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Homemade Pie Crust (Tips For Beginners) Recipe

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3.8 from 15 reviews

This homemade pie crust recipe offers beginner-friendly tips to create the perfect flaky pastry from scratch. Made with chilled unsalted butter, all-purpose flour, sugar, and fine sea salt, the dough is prepared with care to retain tender butter pieces for flakiness and allowed to properly rest and chill. Detailed instructions cover dough mixing, rolling, shaping, chilling, and optional blind baking for a sturdy, crisp crust perfect for any sweet or savory pie.

Ingredients

Basic Dough Ingredients

  • 300 g unsalted butter, preferably chilled and cubed (1 x 1 or 1 x 2 cm pieces)
  • 400 g all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled if using cups)
  • 30 g sugar
  • ¾ tsp fine sea salt
  • 120 mL iced water (plus additional as needed)

Optional for Blind Baking

  • Foil or parchment paper
  • Sugar, rice, or ceramic pie weights

Instructions

  1. Prepare Ingredients: Chill all ingredients well and cube the butter into small pieces as specified. Keep butter frozen until ready to use to maintain firmness for a flaky crust.
  2. Mix Dry Ingredients: In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, and salt thoroughly to ensure even seasoning.
  3. Add Butter: Toss cubed butter with the flour mixture, coating each piece. Use fingers to gently squish butter pieces, working quickly to keep butter cold. Aim for hazelnut-sized or larger butter flakes for flakiness.
  4. Add Water: Gradually add iced water, tossing dough gently to combine until clumps form that hold together when squeezed but with some dry flour remaining. Use a spray bottle to lightly moisten dry spots if necessary.
  5. Form Dough: Turn dough onto parchment paper and fold over to create a mound. Adjust water or flour to achieve dough that’s sticky but not wet or crumbly.
  6. Divide and Rest: Flatten dough mound, cut into four portions, stack, and then form discs. Wrap each disc tightly with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour, preferably 2 hours or overnight for best results.
  7. Roll Out Dough: On a floured surface, gently strike dough discs with a rolling pin to soften briefly, then roll out maintaining a circular shape about 3 mm thick to fit a 9.5 inch deep pie dish. Rest dough in fridge if it shrinks or resists rolling.
  8. Fit Dough to Pie Dish: Carefully transfer rolled dough to pie dish without stretching. Gently press into dish with fingertips. Trim excess dough leaving 1 to 1.5 inch overhang for single crust pies, 0.5 to 1 inch for double crust pies.
  9. Form Pie Edge: For a single crust, roll overhang under itself to create a thick border. Crimp edges using thumb and finger technique or fork for decorative fluted edges.
  10. Chill Before Baking: Cover crust loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 45 minutes to firm up butter before baking.
  11. Blind Bake (Optional): Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C) with rack in lower third and pizza stone or baking tray inside. Prepare foil or parchment paper liners filled with sugar, rice, or ceramic weights and place on crust. Bake for about 60 minutes, rotating halfway, until bottom caramelizes and edges begin to color.
  12. Par Bake or Fully Bake: Remove weights carefully. For par baking, return crust and bake 5-10 more minutes until dry and matte. For full bake, brush with egg wash, then bake additional 15-20 minutes until golden and shiny.
  13. Assemble Double Crust Pie: Roll out second dough portion for the top crust, fold, wrap, and chill until filling is ready. Assemble with filling, seal edges by brushing water and crimp or flute as desired, then chill before baking according to recipe instructions.

Notes

  • Keep butter and dough cold throughout to ensure a flaky crust.
  • Do not overwork the dough to prevent toughness.
  • Use a spray bottle for precise water addition to avoid overly wet dough.
  • Resting dough in the refrigerator is crucial for gluten relaxation and easier rolling.
  • For crispier crust, consider blind baking before adding filling.
  • Use pie weights such as sugar, rice, or ceramic stones for even baking and preventing bubbles.
  • If dough shrinks while rolling, letting it rest again in the fridge can reduce elasticity.
  • Egg wash before the final bake adds a beautiful golden shine.
  • Chilling assembled pies before baking helps maintain shape and prevent sogginess.

Find it online: https://marthatasty.com/homemade-pie-crust-tips-for-beginners-recipe/