Basic Pie Crust Recipe

Here is my foolproof recipe for a basic pie crust. Flaky, buttery, flavorful crusts are the goal every time! Remember Captain Crunch commercials, where the Soggy’s are the bad guys? Well, I absolutely hate soggy, chewy crusts. I know, hate’s a strong word. But seriously, what’s the point of pie if your crust is not delightful? So here’s how you can make it from scratch and get great results every time.

Before you get started

Pop the butter and shortening in the freezer if you haven’t been chilling them already. You’ll thank me later.

Shh!!! Some of my crusty secrets

• I like to “season” the pie crust for even more flavor. I use vanilla extract, almond extract or orange liqueur. You can even use 2 (vanilla+one of the others).
• I use both butter and shortening for a few reasons: butter makes everything better. You just can’t replicate its rich flavor. On the other hand, shortening is lighter and helps create a flakier texture. It also makes the dough a bit easier to roll out. So I use both; and reduce the amount of water needed. (Less water=less gluten=less chewiness/gumminess in the crust).
• Go ahead and put ice cubes in your water to keep the fats in the dough cold. Cold fat + hot oven=flaky crust.
• More tips below!

You’ll need these tools:

• a rolling pin
• a pastry cutter
• a large mixing bowl
• plastic wrap (makes for more easily lifting the rolled out dough off the work surface)
• a 9 inch glass pie plate or cast iron skillet
• a pastry brush and small bowl for the egg wash
• pie crust shield (optional) to protect the edges from burning

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of all-purpose flour, plus more for sprinkling on your work surface
• 2 tbsp white sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup salted butter (two sticks, chilled and cut into 1 cm cubes)
• 1/4 cup shortening, chilled and cut into 1 cm cubes
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp almond extract or 1 tbsp orange liqueur (optional – just adds more flavor!)
• 1/2 cup ice water
• 1 egg, beaten slightly, for an egg wash

Instructions

1. Measure out your flour, sugar and salt into a bowl and whisk it together (its a bit like sifting).

2. Add all your shortening to the bowl. Using the pastry cutter, press the shortening and butter into the flour to make the chunks even smaller, until the pastry cutter has sliced the butter and shortening into pea-sized chunks (or use a food processor).

3. Mix the vanilla extract (plus orange liqueur or almond extract) into the ice water. Then add ice water one tablespoon at a time, using the fork to mix it into sections of the batter so that it begins to clump together. Once you have added just enough ice water to allow the dough to form a ball, gently press the dough into 2 disks of the same size. Chill for at least 15 minutes in the fridge.

The crust is ready to be used in any double crust pie recipe, such as our apple pie or apple cranberry pie (or any other fruit pie) recipe. Please comment if you’ve made it!

Tips

• Shape the dough into less of a ball and more of a hamburger patty – this will make it easier to roll out later.
• Try to avoid working with the dough too much. The less you work the dough with your warm hands, the colder the fats will be. Work it just enough to form it into patties.
• To roll it out, first I spray or sprinkle my entire surface with a bit of water. Then, lay out two large sheets of plastic wrap, overlapping slightly so it looks like a big square. The water sticks the plastic wrap to your work surface. Sprinkle a bit of flour on it, and we are ready to roll out the dough. Apply flour as you go so the dough doesn’t stick to the rolling pin or the work surface. Every few rolls, flip it over just to make sure it’s not sticking to the work surface.
• How to flip your dough over or place it into the pie dish:

• Make sure the dough is resting in the dish fully by gently pulling the sides up and making sure it sits all the way in the corners of the pan and hangs off the edges. Pie crust doesn’t stretch like pizza dough.
• If the dough isn’t perfectly even, you can grab some of your extra dough and press it into the cracks or holes (all is not lost!).
• You should trim the dough (sharp knife works well) to about 1/2 inch over the edge of the pie dish. Refrigerate the bottom crust while your roll out the top of the pie (keep it cold!).

• To get those clean edges, place the top crust over the filling, and trim the pastry dough to 1/2 inch. Fold the top crust over the bottom crust and pinch the crust (below) or just press down the edges with your finger.

• To get a shiny finished look, brush the entire top of your pie with the beaten egg. Also, I like to place the pie dish on a foil-lined baking sheet so that if it bubbles over, clean up is easy.

• If the filling isn’t bubbling but the crust is getting too brown, cover the brown edges with foil. Or one of these silicone pie crust shields.

Well, now we’ve given away all our secrets. But if you follow these tips you should have a perfectly flaky crust every time! Let us know how it goes!