This easy all-butter pie crust is my gateway to making any pies with a beautifully flaky, buttery crust. With this pie crust, I can bake quiche, galette, matcha cream brulee pie, even an easy mille feuille.
This recipe will guide you through different methods and tools based on the quantity you're preparing. Whether you're crafting a single pie or a batch of pastries, my professional tips—along with 2 additional folds—will help you achieve the perfect, flaky crust to elevate any creation.
You might also like Corn Basque Cheese or Barley Tea Shortbread Cookie.
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Ingredients of Easy Pie Crust
- Flour - Flour provides the structure and stability for the crust.
- Butter - Butter is the source of fat in the crust. It gives the pie crust its rich, buttery flavor and its flakiness. When the pie is baked, the water in the butter creates steam, causing the layers of the dough to puff up and become flaky.
- Ice Water - Water hydrates the flour, allowing the dough to come together. Using ice water here to maintain a cold temperature during the mixing process, which prevents the butter from melting too quickly.
- Salt - Salt tightens the gluten structure by limiting the proteins' ability to absorb water and form strong bonds. In other words, It puts a brake on gluten development. A weaker gluten structure results in a more tender and crumbly crust, which is what you aim for in a pie.
- Sugar - Sugar is typically used in sweet pie crusts, but I like to add it even when I make savory pies. It not only adds a subtle sweetness to the crust but also enhances browning during baking.
See recipe card for quantities.
How to make Pie Crust by Hand?
Cut the cold butter in to cubes, and put it back to fridge while you are preparing other ingredients.
In a big mixing bowl, mix flour, salt and sugar. You can also work directly on the clean table.
Use a pastry cutter, bench scrapers, or your fingers to mix cold butter in. Work quickly to cut the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. The butter should be about the size of beans.
Add the ice water into mixture. Gently mix it in with a fork or spatula until the dough just comes together. Be careful not to overmix. You want to see visible chunks of butter in the dough.
Shape the crumbly dough into a square. Wrap it up and freeze for 10 minutes.
On a floured surface, use a rolling pin to press and roll out the dough into a long rectangle.
Fold one-third of the dough from the one side over the center. Then, fold the other side over the newly folded section, like folding a letter. It is called a “single fold.”
Rotate the dough 90 degrees. Roll the dough out again into a long rectangle. Repeat the single fold process again.
Shape the dough into a disk shape and wrap it up. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before using.
How to make Pie Crust with Stand Mixer?
When I need more pie crust, I will double, triple or quadruple the recipes and mix with a stand mixer.
Cut the cold butter in to cubes, and put it back to fridge while you are preparing other ingredients.
Add all the dry ingredients in the mixing bowl. With the paddle attachment, mix on low speed for 3 seconds.
Add the cold, cubed butter. mix on low to medium speed for 1 minute or until butter breaks into flatter smaller pieces. Same as doing it by hand, the butter should be about the size of beans.
On low speed, add the water little by little while mixing. Mix just until the dough start to come together, about 1 minute.
Divid the dough into 3 or 4 portions, and shape them into squares. Wrap them up and freeze for 10 minutes before the folding process.
Follow the same folding steps as making by hand.
How to line Pie Dough in the pie pan?
After the dough has chilled, roll it out on a well-floured surface or between parchment paper. Rotate the dough as you go to maintain an even thickness.
Trim the pie dough to fit your pan. Leave about 1 inch around the pan.
Transfer the dough to pie pan, pressing it into the bottom and sides. If you see any air pockets, gently lift the edge of the dough and press out the air, then fit the dough back into place.
Decorate the edge of the pie as you like. Chill the pie, and then dot the pie crust with a fork before baking.
How to bake Pie Crust?
Choose the right way to bake your pie base on the kind of pie you are making.
Open-faced Galette: If you’re making a galette, simply roll out the dough, place the filling and bake at 380°F for 50 minutes or until golden. If you use convection oven, lower the temperature to 360°F.
Filled Pie: If the pie you are making is going to be filled with custard, cream or any wet filling, such as pecan pie, chess pie and apple pie, I suggest blind bake your pie first. Blind baking the pie help cook and set the shape of pie. It prevent the pie for having a soggy bottom.
