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Old Fashioned All-Butter Pie Crust

How to make an old fashioned all butter pie crust from scratch. Instructions for chilling dough, rolling out crust, fluting, and scalloping.

Prep Time
30 mins
Cook Time
1 hr
Total Time
1 hr 30 mins
Servings: 8 servings
Calories: 374 kcal
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup cold water
  • 4 Ice cubes
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 cup VERY COLD unsalted butter (2 sticks)

Instructions

    Cup of Yum
  1. Pour cold water into a small dish with a few pieces of ice to chill.
  2. There are two ways to integrate the butter into the dry ingredients… by hand mixing or with a food processor. In my experience, both methods work equally well as long as you mix the water in by hand. Don't process the water into the dough, or you'll end up with a tough crust.BREAK UP BUTTER BY HAND: Add flour and salt to a large mixing bowl, stir with a fork to blend. Take cold butter out of the refrigerator and add it to the bowl. Use a pastry cutter to cut the cold butter into the flour, using firm pressure and pushing down repeatedly to break the butter into small pieces.
  3. Work as quickly as you comfortably can. Stop when the flour and butter mixture looks like large-curd cottage cheese. There should be a variety of sizes in the butter pieces… the largest should be about the size of a pea. Place flour and butter mixture in the freezer for 2 minutes before proceeding.
  4. MIXING DOUGH WITH FOOD PROCESSOR: Fit your processor with a blade attachment. Add flour and salt to the food processor.Take cold butter out of the refrigerator and add it to the processor.
  5. Pulse the processor in 3-second bursts to break up the butter. Stop when the flour and butter mixture looks like large-curd cottage cheese.
  6. There should be a variety of sizes in the butter pieces… the largest should be about the size of a pea. It should only take 10-12 pulses to get the right consistency; start checking consistency after 8 pulses. Make sure you don’t over-process… having a variety of sizes in the butter chunks will make a flakier dough. Mixture should hold together when squeezed in your hand. Pour mixture into a mixing bowl. Place flour and butter mixture in the freezer for 2 minutes before proceeding.
  7. Take ice water out of the refrigerator. Add water to the flour mixture one tablespoonful at a time, using a fork to lightly toss the liquid into the dough. Try not to touch the dough as you mix; you want the mixture to stay as cool as possible. You may not need all the liquid to bring the dough together, so add slowly… the dough can easily turn wet and sticky if you’re not careful. By the same token, you may need a bit more liquid. Pie dough is not an exact science; every batch of dough will be different.
  8. When the dough begins to look stringy and larger lumps begin to form, take a fistful of the dough and squeeze it in your palm. Open your palm. If the dough holds together well and is just slightly tacky, it’s ready to pull into a dough ball. If the dough easily crumbles in your hand or falls apart, it is still too dry… add a little more liquid.When dough is ready, pull it together with your hands into two balls, one slightly larger than the other. Flatten the balls into disks that are 7-8 inches across.
  9. Cover the disks tightly in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator immediately.The dough should be refrigerated for at least 1 hour, and up to 48 hours. I prefer to make the dough a day ahead and refrigerate it overnight. You can also freeze the dough for up to 3 months. If you freeze the dough, allow it to thaw and soften a bit before rolling out.
  10. TO ROLL OUT CRUSTS: Any large, smooth surface will work, as long as it is in a cool dry area. Marble is ideal. You will need to work quickly to roll out the dough-- again, you want it to stay cool, so have any tools you need nearby and ready to go: rolling pin, flour, pastry scraper, 9” pie plate or dish, a sharp knife, and a baking sheet (as needed).Lightly flour your rolling surface. Take the larger of the two dough disks out of the refrigerator and discard the plastic wrap. Place it in the center of your rolling surface and sprinkle the top of the disk lightly with flour.Use your rolling pin to roll out the dough. I like to roll it from the center outward, a roll in each direction, as though I’m rolling around the face of a clock (12, 3, 6, 9, 12). You want the dough to expand evenly in all directions, so that it forms a large circular shape. Use more pressure in the center of the dough, and less as you near the edges. Don’t roll past the edge of the dough.
  11. As you roll, you may notice cracks forming on the outer edges. If any large cracks develop, pause and pinch the dough together to mend them before rolling again.
