how to make perfect pie crust

Today, I’m teaching you all my tips + tricks to help you master homemade pie crust! It requires only a few basic ingredients, comes together quickly, and produces a beautifully flaky crust that serves as the base for so many sweet treats! I’ll break everything down with lots of step-by-step photos to help you – let’s dive in.

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First, let me say this – there are a lot of words and steps in this post. Don’t be intimidated! I’m trying to be as thorough as I can to make sure you have ALL your pie crust questions answered. As you make pie crust more and more, it will become second nature and you won’t need to re-read through each step every time you make it. And, even though this post is long, there’s actually not a ton of hands-on time involved with making pie crust! Like I said, this post is extensive and wordy to make sure I’m giving you all the tools you need to be successful. Now, go forth and bake!

I’ve had lots of practice making pie crust – with many failed attempts and many calls to my mom asking “How the heck does this part work??” I’ve gone through many failed attempts and learned plenty about what to do + what not to do – to help you hopefully avoid those same mistakes!

Pie Crust Tools

First, let’s talk tools! You don’t need a lot of fancy gadgets to make pie crust, but there are a few tools that will make your life a lot easier, and that I definitely think are worth purchasing!

• Rolling Pin – Obviously essential! I’m not sure how you would roll out the dough without this, haha! I recommend a simple wooden one with handles.
• Pastry Cutter – Technically not essential but it makes cutting the butter into the flour SO much easier and produces great results!
• Pastry Cloth – Not essential but helpful if you have issues with pie crust sticking to your counter (even with flour) when rolling it out – this helped me a ton when I was just getting the hang of homemade pie crust. I no longer use it, but it can be handy for beginners.
• Pie Plate – Essential! This is the dish you’ll bake your pies in. I recommend a see-through glass one, especially if you’re a pie-crust beginner – the transparent glass makes it easy to check the bottom crust to ensure that it’s baked through!
• Pie Crust Shield – Not essential, but it’s handy for preventing burnt crust edges! You can also use a piece of foil.
• Pastry Brush– Essential! This is how you’ll brush on your egg wash, which is how you achieve that nice, deep, golden brown crust!

Pie Crust Ingredients

We’re dealing with just 5 basic ingredients for pie crust!

• Flour – This provides the structure for the whole crust
• Salt – Essential for flavor!
• Butter – This is that magical ingredient that gives us flaky pie dough! Keeping it as cold as possible is essential!
• Shortening – Some recipes use all butter, some use all shortening, and I use a little bit of shortening, and a whole lotta butter!
• Sugar – Not every pie crust recipe uses sugar, but I love adding just a few teaspoons for a little extra flavor – it won’t be overly sweet – it just subtly enhances the flavor.
• Water – Cold, cold, cold is the key here too! Cold water helps bind the ingredients together to form a dough. Pop your cold water in the freezer while you mix up the rest of the dough so it’s as cold as Frosty the Snowman (er, before he melted…)

Pie Crust Technique

Now that we’ve met the cast of ingredients, let’s talk about how to make the pie dough!

1. Whisk together your flour, salt, and sugar

2. Cut your cold butter into chunks. Toss in the flour to coat it on all sides. Cut butter and shortening into the flour mixture with a pastry cutter. You want to have pea-sized pieces scattered throughout the dough.

3. Add ice-cold water in a few additions, stirring some after each addition to help evenly moisten the dough. To make sure your water is actually ice cold, fill a bowl with ice and water, and measure it out a tablespoon at a time. Or, measure the exact amount before starting the dough, and keep it in the freezer until you’re ready – it won’t be in there long enough to actually freeze. Stop when you can squeeze a handful of dough and it sticks together, like dough (hah).

4. Start to form the dough into a ball. Don’t roll it – just gather it together. Once you have a ball of dough, flatten it slightly into a thick disc. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and chill it in the fridge for 2 hours or in the freezer for 30-40 minutes. Lots of people swear by the fridge method, and I recommend doing that if you have time – I typically will make my pie crust the day before I plan to bake so I’m not rushed. If not, the freezer works in a pinch. 

