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All Butter Flaky Pie Crust
5 from 141 votes

All Butter Flaky Pie Crust

The All Butter Flaky Pie Crust recipe creates tender, flaky pastry ideal for pies with one or two crusts. The dough relies on cold butter cut into flour to form a coarse mixture before incorporating ice-cold water and vinegar, which help achieve a delicate texture and enhance the dough's handling. The dough is chilled and rolled carefully to keep it cold and flaky, resulting in a golden, crisp crust with visible butter layers.

Prep Time
30 mins
Cook Time
20 mins
Total Time
50 mins
Servings: 16
Cuisine: French

Ingredients

For Double-Crust Pie:
  • 1 cup butter 2 sticks, sliced into small pieces, cold
  • 2 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 - 1/2 cup water or Buttermilk or Milk/Vinegar Mixture, ice cold
  • 1 teaspoon vinegar
For Single-Crust Pie:
  • 1/2 cup butter 1 stick, sliced into small pieces, cold
  • 1 1/4 cups flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 Tablespoons - 1/4 cup water or Buttermilk or Milk/Vinegar Mixture, ice cold
  • 1/2 teaspoon vinegar

Instructions

    Cup of Yum
  1. Stir together flour and salt. Slice cold butter into tiny shreds (I store my butter in the freezer) and add to bowl or food processor. Pulse until coarse meal or small peas form.
  2. Slowly add ice cold water, 1-2 tablespoons at a time to butter-flour mixture. Add vinegar and pulse until it starts to form together.
  3. Press dough into a ball. Pat each ball into a disk, tightly wrap in Saran Wrap and let it chill in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. 2 hours is preferred.
  4. Unwrap the dough, turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and roll it out, using a rolling pin. Don't overwork the dough. The key is to work quickly to keep the dough as cold as possible. Keep the pie tin nearby so you can check the size of the circle. Roll it to at least a 13-inch diameter circle.
  5. Fold the dough in half and gently lift and position it over the pie pan. Unfold.
  6. Press the dough against the sides and bottom of a pan. Flute the edges by pressing the dough between the index finger and thumb of one hand and using the index finger of the other hand to make the scallop. You can also roll out strips of dough and make a braid to place on top of pie crust.
  7. If you are blind baking the crust and not filling the crust with a baked filling, poke holes using fork along sides and bottom of crust. This will help keep the crust from puffing up while it bakes.
  8. Use Pie Weights, Rice, or Beans to keep crust in place. If you are blind baking your crust to be filled later with a cream filling, it is important to keep it in place. Line the crust with foil or parchment paper. Fill it with pie weights, rice, or beans and press against the sides of the crust.
  9. You can double line the crust with parchment paper to ensure that the rice doesn't get stuck into the dough.
  10. After the dough has chilled, place it in a hot oven. The hot oven helps the crust keep its shape. The edges will be the first to brown. Avoid this by covering the edges with foil or pie shields, about halfway through baking. The pie shields or foil sheets are essential for making pie!
  11. If making a double crust, bake according to pie directions.
  12. If baking pie crust only, bake at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Remove parchment paper and pie weights and return to oven and cook for an additional 6-8 minutes (for a total of 16-20 minutes cooking time).
  13. If baking a filled pie such as pumpkin, cherry, or apple, cook according to pie directions.

Notes

  • Buttermilk can be used instead of water to add flavor and tenderness, potentially omitting vinegar.
  • If mixing by hand rather than food processor, add a little more liquid as needed for proper dough consistency.
  • Keep the dough cold through minimal handling and chilling to ensure flakiness.