Perfect Pie Crust

Name: Perfect Pie Crust
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 1 single crust for a 9-inch pie
Cuisine: american
Ingredients: 1 ¼ cup/160 grams all-purpose flour; ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt; ½ cup/115 grams cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes; 3 to 4 tablespoons ice water, plus more as needed

By Erin Jeanne McDowell

Total Time: 30 minutes, plus at least 1 ½ hours’ chilling
Rating: 4(1,376)
Comments: Read comments

This classic dough contains no special ingredients, just flour, salt, butter and water, but it works like a dream. The recipe makes a single crust for a 9-inch pie; simply double it to make a double-crust pie. (If you make it by hand, you can even triple or quadruple the recipe.) If you’d prefer to use a food processor, you can, and it’s a good idea if you have warm hands. To do so, pulse the butter into the flour mixture a few times, until the butter is the size of walnut halves or peas, then transfer the mixture to a medium bowl and proceed with adding the water. (Adding the water in the food processor often leads to hydration problems and overmixing, which is why you should do that part by hand no matter what.) The dough keeps in the refrigerator for up to 2 days and in the freezer for up to 3 months (thaw it overnight in the refrigerator before rolling it out).

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Ingredients

Yield:1 single crust for a 9-inch pie

1¼ cup/160 grams all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
½ cup/115 grams cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes
3 to 4tablespoons ice water, plus more as needed

Ingredient Substitution Guide

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Preparation

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Step 1
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and salt to combine. Add the butter, tossing the cubes through the flour until the pieces are separated from one another and each piece is coated.
Step 2
Cut the butter into the flour by pressing the pieces between your palms or fingertips, flattening the cubes into big shards and continuing to toss them in the flour to recoat the shards. The size of the butter will vary depending on the kind of pie you’re making: For fruit pies, stop when the butter pieces are about the size of walnut halves. For custard pies, stop when the butter pieces are smaller, about the size of peas.
Step 3
Make a well in the center of the mixture. Add 3 tablespoons ice water and mix it in by tossing the flour in the bowl. (This tossing movement lets the moisture incorporate without allowing too much gluten formation.)
Step 4
Continue to add ice water 1 to 2 tablespoons at a time until the dough begins to come together. As it comes together, fold it over itself a few times to make sure it’s homogenous. The dough should hold together without noticeable cracks (a sign of underhydration), but it should not be wet or tacky to the touch (a sign of overhydration).
Step 5
Form the dough into a disk about 1-inch thick. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before using, and up to 2 days. (It can also be frozen for up to 3 months, then thawed overnight before using.)

Ratings

4 out of 5

1,376 user ratings

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Comments

susan6 years ago

can you save the dough if it gets too wet

Miriam6 years ago

I do appreciate seeing this mixing technique which I will definitely try, however the dough she rolls out is blatantly not the dough she just chilled! What was craggy and cracked is now perfectly smooth and rolls without a crack in sight. ???

Barbara6 years ago

CAn you substitute gluten free flour?

Jim1 month ago

H! I'm a nooby who has been trying to master pie crust for a few months but keep running into issues when it comes to the rolling stage. My crust always cracks/breaks as I'm rolling out the dough; I don't seem to be using too much flour on the surface, and I don't *think* it's overly dry when I refrigerate it (it looks like the video's dough ball). I notice that in the video, when you go to roll the dough, it looks far more uniform (no breaks at all). How do I get my crust like that?! Help!

Phillycook1 month ago

Erin Jeanne McDowell is a total pro, so you are setting a very high bar for yourself! Make sure to wrap it up tightly so it doesn't dry out in the fridge. When you put it on the counter to roll it, give it a whack with the rolling pin first. (I dont know why it helps, but it does seem to.) When I have a crust that is being troublesome, I also have rolled it between sheets of plastic wrap to make it easier to flip around and to keep it from sticking to the counter. Practice a lot!

K Ross5 months ago

This recipe was a perfect flop. Followed directions for the “tossing” method of incorporating the water to the flour and needed much more water than specified. Chilled overnight and baked the next morning. The crust was embarrassingly tough and ruined my pie.

Ava6 months ago

Far from perfect. Rolling it out was a nightmare and it literally fell apart when I blind baked to make the salted maple pie. Also, there should be a bit of sugar in the crust to encourage browning and develop flavor, regardless of what you’re using it for, sweet or savory… in any case, the crust was sticking to the foil, tearing, and shrunken. Use Claire Saffitz’s flaky all-butter dough recipe for a food processor-free pie baking super special deluxe experience.

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