This is what the dough ball will look like – it may look a bit dry but that’s normal! We don’t want it the dough to be over-hydrated. 

Gently flatten it a bit (I flattened it a tad much here, the below photos are a better reference).

And wrap tightly in plastic wrap!

5. Once your filling is ready to go and your dough is chilled, roll it out and transfer to your 9-inch pie plate (I recommend a glass one like this for beginners so you can easily see the crust to tell if it’s baked!) and trim the overhang to about 2 and 1/2 to 3 inches.

6. Fold the overhang over,  rolling it like a rope, pinching it to the inside of the crust, so you have a thick rope of dough around the rim of the pie plate. Crimp using your index finger on the outside of the pie plate, and guide the shape of the crimp or flute using your index finger and thumb on your other hand, from the inside of the pie plate.

The inside edges where you folded the dough over may look a tad messy but that’s fine! That part won’t show because of the filling. Just try to press the edge onto the inside of the dough as best you can and move on. 

7. If you’re making a single crust pie (like pumpkin or pecan, where there’s no crust on top of the filling), at this point you want to freeze the pie crust in the pan for 15 minutes before filling, egg washing and baking! If you’re making a double crust pie, I still recommend prepping the topping (crumble, lattice, or even a whole crust – it can be rolled out and chilled on a baking sheet in the fridge.) and filling ahead of time and refrigerating it while you get your bottom crust in the pan. Once your whole double crust pie is assembled, freeze for 15 more minutes before egg washing and baking.

8. Once your pie is filled and chilled, brush the crust with egg wash, sprinkle with coarse sugar and bake!

To learn how to make a lattice top crust for your pie, check out this video.

Pie Crust Troubleshooting

There are a few common (and a few not-so-common) mistakes that will impede your pursuit of the perfect pie crust.

• Problem 1: Un-Flaky Pie Crust – This is caused by letting the dough sit out too long at room temperature – the butter will melt at room temp rather than in the oven and you won’t have a flaky pie crust. The steam that’s released when the butter melts in the oven is what creates those lovely flakes in your crust.
• The Fix: If your dough is getting too warm or melty when working with it, pop some plastic wrap over it and move it back to the freezer for a 10-minute chill (or longer) to keep the butter cold. You should be able to see the bits of butter in the dough when it’s rolled out. (It’s hard to see it in these photos, but it’s there!)

• Problem 2: Your lovely crimped crust melted off the edges of the pie plate while your pie was baking, or your pie crust shrinks and slides down into the pie dish.
• The Fix: This is a problem that could stem from a few areas. First, don’t put your bottom crust into your pan and let it sit for a while before trimming the overhang and adding the filling. The weight of the crust that’s hanging over the edges can cause the dough around the top edge to become dry and tear. Combine that with dough that’s too warm when it goes into the oven, and you have a not-so-great situation. So, don’t put your bottom crust in the pie plate until you have your filling AND topping ready to go. Immediately trim the overhang, add your filling, and continue from there. Second, don’t over handle the crust! This is one of the single most important tips I can give you. Don’t spend too much time touching and fussing with your crimped edges – even if you re-chill or even freeze the dough after this, before baking, you can’t undo the damage you may have done. Don’t be scared – you can obviously touch and work with the pie crust, but don’t spend too much time trying to perfect your crimps. I promise that chilling before baking the crust will hold them in place much better than you fussing with them. Last, once your pie is assembled, always chill it for an extra 15 minutes in the freezer or 30 minutes in the fridge before egg washing and baking!

• Problem 3: Your pie dough is difficult to work with – it’s too dry and crumbly, or it’s too wet and sticky.
• The Fix: Getting the moisture of the pie crust right is so important – too much water or too little water can cause problems. Make sure you’re adding the cold water just a bit at a time (it’s easier to add more than to try and compensate for dough that’s too wet later), stirring with a fork to evenly distribute it. The dough is moist enough when you can grab a chunk and it holds together, like a dough – but still looks a tad dry. I go over this in more detail in the recipe as well. You can always add a bit more flour to help dry things up, if it’s too sticky.

