Thank you!!
Hi Kathy, We find it’s very easy to overwork the dough when using a food processor. We recommend using a pastry cutter or two forks for best results.
My second time making this pie crust and it was great. Thanks Sally
First of all, YUMMY!! The flavor and flakiness are there! Thank you for sharing. This is my first attempt at dough from scratch and I’m feeling petty good about it. I made a cherry pie (your recipe too) and it was scrumptious! I made both the dough discs and cherry filling the night before and refrigerated until I was ready to bake the next day. The cherries ended up making quite a lot of juice overnight. Even after thickening the juice, there was quite a lot of liquid. I assume the extra liquid is the reason my bottom crust was slightly underdone after an hour of baking? Maybe next time I should take more care in straining the cherries thoroughly. What do you think, Sally?? I’m trying to avoid another underdone crust without burning it.
Hi Ashley! As you mention, straining off some of the liquid will definitely help with preventing a liquid-y pie and under baked crust. Did you use fresh or frozen cherries? Fresh will help with less liquid vs. frozen. We’re glad you still enjoyed the recipe, thank you so much for giving it a try!
In the past, I’ve rolled my pie pastry between two sheets of waxed paper to avoid adding too much flour in the rolling process.
Do you think using this process would work with this recipe?
Thanks in advance for your added direction.
Hi Ellen, you can certainly try it, but we still recommend using the folding method to help ensure plenty of flaky layers.
I’ve always shied away from making my own pie crusts, but this recipe is super easy to follow and I’ve already made it twice over the past 2 weeks! The first time, I didn’t roll it out thin enough, so the bottom crust couldn’t connect to the top, but it was still delicious. I love the combination of shortening and butter. I’m excited to continue perfecting my pie crust skills. Thank you for a great recipe.
Can this pie crust be cooked in a cast iron skillet ? Also, your peach pie recipe in cast iron? I am sure we would just watch & adjust time for the difference in baking bakeware. Thank you.
Hi Gayle, we haven’t tried it but that should be fine! The bake time for your pie may be quicker — keep a close eye on it.
OMG! I have found my one and only pie crust. This crust is simply delicious and flaky.
I’ve been making pie crusts for many years but then tried going lard only. After several years of making them this way, they just became harder and not so tasty. So, I’ve been shopping around for a new, trustworthy crust and WHAM, one night scrolling through the internet, I found it.
For those of you doubters, it’s an absolute must that you follow the directions EXACTLY as written.
This afternoon I made a peach pie and not only was is tasty but beautifully golden on the outside.
THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart for this recipe.
I am looking forward to trying this.
Regarding the dough: I have been told I make a good pie crust but I am always looking for ways to Improve. I read your comment about adding vodka to the dough in order to keep it flaky. I have used vinegar, as suggested occasionally, but never tried vodka. To be honest, I never thought that the vinegar made any difference in how flaky the dough was.
Do you usually add the vodka or stick to all water? I am a little confused and you mentioned how great it worked but the recipe uses all water. Any particular reason you used all water in the recipe?
Hi there, vodka is a great addition as outlined in the blog post. We use all water in the written recipe just because that is more available to most, but certainly feel free to give it a try with use 1/4 cup cold vodka and 1/4 cup ice cold water. Let us know how it goes for you!
I think I’m doing something wrong here. I made this crust with the Australian closest thing to shortening a year or two ago called copher, it’s very hard and horrible stuff, and broke my pastry cutter and then my food processor in the process, really couldn’t work it into the flour even with the old finger method but apart from a number of holes (messed up my lattice completely) where the copher had melted in the oven, the pastry turned out beautifully. So I managed to get my hands on crisco from the USA. I measure everything using the grams conversion because I understand us and au cups are different. The last three times I’ve made it, it turns out delicious, sure, but it’s really quite wet even before I add any water. Which means it is very difficult to work (as in it sticks to my rolling mat, my rolling pin, my hands etc, no matter how much flouring I do, and I cannot make it look good at all. Is crisco the right kind of shortening or is there another American brand I should look for? I’m at a bit of a loss as I like this recipe so much more than the butter ones I used to use.
