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
Love this pie crust recipe….its my go-to now since I’ve had success with it every time. One part I’d like to be better is my crimping. I have such a pretty crimp now with practice and I always refrigerate pie shell after forming before baking. The crimp doesn’t hold its shape and is never pretty after baking. Can you suggest assistance with this issue? Thank you for such a wonderful Baking site. I use your recipes and techniques so frequently.
Hi Jennie, this post and video tutorial on how to crimp and flute pie crust has all our best tips and tricks! Thank you so much for making and trusting our recipes.
I have been looking for a video of your basic pie crust recipe (made with butter and shortening) and have been unsuccessful. Can you tell me where it is on your website? Thank you so much!
Hi Becky, The video is in the recipe card above, just below the recipe instructions and above the notes.
Any advice when pre baking single crust ? Temperature? Time ??
Hi Mary, it really depends on the exact recipe, but here is our par-baking pie crust tutorial.
I had just thrown out a failed pie crust when I decided to try this recipe. It is amazing (3rd day and crust is still standing up to the coconut creme filling!). It’s a delicious crust and I’ll be using this for my pies and quiches in the future
Is it okay to use pastry flour? Same amount?
Hi Dave, we haven’t tested this recipe with pastry flour, but it should be fine to use. The pie dough may be a little harder to roll out without cracking, though. This article from King Arthur Flour has some really good info on the differences: https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/blog/2018/10/03/best-pie-crust
Hi! I’m excited to make this but we don’t use any seed oils! Would it be ok to replace the vegetable shortening with butter, Ghee, or Tallow? Thank you!
Hi Stephanie, we’d recommend using our all-butter pie crust instead.
This is a great recipe and easy to make if you read all of the instructions and follow them, especially the part about keeping ingredients cold. (It also helps to have some pie making experience – even if it was 25 yrs ago). I wanted to make my husband’s favorite pie, (boysenberry) for his 80th birthday today. I first went to a local berry farm and picked the boysenberries and needed a recipe to do them justice. This recipe sounded like it would have that home made flaky, tender crust that I was looking for, and it does! I started with cold ingredients and kept everything very cold, including the flour and salt while I was mixing other ingredients. Hubby was so pleased to have his favorite pie on his special day and commented on the great crust!
I am the worst with crusts and this turned out perfectly! It’s so yummy and flaky and super easy. I love the balance using butter and shortening brings! I made it for the blueberry crumble pie which was a huge hit. Thanks for all your amazing recipes, Sally and team!
Thank you for this recipe! I’ll be n my sling it tomorrow morning for my Dad’s 80th birthday party! One question: what kind of salt should I use: kosher salt, table salt, another type? Thank you!
Hi Lydia, we use table salt in all of our recipes, unless otherwise noted. We hope it’s a hit!
I’ve made this recipe numerous times and love it!!! I have a single crust in the freezer. Can I make a galette with it?
Hi Pat, yes, absolutely!
Hi Sally, could I replace the butter with margarine? In my country it is something difficult to find, would the texture change a lot? I want to use the shortening as in the recipe, except the butter.
Hi Tania, We don’t recommend margarine as it has very different baking properties (and flavor!). It would be best to use more shortening in place of butter.
I really did not enjoy this recipe at all. I followed the directions to a T. I cook professionally and always look for new recipes, so when my guests ask about a menu item, I can direct them to the authors page, so they can learn to make it themselves. But I can’t do that for this pie crust. Outside of the unnecessarily long backstory, which almost drove me to a different recipe, the crust just doesn’t make the cut compared to the dozens of other crusts I’ve made for the past 20 years. Even my mom, who loves baking and has made pies for 50 plus years said this was zero stars, so I’m being generous with 3.
Please get rid of all the unnecessary backstory and anecdotal memories or whatever. I didn’t read any of it because I’m here to make pie, not read a biography. I doubt anything will change though so I’ll just leave my comment as such.
Sub par recipe best suited for people who don’t really hold their cooking to an above average level.
Hi Josh, thanks for the feedback. This site may not be for you then. In many (if not all) of my posts, I don’t include a backstory or a trip down memory lane in the headnotes; simply step photos and information that will help bakers with the recipe given. This includes success tips and troubleshooting so you can have the best success when you try the recipe.
Wow! I made a batch of my old favorite all butter 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! I only had about a cup of the King Arthur flour left and used regular AP for the rest. So good!
Very detailed and informative pie crust recipe. However, for me some basic information got lost in all the reading. What temperature do you bake (par-or blind bake the crust at? ). I thought I saw 325 degrees somewhere, but could never find it again to confirm. Also, all the pop up adds, really, so distracting. Hope my crust turned out?
Hi Bev, the temperature and time can vary by pie recipe, so you can find that in any of our pie recipe posts. If you’re par-baking or blind baking the crust, see this post for baking information.
I tried to make this in a food processor (like other pie crusts), and it turned into glue before even adding water. It had way more shortening than any other recipe I’ve tried. I could only add a small amount of water, and it was so sticky after chilling and rolling that it fell apart. It was also VERY salty. I threw the second half away.
What is baking temp and how long? Can’t find that info anywhere! ! !
Hi Pat, the temperature and time can vary by pie recipe, so you can find that in any of our pie recipe posts. If you’re par-baking or blind baking the crust, see this post for baking information.
