Homemade Buttery Pie Crust
This Homemade Buttery Pie Crust comes together in just a few minutes and bakes up into the most delicious, perfectly flaky pie crust that's perfect for any pie filling. It's easy to handle and roll out, too!
Servings: 1 Double-Crust Pie
Ingredients
- 300 grams all-purpose flour
- 25 grams sugar granulated or light brown
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 285 grams (2½ sticks) unsalted butter cut into small pieces
- 55 grams vodka ice cold
- 60-120 grams water ice cold
Instructions
Make the Dough:
- Measure out all your ingredients before beginning. This means you can work quickly and prevent the butter from softening. I like to place the cubed butter in the freezer while I prep everything else.
- Place the all-purpose flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the S-blade attachment. Pulse a couple times to combine.
- Add the cold, cubed butter all at once. Pulse a few times, until the butter is somewhere between the size of peas and coarse sand. The finer the butter, the easier the dough will be to work with - but larger butter chunks means flakier pastry.
- Add the cold vodka and two tablespoons of ice water. Pulse to combine. Drizzle in another tablespoon or two of water, pulsing until the mixture starts to hold together but some of the dough still looks sandy.
Laminate:
- Tip the dough onto a clean work surface and carefully remove the blade. Using your hands, press the dough into a rectangle, about 4x7 inches / 10x18cm (does not have to be perfect).
- Using a bench scraper (or a knife), cut the dough in half and place one half on top of the other. Press the dough out into a similarly-sized rectangle, incorporating any bits of dough and flour around the dough.
- Repeat 3-5 times until the dough holds together cohesively. Wrap the dough well in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least 2 hours but preferably overnight.
Roll out the Dough:
- Once the dough has chilled, cut the dough in half and return one half to the fridge. On a lightly-floured surface, roll the dough out, using your pie pan as a guide for size. The dough needs to be about 3 inches / 7.5cm larger than the pan's base, so it can come up the sides and allow for crust crimping.
- Rotate the dough with each pass of the rolling pin to prevent sticking and ensure even thickness, adding a little more flour to the work surface and rolling pin as needed.
- Once the dough reaches the correct size, carefully pick it up and place in the pie tin. Gently encourage the dough into the pan's base and up its sides. Do not stretch the dough at any point. Trim off excess beyond 1 inch / 2.5cm over the edge the pan. Place plastic wrap over the top and return to the fridge for 1 hour.
- Roll out the top crust as desired. I like to make a lattice pattern and use the excess dough for decorations such as small leaves - but you can simply roll it into one large top crust, if preferred. Cover with plastic wrap and chill.
- At this point, pie crusts can be covered well with plastic wrap and foil and frozen for later filling and baking for up to 1 month - or filled with any pie filling you like. Follow the pie recipe's instructions for baking.
Notes
Vodka: If you don't have any vodka, or don't wish to use it, simply replace this with additional ice water.
Why chill the dough? Chilling the dough allows the gluten to relax, to prevent the crust from shrinking, and keeping it very cold so it keeps its shape and maximizes flakiness.
No food processor? No problem! Mix the flour, sugar, and salt together in a large bowl. Cut in the butter using a pastry blender (to help keep the dough cold and prevent warm hands from melting the butter). Use a spatula or a wooden spoon to bring the dough together once the liquid is added. Continue with laminating as detailed above.
Other information, tips, tools, and ingredient substitutions can be found in the full post above the recipe.