• Problem 4: You can’t get the rolled-out pie dough into your pie pan without it tearing.
• The Fix: This could be caused by dough that’s too sticky (see problem 3) or by dough that’s been rolled too thin. Make sure you’re rolling your dough to about 1/8′” thick – no thinner. Also make sure that you floured your surface well, and even flour your rolling pin. Aside from those things, there are two ways to get your dough into your pan. You can gently fold it in half lengthwise, then in half again widthwise, making sort of a funnel shape, and lift that into your plate, centering the point, and gently unfolding the edges. You can also gently wrap the dough around a floured rolling pin. Roll the dough back over the rolling pin, without lifting it off the counter much – slide the pie plate underneath and drape the dough back over it – this is my preferred method – I find that folding the dough can crack it so I really never do it that way!

• Problem 5: Your dough is cracking a lot when you’re rolling it out.
• The Fix: Your dough needs to sit at room temp for about 10-15 minutes once it’s been chilled so it’s workable. Stop rolling and give it a few minutes, then try again. You can also sort of push the cracked edges together with your hands to seal them up. Before I start rolling out the dough, I like to hold my rolling pin vertically, and whack the dough 4 times, moving across it, and then repeating in the other direction (side to side and top to bottom) – then I start rolling it for real. It just helps get things moving when it’s so cold straight out of the fridge or freezer.

• Problem 6: You tore a hole in the pie crust once you got it into the pie plate.
• The Fix: No need to start over! Just grab a scrap of dough from trimming the edge overhang and patch the hole. Grab/make one that’s just slightly bigger than the tear. Dip your finger in a bowl of cold water and run it around the edge of the scrap and around the edge of the hole (you’re not trying to add extra water here, but the dough needs to be a tad wet to stick). Place the scrap over the hole and gently tap the edges of the scrap into the surrounding dough, then dip your finger in the flour and gently tap the patched spot to counteract any wetness. The same technique works if you have a short spot on the edge of the crust where there isn’t enough dough to make a crimp.

I also recommend taking off any rings when making pie dough – your hands will get messy and you will get little bits of pie dough stuck in all the tiny crevices of your ring. Not that I know this from experience.

Also, note that MOST pie recipes call for a 9-inch pie dish, so I recommend buying or using a 9-inch one.

Pie Recipes:

Now that you’re a pie crust master, put your skills to use with these delicious recipes!

Savory Pies:

Perfect Breakfast Quiche – Full of amazing flavor and perfect for brunch!

Mixed Vegetable Galette – A fun dinner option – and it’s super healthy, since, you know – vegetables.

Sweet Pies:

Cranberry Apple Slab Pie with Maple Glaze –  Perfect for feeding a crowd!

Classic Fruit Galette – Filled with juicy blueberries and cherries.

Chocolate Pecan Bourbon Pie – One of our FAVORITE pies ever! Great for Thanksgiving, and it’s a great option if you don’t like traditional pecan pie.

Dutch Caramel Apple Pie – Another Thanksgiving favorite – tender, spiced apples and salted caramel sauce with a crumble topping.

Homemade Blueberry Pop Tarts – Fun to make and perfect for dessert or brunch! They taste 100x better than store-bought.

Cherry Bourbon Pie with Crumble Topping – Made easy with a crumble topping, and that bourbon cherry filling – SO good!

Maple Pie with Brûléed Topping – A unique pie that’s sweet, creamy, and topped with a layer of brûléed sugar – just like on a creme brûlée. Serve with whipped cream!

Salted Caramel Pear Galette – Pears shine in this galette that’s topped with salted caramel sauce.

Hand Pies: 

Cherry Hand Pies – Portable pies are the best kind of pies – made with a sweet cherry filling.

Cherry Cobbler for Two – The perfect winter dessert! Makes just two servings.

Pumpkin Pasties – Personal-sized pumpkin hand pies filled with a buttery, maple pumpkin filling. Yes, please!

Strawberry Rhubarb Hand Pies – The perfect spring or summertime treat!

