Homemade Pie Crust

There’s just nothing like a homemade pie crust. Buttery, flakey and light — it’s the perfect complement to all kinds of sweet fillings.

If you’ve never made a homemade pie crust, I’d suggest watching this video first. The video will give you a good overview of the process, and also provide some helpful visuals to go along with the recipe instructions below.

As I say in the video, there are two things to remember when you’re making a pie crust: (1) Don’t over mix the dough; and (2) Keep the butter cold. Both of these guidelines are intended to keep the butter from combining too much with the flour, which will keep your crust flakey and light.

And one additional note: Don’t expect perfection! No two pie crusts are ever alike, and just when you think your crust is the ultimate failure, it may turn out to be your best one yet. It’s happened to me many times! Happy baking!

Homemade Pie Crust

Ingredients

Ingredients:

1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour (plus extra for rolling out the dough)
1 tablespoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
½ cup unsalted butter (cold), cut into cubes
5 tablespoons ice-cold water

Instructions

Place flour, sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse a few times to combine.
Add butter. Process on low until the butter and flour start to combine.
Add 5 tablespoons very cold water. Pulse about 8 to 10 times. The dough should feel dry when you run your fingers through it, but should hold together in a ball when you squeeze it in your hand.
Spread a large piece of plastic wrap on the counter (approximately 1 1/2 feet long). Gently dump the dough (it will be crumbly) onto plastic wrap. Pull plastic wrap together around the dough and mold it with your hands so the dough forms a disc inside the wrap. Refrigerate dough for at least 30 minutes.
When you are ready to roll out the crust, remove dough from refrigerator, unwrap and let sit at room temperature for about 5 or 10 minutes.
Use your hands to flatten the dough slightly so it will be easier to roll out. Toss some flour on your countertop. Place the flattened dough in the center. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough into a circular shape that has about the same thickness all the way around. After each roll, turn the dough ¼ turn clockwise in order to keep it from sticking. Continue rolling and turning until the circle is evenly rolled out. Once the dough is large enough to fit your pie plate, gently place in the pie plate with edges hanging over. Gently press the dough into the bottom of the plate. Using your hands, tuck any dough that overhangs the plate into an even edge.
Use your hands to even the edge if needed. Finally, crimp the edges with your fingers for a decorative scalloped shape. Wrap in saran wrap and store crust in freezer for up to 1 month. When you are ready to bake a pie, simply remove the pie crust and pie plate from the freezer, let sit at room temperature for 5 minutes, add the filling and bake. Baking the crust from frozen will help the pie crust keep its shape as it bakes.

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