Ingredients
Scale
- Basic pie crust Makes two 9” crusts (enough for two single-crust pies or one double-crust pie. Can be halved.)
- 2 ½ cups 11 1/4 oz. all-purpose flour
- 1 Tbsp. sugar (1/3 oz. sugar)
- 1 tsp. salt (I use kosher)
- 1 cup 16 Tbsp. or 8 oz. butter, shortening, and/or lard (see notes about fat choices below; I commonly use a combination of 6 oz. butter and 2 oz. shortening)
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup ice cold liquid (usually water, water/vodka mix, or buttermilk, perhaps with 2 tsp. white or cider vinegar or lemon juice; see notes about liquid choice below – I usually use water or a water/vodka half-and-half mix)
Instructions
- – Collect and prepare ingredients. Measure and collect your dry ingredients, fat, and liquid. Cut fat into small pieces (around 1/2”) and chill both that and your liquid (in separate containers) while you combine dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
- – Incorporate fat Mix chilled fat into dry ingredients using preferred mixing method – I like to use my fingers, but a food processor, stand mixer, or handheld pastry blender are other common methods. Mix until much of the fat has been incorporated and the mixture resembles wet sand with butter pieces no bigger than a pea. (See images below.)
- – Incorporate liquid to hold dough together Drizzle in cold liquid of choice; just enough that the dough holds mostly together (it can still be quite shaggy).
- – Chill and rest dough If making a full batch of dough, separate into two pieces. Wrap each piece of dough in plastic wrap, shape roughly into a disc, and refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to 3 days or freeze up to 1 month.
- – Roll out, fit, fill, and bake dough as directed Roll out dough on a floured surface. Try to use heavy, even strokes, and check often that your dough isn’t sticking to your rolling surface (if it is, lift it up as well as you can and sprinkle flour beneath). If your dough is too firm to roll well, let sit at room temperature for a few minutes and try again. Fit dough into your pie plate, stretching it as little as possible. Fill and/or bake as directed by recipe.
- Making ahead/storage: There are a few options for chilling/freezing dough for later. Formed into discs, dough can be wrapped in plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 1 month. After being rolled out and fit into a pie dish, it can be covered in plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for 1 month (if freezing, the rolled-out dough can be removed from the pie dish after firm, if you want the dish for something else). If frozen and fit into the dish, bake directly from frozen. If your recipe requires a fully-baked single crust, you can bake it as directed then cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 4 months (this will likely work best if you keep the crust in the dish). Either unwrap the crust and let it stand at room temperature or heat it in a 350F oven for about 6 minutes.
- Category: Dessert