Did you make this recipe? Snap a photo and leave a comment! 

Be sure to follow bluebowlrecipes on instagram and tag #bluebowlrecipes with your photo! You can also post a photo of your recipe to the bluebowlrecipes Facebook page. I’d love to see what you make! Be sure to leave a comment + rating if you make this recipe so I can see how you liked it!

Perfect Pie Crust

The best flaky, buttery, flavorful pie crust! This recipe makes enough for a two-crust pie, or two one-crust pies. I'll walk you through the process with tons of tips, tricks, and photos!

5 from 2 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: How to Make Pie Crust, Perfect Pie Crust Recipe, Pie Crust Recipe, Pie Crust Tips and Tricks

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Chill Time: 2 hours 15 minutes

Total Time: 2 hours 35 minutes

Servings: 2 crusts

Author: Stephanie Simmons

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 2 cups + 2 tbsp cold salted butter (254 grams or 18 tbsp)
• 9-10 tbsp ice-cold water

Instructions

• Please Read This Before You Begin: Make sure your filling and topping (crumble, lattice, etc.) are ready to go before you roll out your bottom crust and put it in the pan - I explain why in the post above - it can become weak and dry if you let it sit in the pie plate too long while you make the filling and topping. Don't do it!

  Read through the directions once before you begin, especially if you're newer to making pie crust. This will help you to avoid any mistakes!

  I have lots of troubleshooting fixes above in the body of this post, so if you have issues with your dough at any point, scroll back up and read through those. 
• Making the dough: Before you begin, measure out the water and pop it in the freezer so it gets REALLY cold. Whisk together flour, salt, and sugar in a medium mixing bowl. Next, take the 2 sticks of butter out of the fridge (it’s important that the butter is COLD for the crust to turn out). Unwrap and cut into chunks. Add to the flour mixture and toss to coat them in the flour. Add with shortening (I never chill my shortening) and begin to cut in the fats using a pastry cutter or two forks (highly recommend getting a pastry cutter!) You've cut it in enough when there are mostly pea-sized bits of flour coated butter, and the rest looks like very small crumbles (almost like the powdery parmesan that comes in the shakers).
• Drizzle the cold water into the flour/butter mixture, 2 Tablespoons at a time, stirring with a fork after each addition. Stop adding water when the dough comes together easily and begins to form large clumps. The dough shouldn't feel sticky or overly wet. If you can grab a handful of the dough, and it forms, well, dough when you squeeze it, it's ready! It will still seem a bit on the dry side.
• Gently begin to form the dough into a ball - don't roll it, just gather it and pat it until you have a ball. You can work it a bit to get some of the cracks out - do this in the mixing bowl or on a floured counter. Use a large knife or bench cutter to evenly divide the dough in half. Slightly flatten each half into a 1-inch thick disc. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 2 hours (preferable) or in the freezer for 30-40 minutes before proceeding. 
• When rolling out the dough: Flour your counter and rolling pin. Start in the center of the disc, and gently roll the dough out in all directions. Turn the dough between each roll to make sure it's not sticking to the counter. Continue flouring the counter and rolling pin as you go. Smooth out/push together any cracked areas and continue rolling. Flip your pie plate upside down and lay it on top of the dough to see if it's rolled out enough, allowing for a 2-3 inch overhang of dough around the edge of the pie plate. Don't roll the dough thinner than about 1/8". I usually roll my dough out to about 16 inches across. 
• Transferring dough to your pie plate:

  -Gently fold your dough into quarters, and lay it down in the pie plate, with the point in the center, and gently unfold it.

  -Gently and loosely wrap your dough around the floured rolling pin, but don't lift it far off the counter. Roll about half the dough around the rolling pin. Slide the pie plate under the rolled portion and gently drape it back over the pie plate.