Hi Ellie! We’re happy to help troubleshoot here. Crisco shortening should work just fine with this recipe. If the dough became too wet, it’s possible the butter and shortening were either not cold enough or they were mixed in too much. Do you think the butter was too warm? Keep the fats extra cold and only work in until you have pea-size crumbles (a few larger chunks is ok). Without enough water, the dough will be difficult to roll out without crumbling and cracking.
You know I think I must have been overworking it. I got mocked a little for very marbly raw pastry a while back so since then I’ve been starting with the pastry cutter but I the also rubbing a little in with fingers as my mum and grandmother used to do with pastry. But rubbing it in makes it too wet, so I just need to embrace the marble! I just tried again without resorting to fingers and it was a much better texture (at least up to putting it in the fridge, I haven’t rolled it yet) so fingers crossed I’ve got it right now!
Can you glaze fry pies right before you serve them if you make a bunch ahead of time amd keep them in frig or freezer
Hi Theresa! That should be fine, yes. Or, thaw them and then glaze right before serving.
Hi Sally, always looking to try new pie crust receipt. This one sounds great. Making strawberry rhubarb pie for the first time tomorrow. What I found easy was to freeze the butter and shortening and then grate it with a hand grater. What is your take on this method.??????
Hi Melinda! You can use frozen butter and grate it for this pie dough. However, you’ll still need to cut it in. You can use a fork and mix very well.
Hi Sally,
What can I use as substitute for the shortening?
Hi Amy! For a pie crust recipe without shortening, we’d recommend using our all-butter pie crust recipe instead.
Hi Sally- It is ok to pulse with a food processor instead of a pastry cutter? I love your recipes!
Hi Pat! We find it’s very easy to overwork the dough when using a food processor. We recommend using a pastry cutter or two forks for best results.
I just made this recipe with my food processor as I have a bad shoulder. I added the water 1 tbsp at a time and pulsed each time until the dough started to come together, being careful not to over do it. It turned out great and was so much easier on me.
Thank you!
Hello Sally
What a wonderful resource you’ve built! I’m new to pastry baking, prior I made sourdough bread from Breadtopia recipes. Pretty good success too. I found you because I have several lemon trees that are loaded and I wanted to learn how to make a lemon meringue pie. I started with your angel food cake and the results were spectacular. The first one rose over the top the next two about an inch below. Taste and texture was great. Naturally lemon curd followed wow. My very good friend live close by and mentioned that angel food cake is his favorite. I gave them a half. He said it was the best he’s ever had. Wow and wow made my month. Plus he gave me Meyer Lemons from his lemon tree. Mine aren’t Meyer and they’re the best. So I made the lemon pudding cakes in the ranskins. Also Top shelf. So now the pie dough is chill’n waiting to be formed and baked. I am compelled to experiment. So Instead of Vodka I used 120 proof “Everclear” the dough only needed 2T to combine and it will cook off toot sweet. I’m a woodworker and I use it to mix shellac. You can find it at large liquor stores.
Oh my goodness, so excited to try this pie crust! I’ve got a bit party coming up and have been on the hunt for a pie crust. I have a question tho. Just to add some extra flavor, would I be able to use browned butter instead of regular butter in the crust?
Hi Stefanie, I’ve never tried the recipe with cold browned butter before, so I can’t speak from experience. So you don’t waste any time or ingredients, I just recommend following the recipe as written. However if you decide to try it, let us know how it turns out.
It turned out beautifully! I used it for a cherry pie and the browned butter added and extra level of flavor that was delicious! I would suggest letting the browned butter cool to room temp until it solidifies and then stirring it again so that the milk solids distribute thru the butter and don’t just sit at the bottom. I froze the butter overnight then cut into small pieces the next morning and refrigerated again until ready to use! It was fantastic!
Thankyou for this recipe have just made an Apple Pie I used all butter in recipe as I had no shorting and it was amazing finally I’ve made a pastry that works . Thanks so much.