Freeze the pie in the pie pan first. Line a parchment paper over the pie and put your pie weights. Bake at 400°F for 30 minutes. Remove the paper and pie weights and bake 10 more minutes. Lower the temperature to 370°F if you use a convection oven. Adjust the baking temperature and time based on the recipes. For example, you need to fully bake the pie crust to colored for banana cream pie, but you only partially bake the crust for chess pie cause you will finish the baking with filling.
Closed Pie with Top Crust: If you are going to add filling and close the pie with a decorated top crust before baking like most of the recipes say. You can’t blind bake the pie, so you need to add extra time in order to fully cook you entire pie. Bake at 400°F for 30 minutes. Lower the oven temperature down to 370°F and continue baking until golden brown, about 30 minutes. If you use a convection oven, start with 370°F for 30 minutes, and turn it down to 350°F to complete the baking.
Equipment
When I am only making one pie, I make it by hand with the help of a pastry cutter. The shape of pastry cutter match the curve of mixing bowl, which actually makes the mixing so much easier.
For those who prefer to work on a surface instead of a mixing bowl, you need a bench scraper. I love using bench scraper to cut butter, bread dough and scrape food from chopping board to pan.
Storage
After the dough is made, you can wrap it up tightly and keep in the fridge. I recommend using it within 3 days. If you are making a lot of dough or prepping for upcoming event that is more than 3 days later, keep the dough in the freezer for up to 1 month. Defrost the dough in the fridge overnight before using.
Recipe Tips
Keep Everything Cold! Use cold butter, ice-cold water, and even chill your mixing bowl and utensils if possible. When the cold ingredients come into contact with the flour, they slow down the hydration of the flour proteins. Therefore this slows down gluten formation.
Rest and chill the dough! After your pie dough is done, it's important to let it rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. This resting period, known as "chilling," allows the flour to fully hydrate and helps relax the gluten network.
The less water, the better! Sometimes you might need to adjust the amount of water accordingly, but add as little as possible.
Flour your work surface! This will stop your dough from sticking to the table while you are rolling out the dough. Don’t worry about drying the dough too much. Unless you add so much flour that it significantly changes the recipe, the dough should “hydrate” itself during the resting period.
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Recipe Card
Easy Pie Crust (by hand & by mixer)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 170 g all purpose flour
- 113 g butter diced
- 50 g ice water
- 5 g sugar
- 3 g salt
Instructions
Make by Hand
- Prep: Cut the cold butter in to cubes, and put it back to fridge while you are preparing other ingredients.
- Mix: In a big mixing bowl, mix flour, salt and sugar. You can also work directly on the clean table.
- Cut: Use a pastry cutter, bench scrapers, or your fingers to mix cold butter in. Work quickly to cut the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. The butter should be about the size of beans.
- Mix: Add the iced water into mixture. Gently mix it in with a fork or spatula until the dough just comes together. Be careful not to overmix. You want to see visible chunks of butter in the dough.
- Rest: Shape the crumbly dough into a square. Wrap it up and freeze for 10 minutes.
- Roll: On a floured surface, press and roll out the dough into a long rectangle.
- Fold: Fold one-third of the dough from the one side over the center. Then, fold the other side over the newly folded section, like folding a letter. It is called a “single fold” or ”turn.” Rotate the dough 90 degrees. Roll the dough out again into a long rectangle. Repeat the single fold process again.
- Rest: Shape the dough into a disk shape and wrap it up. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before using.
Make by Stand Mixer
- Prep: Cut the cold butter in to cubes, and put it back to fridge while you are preparing other ingredients.
- Mix: Add all the dry ingredients in the mixing bowl. With the paddle attachment, mix on the low speed for 3 seconds.
- Mix: Add the cold, cubed butter. mix on low to medium speed for 1 minute or until butter breaks into flatter smaller pieces. Same as doing it by hand, the butter should be about the size of beans.
- Add: On speed 1, add the water little by little while mixing. Mix just until the dough start to come together, about 1 minute.
- Divide & Rest: Divide the dough into 3 or 4 portions, and shape them into squares. Wrap them up and freeze for 10 minutes before the folding process.
- Roll: On a floured surface, press and roll out the dough into a long rectangle.
- Fold: Fold one-third of the dough from the one side over the center. Then, fold the other side over the newly folded section, like folding a letter. It is called a “single fold” or ”turn.” Rotate the dough 90 degrees. Roll the dough out again into a long rectangle. Repeat the single fold process again.
- Rest: Shape the dough into a disk shape and wrap it up. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before using.
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