Homemade Flakey Pie Crust!

Great for pot pies, dessert pies, or quiche, this delicious and flakey pie crust is simple to make and may very well become your go-to recipe!

If you would like, check out our video with this recipe by clicking here!

The measurements for the ingredients listed below are for a double-crust pie. If you are making a single-crust pie (no lid), simply cut the measurements in half. And as you can see here, it's only four ingredients!

2 1/2 cups of flour

1 teaspoon of salt

1 tablespoon of sugar (if you want a sweeter crust. this is not required though)

2/3 cup of butter

4-8 tablespoons of ice water

And that's it! A simple list of ingredients for a simple and tasty pie crust. Now, let's get to making the dough for your pie crust!  As mentioned in the ingredients, sugar is not required. It really depends on what you are using the crust for. Pot pie? I wouldn't. Fruit pie? I probably would. 

In a mixing bowl we're going to start with our 2 1/2 cups of flour then add 1 teaspoon of salt. Now, at this point, if you want a sweeter crust, you could add a little bit of sugar (maybe just a tablespoon). However, I would recommend trying it without. In my experience, the nonsweet crust accents the sweet pie! But, that's totally up to you. 

Next, we're going to add the butter. Now, for a flakey crust, we want to keep the dough cold (hence the ice water listed in the ingredients). So the butter we use needs to be cold as well (similar to how I do my biscuits). I generally keep butter in the freezer. Not only will this make sure the butter is cold, but as we begin to break up the butter into small pieces (roughly crumb size) it will break more easily.  As the butter gets mixed in you'll notice that the dough is starting to not only turn yellow, but it is really taking on a crumbled look. This is perfect. This is not a well-hydrated dough.

Now, let's add the ice water. We're going to add 2 tablespoons and mix it in. I use a fork. Once mixed in, mix in 2 more tablespoons of ice water and mix in. 

At this point, you should notice that the dough is beginning to come together, still looking like crumbled dough. At this point, add additional ice water 1 tablespoon at a time. The dough should still look like crumbles, but you should be able to take a fistful and make a ball. In other words, it just sticks together. Remember, we do not want this dough to be overly hydrated. Just enough to stick together. 

Before we continue, I would like to point out that at this stage, the dough itself is pretty much done. It really is that simple. And to make things better, it doesn't actually have to be used right now! You can ball the dough together, place it in plastic wrap (I would flatten it out more like a disk), and use it later! It will need to be kept either in the fridge (it will last a few days) or in the freezer. If stored in the freezer, and wrapped properly, it can be stored for a couple of months! Keep in mind, if you are making enough dough for a double crust, I would split the dough in half and wrap the two for the fridge or freezer.

If you are using the dough right away, I would recommend wrapping it and placing it in the fridge for about an hour. Remember, we want the dough to stay cold until it's ready to be put in the pie pan and ultimately into the oven. It's the "secret" to flakey crust! 

Now that it's time to use the dough, it's as simple as rolling it out to the size needed! Remember roll from the center outwards. You don't want to roll back and forth.

For the bottom layer, you will want the dough to be larger than the pan. If you don't have a pastry sheet, you can set the pie pan on top of the rolled-out dough to gauge the size.

Picking up the rolled-out dough to place into the pie pan is as simple as using the rolling pin. Loosely roll the dough onto the pin using it to pick it up and place it onto the pan.

 

What we're looking for is the dough to be laid into the pan and not stretched. Stretching the dough will risk tearing it. You want it to just lay into it. Of course, you can "guide" it with your fingers for a good fit. 

If you are making a single-layer crust for a pie that asks for a pre-baked crust or a blind bake, it is at this point that you will want to pre-bake. You will want to weigh the crust down to prevent it from bubbling and warping. One idea I've seen is to use foil, shaped as a bowl and filled with beans. Whether you use foil and beans, or a baking weight, you will want to use it. You can also poke some holes into the bottom with a fork as well. As far as how long to blind bake depends on your recipe. Some need a fully-baked pie shell whereas some require a partially-baked shell. The temperatures can range from 375 to 450 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

If you are making a double-layer pie, you will lay your bottom layer into the pie pan just as you would have before, but we're not going to bake just yet. What we are going to do now is place the pie pan into the fridge with the bottom layer while we roll out the top layer. Again, we're trying to keep the dough cold. 

Once the top layer is rolled out, take your pie pan (with the bottom layer in it of course) out of the fridge, and add your pie filling. In the video, we were making turkey pot pie. Once filled, add your top layer folding the excess under the edge of the bottom layer. If you are feeling adventurous, you can cut the top layer into strips and lay it out like a lattice!

Once the filling has been added it's time to place the top layer (pie lid) onto the pie. Simply use the same method we used before rolling the dough onto the rolling pin and placing it on top.

Take the excess dough and fold it under. We're not crimping just yet, we are simply cleaning up the edge. If needed, you can fix areas that seem to not have enough dough by tearing off any area that has a lot of excess and adding it to the spot that needs more.

Now it's time for your crimp. This just "seals" the top and bottom layers. I just use my fingers and thumbs to make a crimp. There are several methods out there, this is the one I use. 

Now don't forget to cut a few slits into the top layer as well. 

One last bit before placing this into the oven. And that is the wash. For this, I just use a simple wash. Now, you can do an egg wash (which I generally do) or you can use heavy cream, which I did for this one. Using heavy cream gives the crust a bit of a different finish, and does give it a slightly different flavor that goes really well with pot pie. either way, this will give you that beautiful golden finish once it has finished baking!

Now it's time for the oven! Whatever recipe you are following should have temperature recommendations, and I would use those. For my turkey pot pie, the cooking took place in two different temperatures.

For the first 20 minutes, I baked it at 425 degrees. After that first 20 minutes, I then dropped the temperature down to 350 degrees and continued to bake for 40 minutes. 

Once baking has finished, don't forget to let the pie sit for at least 15 - 20 minutes. It will be too hot right out of the oven. It needs time to rest.

And there you have it! Your very own homemade pie crust!

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