Hi Sally
Thankyou for the recipe,I’m so bad at making pastry but,have just given yours a try it’s in the fridge so,it will be fine for an apple pieis this pastry just for sweet or can I use it for savoury as well? Many thanks.from
Hi Ann! This pie crust is great for sweet or savory pastries. Hope you love it!
This crust was a disaster! Followed the directions to the letter and completely fell apart after rolling it out. Had to go out and buy a pre-made crust. Thanks for nothing! 🙁
Achieving perfect pie crust is an art! Keep trying! I always cut the fat in with my fingers as I was taught to do so by my mother 40 years ago! The more it is worked the less success. Was your water ICE cold?? Did you sprinkle AT LEAST 3/4 cup flour on counter before rolling? Pretend like you are picking up a bomb when you work this dough. Literally! Practice makes perfect! This recipe is SPOT ON!!
Achieving perfect pie crust is an art! Keep trying! I always cut the fat in with my fingers as I was taught to do so by my mother 40 years ago! The more it is worked the less success. Was your water ICE cold?? Did you sprinkle AT LEAST 3/4 cup flour on counter before rolling? Pretend like you are picking up a bomb when you work this dough. Literally! Practice makes perfect! This recipe is SPOT ON!! Don’t shoot the messenger!!!
Thanks for taking the time to write. I Truly appreciate the tips as my first crust was a disaster. My plan is to just bake crusts until I get it down. My personal Alamo. Thanks again Luke
Yes! I cut butter with knife but once added to the flour I also use my hands to break it into cramps. Works great!!
Did you add any lemon extract to create the bitterness.
Don’t hate on something you do not know how to do.
Cheers
I just did this recipe and it was great. I wonder what went wrong?
Did flour and fats incorporated well? Meaning did you get nice crupms?
Was the butter cold?
Was the water ice cold?
Was the dough cold?
I wonder what do u mean by falling appart? There is so much fat here to keep it together.
I would say, give it another go during a low stakes day. But watch some videos, you make pick up a detail that was missed.
Nothing like a good video.
Good luck!!
I’ve been making pie dough for fifty years. My pie dough has alway been amazing but not when I first began ( I was a new bride and 20 years old). This is an excellent recipe. Pie dough is tricky. You lack experience. Try again and then again and again. It takes time to master this.
I’m a pretty good baker, but I’ve never been happy with my pie crust. My daughter who is just starting to venture into bread and pies just made your French Silk Pie using this crust recipe. Let me tell you the pie was delicious but in my opinion the crust was the star. I’ve never made a crust that good, so flaky. I can’t wait to try it again for our Blueberry Pie.
I have no luck with pie crusts! Before trying your recipe, you
Call for 2 and 1/2 cups flour. Is this 21/2 cups in the bowl or 2 cups
In the bowl and 1/2 cup for the board?
Hi Deni, You will use 2 and 1/2 cups of flour in your dough and then you’ll need extra to sprinkle on your work surface. I hope that helps!
HI! I have always been afraid of making pie crusts because I live at 7500 feet of altitude. Baking is always a challenge. I have a feeling my crust would be flat and dense (like cookies are if you use a sea level recipe). Any ideas what I would need to do to adapt this recipe to altitude?
Hi Tracy, I wish we could help, but have no experience baking at high altitude. Some readers have found this chart helpful: https://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/high-altitude-baking.html
I have tried this pie crust recipe twice and both times the taste and flakiness have come out very good. The problem I have with it is it is never enough for a 9″ two crust pie. I’m new to this baking stuff and I don’t know what I’m doing wrong.
Hi Gene! It’s possible the dough just needs to be rolled more thin – make sure to generously flour your work surface to work each disk of dough into a 12 inch circle. Thank you so much for giving this recipe a try!
My mother-in-law used to put almond extract and vanilla in her crust. I’m trying to make this for my husband but I don’t know how much of each I should put in and if it can be used with this recipe.