  12. If the dough becomes sticky as you roll, lightly re-flour the surface of the dough before proceeding. When the dough is about halfway rolled out, use a pastry scraper to loosen the dough from the board and flip it over.
  13. Re-flour the board before positioning the dough in the center again. Continue to roll out the dough in the same way as before.You want the dough to end up about 1/8” thick, and as round as possible. As you roll it out, you should see a marbled effect to the dough where patches of butter have formed. This is a good thing—those pockets of butter are what make the crust flaky.
  14. Rolling out pie dough swiftly and efficiently takes practice. You may find that your dough is getting too soft, or the butter pieces are melting, as you roll. A little stickiness can be remedied by a sprinkle of flour, but if the dough is getting warm or the fat is melting you’ll need to re-chill the dough before proceeding. Use the pastry scraper to loosen the dough from the board and place it on a baking sheet. Place the baking sheet in the freezer for 1-2 minutes to re-chill the dough. Continue rolling out.When the dough is about 1/8” thick all the way around, take your pie dish or plate and center it in the middle of the dough. The dough will need to extend about 2 inches past the edge of the dish. Use a sharp knife to cut any rough edges off to form a smooth 2-inch circle around the outer edge of the pie dish.Unfold the dough and let it gently settle into the pie dish, lifting the edges of the dough and letting gravity pull it down into the corners. Do not stretch the dough to fit the plate; let it settle naturally, or you’ll end up with a leaky bottom crust. Adjust the dough as needed to keep it as centered as possible in the dish.Alternatively, you can transfer the crust to the dish by rolling it around the rolling pin and unrolling it over the pie dish. I prefer folding it, since it’s easier for me to center in the dish that way, but either method works.When the pie dish has been lined with dough, place it in the refrigerator to chill.Take the smaller of the two dough disks out of the refrigerator and roll it out the same way as you did the first. When trimming the edges, the dough only needs to extend about 1 inch beyond the edge of the pie dish. Re-chill on the baking sheet after rolling out, if necessary. This will be your top crust.Assemble your pie by filling the lower crust with your filling, dot the filling with butter, if the recipe requires it, then lay the top crust gently over the top of the pie. Center the top crust as much as possible over the top of the dish.Trim the edges of both crusts so that they are a little less than 1/2 inch beyond the rim of the pie dish.Roll the lower crust over the top of the upper crust and pinch gently to form a lip or edge to the crust. Work your way around the pie, rolling and pinching, until the circle is completed.Finish your edges by scalloping or crimping them with a fork. I like to scallop the crust by using the forefinger of one hand to make a crease, then pinching around the crease with the thumb and forefinger of the other hand.I work my way around the inner edge of the pie first making creases, then I finish it by working around the outer edge, scalloping in the opposite direction.Chill the fully assembled pie for at least 10 minutes before baking. Make an egg or milk wash and brush on the upper crust for a nicely browned finish (optional). Milk washes can be a bit uneven, so I prefer an egg wash-- use an egg yolk whisked together with 1 tsp of water. This will give it a nice golden sheen.Cut slits in the upper crust to vent (after the wash, not before), and sprinkle the top of the pie with sugar, if desired. I sometimes like to sprinkle it with turbinado sugar to add a light candy-like crunch and a little sparkle.Bake pie according to recipe directions. During the baking process, I usually turn the pie 180 degrees about halfway through the cooking time to make sure the crust browns evenly (ovens can be hotter in the back than in the front-- this allows for more even heat distribution).If these instructions are followed carefully, you should end up with a flavorful, flaky pie crust! Happy baking. :)

Notes

  • You will also need: Pastry blender or food processor, rolling pin, flour, pastry scraper, 9” pie plate or dish, a sharp knife, and a baking sheet (as needed).

Nutrition Information

Calories 374kcal (19%) Carbohydrates 35g (12%) Protein 5g (10%) Fat 23g (35%) Saturated Fat 14g (70%) Cholesterol 61mg (20%) Sodium 586mg (24%) Potassium 56mg (2%) Fiber 1g (4%) Vitamin A 710IU (14%) Calcium 14mg (1%) Iron 2.2mg (12%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 8servings

Amount Per Serving

Calories 374

% Daily Value*

Calories 374kcal 19%
Carbohydrates 35g 12%
Protein 5g 10%
Fat 23g 35%
Saturated Fat 14g 70%
Cholesterol 61mg 20%
Sodium 586mg 24%
Potassium 56mg 1%
Fiber 1g 4%
Vitamin A 710IU 14%
Calcium 14mg 1%
Iron 2.2mg 12%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.