Pie Crust Recipe {+ How to Blind Bake}
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5
12 reviews
Excellent
Pie Crust Recipe {+ How to Blind Bake}
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This pie crust recipe uses cold unsalted butter cut into a mixture of flour, sugar, and salt to create flaky layers. Water is added carefully to bring the dough together before chilling. The dough is shaped into a disk and can be blind baked to prepare for various fillings. The method emphasizes managing butter size and chilling to ensure a tender, crisp crust.
Description
The crust starts by whisking together all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, and salt. Very cold butter cut into ½-inch cubes is incorporated with a pastry blender until pieces remain visible, contributing to flakiness. Ice water is added gradually and gently worked in until the dough just holds together when clumped. The dough is then kneaded briefly, compressed into a disk, smoothed to remove cracks, wrapped, and chilled for at least an hour or up to two days. This chilling helps firm the fat and relax the gluten for a better crust. The dough can be blind baked, and food processor options are detailed to maintain proper butter size for texture.
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Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups (178g) all-purpose flour scoop and sweep to measure, unbleached
- 1 Tbsp (12g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp (scant) salt
- 10 Tbsp (141g) unsalted butter very cold, cut into cubes about 1/2-inch
- 3 to 4 1/2 Tbsp water ice
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl whisk together flour, sugar and salt.
- Add butter and cut into mixture using a pastry blender until there are pea size clumps of butter throughout with some larger clumps of butter.
- Add water 1 Tbsp at a time and toss well between additions with a rubber spatula. You can even press the mixture together a bit with the spatula as you toss.
- Only add enough water for mixture to hold together when you clump a portion of it with your hand.
- Pour mixture out onto a clean surface. Flatten and press mixture together then fold the mixture over itself once or twice (it won't be a clean process that's fine, it's just a quick layering for more flakiness).
- Compress mixture into a round. Then flatten to about a 6-inch disk. Compress and smooth cracks (you don't want cracks or these will just spread larger as you roll the dough out).
- Wrap with a sheet of plastic wrap and chill 1 hour (or up to 2 days. If it chills longer than an hour let it rest at room temperature for about 10 minutes to soften enough to roll).
- Remove from fridge and dust a clean work surface generously with flour. Roll dough out to a 13-inch round, while pinching any cracks along the edges together as you roll.
- Roll dough up around a rolling pin (I like to dust away excess flour along the edges as I roll it up) then transfer to a 9-inch pie plate.* Unroll the dough over the pie plate starting about an inch beyond one edge. Carefully press the pie dough down into the pie plate to snuggly fit along inner edge.
- Leave about 1-inch excess dough around the lip (outermost edge) of pie plate while trimming excess that's over an inch, especially where uneven.
- Fold the excess dough along the edges under itself and quickly press together. Flute edges as desired (with your fingers or a tins of a fork).
- Drape loosely with plastic wrap to cover and transfer to fridge. Chill at least 1 hour or up to 2 days. Use as directed in your pie recipe.
- If blind baking (such as for a cream pie or other no bake filling), set oven rack in center of oven and preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place a baking sheet in oven to preheat.
- Crumple up a sheet of parchment paper (large enough to cover the pie), then line the parchment paper along the interior of the pie crust. Fill with pie weights or about 1 lb of dry beans. Trim away tall excess parchment paper.
- Place crust on baking sheet in preheated oven and bake until edges are golden brown and sides of crust are starting to dry, about 25 to 30 minutes.
- Remove crust from oven then lift out the parchment paper with beans. Pierce crust about 10 times along the bottom with a pairing knife.
- Return to oven and bake until crust has dried and is slightly golden brown, about 10 to 15 minutes longer. Tent edges with a pie shield or a ring of heavy duty aluminum foil at any point as needed to prevent excess browning while baking.
- Let crust cool on a wire rack before filling.
Notes
- Use a glass or metal pie dish; browning varies by oven, so ensure the crust is baked through even if not deeply golden.
- When using a food processor, pulse butter carefully to maintain pea-to-nickel sized pieces to promote flakiness.
- Chill dough for at least 1 hour to firm the butter and prevent shrinkage; it can rest up to 2 days refrigerated.
- Allow dough to rest at room temperature briefly if chilled beyond one hour before rolling out.
Genuine Reviews
User Reviews
Overall Rating
5
12 reviews
Excellent
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