  After either method, gently press and smooth it down onto the bottom and onto the sides of the plate, making sure there are no gaps between the dough and the pan. 
• Finishing Touches and Crimping the Edges: Once you've transferred your dough to the pie plate, trim the edges with a kitchen scissors or knife, leaving a 2-2 1/2 inch overhang. Fold the overhang over, into the inside of the pie plate, rolling it like a rope, pinching it to the inside of the crust, so you have a thick rope of dough around the rim of the pie plate. If it doesn't adhere to the inside of the crust that is OK - we're going to freeze the crust before baking so it won't matter. If you touch the dough a ton during this step it will melt and fall in the oven even after freezing - trust me, I've learned the HARD way.

  Crimp the edges by using your index finger on the outside of the pie plate, and guide the shape of the crimp or flute using your index finger and thumb on your other hand, from the inside of the pie plate. Repeat all the way around the pie! You can make your crimps as large or small as you want. 

  Extra Chill Time - SUPER IMPORTANT STEP: Once the pie dough is in the pan (before egg wash), chill it in the freezer for an additional 15 minutes to ensure that everything is nice and cold before going into the oven.

  For a Single Crust Pie Or a Pie with a Crumble (Dutch) Topping: If you're making a single crust pie (such as a pumpkin pie or a pie with a crumble topping) you'll freeze the crust for 15 minutes, egg wash the crust, pour in the filling, top with any crumble topping, if using, and bake it.

  Par Baking: Freeze the crust in the same way, skip the egg wash, and blind bake the pie as directed in the recipe. Preheat oven to 425° F. Use dry beans, rice, or even granulated sugar in a pinch as pie weights. Take the pie crust out of the freezer and gently press in a piece of crumbled parchment paper - the edges will be semi exposed - that's fine. Pour in the pie weights making sure that they come all the way up to the crimped edges of your crust - this will prevent those edges from slipping down into the pie dish. Place this on a baking sheet and bake for 15-17 minutes, or until the crimps are lightly browned. Remove the pan from the oven, and gently lift out the parchment with the pie weights (have a bowl ready to set it in to keep your counter clean). Brush the edges of the crust with egg wash at this point, if desired (gives a nice shine - I always do this). Return the pan with the pie to the oven and bake for 2-4 more minutes, until the bottom and sides appear set and matte (they shouldn't be shiny).

  This method should work with almost any recipe for a single crust pie! I used it in my Bourbon Cherry Pie. This method comes from Erin McDowell's "The Book on Pie."

  Blind Baking: Follow the same steps as listed in the par baking section above, but bake the pie for 10-12 minutes in the second portion, after you've removed the parchment and pie weights.

  For a Double Crust Pie: If you’re making a double crust pie, I still recommend prepping the topping (a lattice or a whole crust – it can be rolled out and chilled on a baking sheet in the fridge) and refrigerating it while you make the filling and get your bottom crust in the dish. Once your whole double crust pie is assembled, freeze for 15 more minutes before egg washing and baking.

  Regardless of the type of pie you're making, don't skip this last round of chilling! It will help ensure that the pie crust holds its shape and bakes up with that beautifully flaky texture.

  Egg Wash: I always use an egg wash on my crust - it helps it brown nicely in the oven! Beat one egg with 1 tbsp of milk - brush on all exposed parts of the crust using a pastry brush. Sprinkle crust with coarse sugar and proceed to bake as directed in the recipe you're using! I linked all of my pie recipes in this blog post, above the recipe!

  Preventing Burnt Crust: No matter how long the bake time is for a pie, I always start with about 20-30 minutes, and check the crust at that point to make sure it's not browning too quickly. If it is, lay a piece of foil across the top of the pie to prevent the edges from burning. You can also use a pie shield, but I find that a piece of foil works just fine!

  If you're using partial bake times like this, it's helpful to keep a scrap of paper and a pen nearby so you don't lose track of the bake time!
• Crust Decorations: Gather your pie dough scraps, roll them out (no thinner than 1/4 - 1/8") and use a knife or leaf shaped cookie cutters to cut designs! Brush with egg wash and sprinkle with coarse sugar. Bake on a parchment-lined baking sheet (use whatever temp your pie is baking at) for about 5-12 minutes (depending how large they are). They're finished when lightly browned. Top your pie with these pie crust designs! They work well for hiding any flaws in your crust, and they're fun!

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