I find when I am baking fruit pies (all I make since learning), often the bottom of the crust is difficult to cut through with a fork. Is there a suggestion?
Hi Anne, we’re happy to help troubleshoot. It sounds like your crust may be a bit too thick, or it is overbaked a bit. Are you baking in a glass pie dish by chance? We always prefer baking pies in glass pie dishes mostly because you can see when the crust has browned around the edges inside the dish (as well as on the bottom). Additionally, glass conducts heat evenly and the radiant heat in the pan also helps the pie crust cook.
I have used this recipe several times now, and each time it turns out perfect. Absolutely delicious. A huge thank you all the way from Zimbabwe!
I’m so glad to read this! Thank you for taking the time to report back!
Best pie crust ever! Make sure it stays very cold until you put it in the oven. I rolled it out and put the crust in the pie plate; then, I put it in the fridge to cool while I made the filling (quiche). Also, I had modify the recipe for high altitude (5,100 ft) and it worked well.
Robinlee- what high altitude modifications did you use for your pie crust? I’m at 5,280 and would love to benefit from your experience. Thank upu!
Hi Sally,
I’ve been making blueberry-peach pies for over 50 years. I got the original recipe from an old (very old!) McCall’s cookbook that my dad and I used to use. It’s a magnificent combination but where I live, the beginning of peach season is the end of blueberry season so it’s a short window. Lately, I’ve discovered Clearjel which is a pie game changer. No more soggy bottoms or soupy filling.
Thank you! This pie crust recipe was the best I have ever made. I did leave off egg and milk for the top due to allergies. The top gently goldened just fine.
In your directions you say you should have 680g of dough but your ingredients add up to 656g. What am I missing? Thank You !
Hi Jeanette, this takes into account some extra flour used to bring the dough together. It’s an estimate.
Instead of shorting can I use coconut oil, in the coconut cream pie??
Hi Joe, some readers have substituted solid and cold coconut oil, but we haven’t tested it. If you don’t wish to use shortening, you might try our all butter pie crust instead.
I am recently gluten free but love this pie dough recipe, has it been tested with 1-1 flour? I’d love to make a peach pie this summer but don’t want to loose out on that traditional flavor and crust!
Hi Abby, while I have not tested this crust with 1:1 gluten free flour, I have several readers tell me that they have with success. One says “I use a gluten free 1 to 1 baking flour and follow this recipe exactly and have had the best luck with it.”
Hi Sally, I made the dough & have it in the fridge. I don’t know if I missed it while I was reading but I didn’t see the temp of the oven & for how long do I bake the pie?
Hi Anna, the temperature depends on the pie you are baking, as different fillings require different oven temperatures and bake times.
I would give this 5 stars but no where did you include oven temp. i had to go to google.
Hi Hero, the oven temperature will depend on the exact pie you are baking, as different fillings require different oven temperatures and bake times. You can use this dough recipe for so many different types of pies, and each of our full specific recipes include detailed directions. Thank you for visiting our website.
This was my first peach pie. I used a Pillsbury premade crust. It turned out SPECTACULAR! Your tips made all the difference from using peaches that were just slightly firm, cutting into chunks,
I really wanted to love this recipe for trying my first lattice crust pie (I’ve baked lots of pies, but I’ve never tried a fancy crust), but it was just too finicky for me. Probably the fault of my very warm kitchen and my clumsy hands, but it kept falling apart even as I kept sticking it back in the fridge. I didn’t want to over work it, so eventually I just rolled it out in rough circle, used some cookie cutters to cut out some cute shapes and plopped it on the top of the pie as best as I could. I couldn’t even get the two crusts to meet all the way around the edge 🙁 This recipe is probably great for other people, but I will stick to vodka pie crust. It just stands up better to my rough handling.
Hi. Can I use vegan butter like Natural balance in place of the real butter without messing up the crust?
We haven’t tested it ourselves, so we’re unsure of the results using vegan butter. Let us know if you do give it a try!
I typically love this site but soooooo many ads. So many. I couldn’t get through the text from pop up videos and also site reloading. I counted 35+ ads before even getting to the recipe. Very frustrating. Understand having the money generated but perhaps strike a better balance for the user experience.
Hi Mattina, Thank you for visiting our site. We do not allow pop ups on this website, and the ad placements we do allow should never be blocking any content. We wonder if there was a spammy ad campaign that somehow got through, so we will let our ad network know. Sorry for the trouble!
I’ve used this recipe with great success many times! Question: Your notes on shortening mention others have used lard in place of shortening, but what about lard instead of butter? I have a family member who can’t eat dairy, even in this form, so I thought perhaps there’s a way to use lard in this recipe that’s worked so well?? Thanks!
Hi Tommi, we haven’t tested that combination – let us know if you do!
Hello.I learned how to cook/bake from my Hungarian grandmother. Apart from butter I recall using bacon and chicken fat, and also the fat from baked hams in the pastry dough. It imparts a slight taste in the final result, but the crust is just so flaky. The slight flavor worked well for our palettes and to be honest, to me it’s not the same without it. But that is just us, and just wanted to bring this up to say that any fat can be used. What we never used though was Crisco/margarine. That hydrogenated oil is a slow killer.