How to Make a Pie Crust

Before You Start, Pie Crust, Rolling Out Dough, Blind Baking, Top Crust, Baking Tips

Before You Start
You’ll need a 9-inch pie pan, a rolling pin and pie weights (or use dried beans).

Your butter must be cold; even frozen butter works as long as you cut it into cubes before freezing.

Be sure to factor in at least one hour to let your dough chill before rolling it out.

Pie Crust By Melissa Clark
YIELD: One 9-inch single pie crust
TIME: 15 minutes, plus chilling

3:29 The Basics of Perfect Pie Crust

Some people shy away from making pie crusts. Here is a recipe to banish all fear, a simple dough of butter and all-purpose flour, easy to make and dependable as can be. If you plan to make a pie with a top crust, double the recipe; when it’s time to chill the dough, divide it in half and shape into two disks to put in the fridge. The dough will also keep for 3 months in the freezer, if you want to stash a few disks there. Defrost in the fridge overnight.

INGREDIENTS
1¼ cups all-purpose flour (150 grams)
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes
2 to 4 tablespoons ice water, as needed

PREPARATION
In a food processor, pulse together the flour and salt. Add butter and pulse until the mixture forms lima bean-size pieces. Slowly add ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, and pulse until the dough just comes together. It should be moist, but not wet.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and gather into a ball. Flatten into a disk with the heel of your hand. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 2 days.

TIPS
For the best results, use a high-fat, European-style unsalted butter like Plugra.

You can experiment with textures and flavors by substituting 3 to 4 tablespoons shortening, lard, beef suet, duck fat or an unsweetened nut butter, such as hazelnut butter, almond butter or mixed nut butter, for 3 to 4 tablespoons regular butter. All should be well chilled before using. Or make a crispy cheddar crust, which pairs nicely with apple pie or savory pie fillings: Pulse together 1 1/4 cups flour with 3/4 teaspoon salt. Add 3/4 cup grated sharp cheddar; pulse until mixture forms coarse crumbs. Add 8 tablespoons chilled, cubed butter and proceed according to the directions above.

Rolling Pie Dough 0:43

Lightly dust flour onto a clean counter and onto a rolling pin. (Alternatively, you can roll the dough out between two sheets of parchment paper or plastic wrap; no flour required.)

Put the dough on the floured surface and, using the pin, roll away from you, applying pressure evenly.

Rotate the dough clockwise as you work so it’s uniformly thin and isn’t rolled irretrievably into the counter. Lightly dust the counter with flour as you work. But don’t overdo it with the flour. Too much flour all at once makes a tough crust.

Continue to roll the dough in all directions until you have a 12-inch circle. (If your rolled dough doesn’t end up in a neat circle, you can trim it, and use the trimmings to patch up any rips, holes or bald spots.)

Transfer crust to a 9-inch pie pan by gently rolling it up onto the pin, then carefully unfurling it into the pan. Fold over any excess dough. If you’re not making a top crust, then the crimp edges now.

Prick crust all over with a fork, then chill crust for 30 minutes. Your crust is now ready to fill or blind bake.

Blind Baking
Blind baking is partially baking a pie crust before you add the filling, which helps keep the crust crunchy. After filling it, you return the pie to the oven to finish baking. It’s a particularly good method for custard pies, like pumpkin and pecan, that are prone to sogginess. Blind baking can be done up to 24 hours before filling; cover the crust loosely with a dish towel and store it at room temperature.

How to Blind-Bake a Pie Crust 0:50

Begin with the chilled, rolled-out dough in the pan. Line the dough with parchment paper or foil. Fill the parchment or foil with pie weights, uncooked rice or dried beans. Transfer to a 425-degree oven.

Bake the crust until it firms up, about 15 minutes. It will still be very pale at this point. Remove the parchment or foil and weights, then return crust to the oven to brown slightly.

Bake the crust 5 to 7 minutes more, until pale golden brown. Let it cool on a rack before filling.

Top Crust
Custard pies don’t usually have tops, but fruit pies just about always do, and it’s something you can play around with. Start with any fruit filling you like, pile it into your pan, and then choose one of the top crusts, or the crumble, below.

Baking Tips
Always bake a pie on a rimmed baking sheet to contain any overflow. A baking sheet also makes removing the pie from the oven easier.

You can freeze a whole, unbaked fruit pie. Then bake it while still frozen, adding about 15 minutes onto the baking time. Do not thaw it first or you could lose flakiness in the crust.

For the best-looking crimped crust, or to avoid having your crust shrink in the oven, freeze the unbaked pie dough before filling and baking (or blind baking). The colder your dough when you get it into the oven, the better it holds its shape.

You can store your baked pie at room temperature, covered, for up to one day. After that, the crust will become irretrievably soggy.

Sally McKenney, « Homemade Buttery Flaky Pie Crust », octobre 2022, https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/baking-basics-homemade-buttery-flaky-pie-crust/

Marie’s Kitchen, « Blind Bake Pie Crust With NO Slipping | AMAZING HACK & RECIPE! », novembre 2022, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzGVXoANGes&ab_channel=Marie%27sKitchen –Excellente ! Quand faire blind bake = cuire à blanc et quand ne pas le faire. On cuit à blanc quand le remplissage ne va pas dans le four. Les tartes aux fruits, ne pas cuire à blanc. En plus, on ne cuit pas à blanc quand il faut mettre la pâte sur le dessus. Marie va à l’encontre de la vidéo de Melissa Clark.

Chicago Tribune, « How to make the perfect pie crust », août 2013 , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YiNTiBeBGxI&ab_channel=ChicagoTribune

Freezer Apple Pie
–Wrap the pie in plastic wrap and freeze until ready to bake and serve. –Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. –Before baking the frozen pie, brush the surface of the piecrust with cream and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 10 minutes then turn the oven down to 375 degrees F and bake until light golden brown, about 1 hour. Source: Food Network, « Freezer Apple Pie », https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/freezer-apple-pie-recipe-1913129#:~:text=Wrap%20the%20pie%20in%20plastic,golden%20brown%2C%20about%201%20hour.