Flaky Pie Crust Recipe (2024)

Baking a tender and flaky pie crust from scratch is incredibly simple. It needs just a few ingredients and a bit of time. Use this no fail butter and shortening recipe and you will never use a store bought pie crust again.

Making a buttery flaky pie crust by hand can be intimidating. It looks incredibly hard but actually, it’s very easy. You just need the proper technique. This guide will give you all the tips you need for success.

The one thing about pie dough is that it is very forgiving. Did you just tear it? Patch it! No problem! Think back to when you dug your hands into play dough. It’s the same concept.

This is the pie crust recipe I use for my Apple Crumble Pie , Southern Bourbon Pecan Pie and Strawberry Pie. It’s hands down the best pie crust for different types of pies.

Frequently Asked Questions

Essential Pie Dough Tools

You probably already have most of the tools needed in your kitchen cabinet to make a pie crust. All you need are a few basic utensils.

1. large bowl
2. fork
3. two dinner knives or a pastry cutter
4. rolling pin
5. waxed paper
6. glass or metal pie pan

Cutting In The Fat

Cutting in the fat is the term used to incorporate the shortening (or chosen fat) into the flour. To do this, you can do it a couple of different ways. You don’t need a food processor for this step but you could use one.

Two knives: Hold one knife in each hand and simply cross the two dinner knifes. In a cutting motion cut the flour and the shortening/butter together. Continue until the fat resembles small peas.

Pastry cutter: Using a pastry cutter only requires the use of one hand to cut the fat into the flour. This tool is easy to maneuver. You simply rock it back and forth. You may need to occasionally take a knife and scrape the dough out from between the blades. Continue rocking through the flour and fat till the mixture resembles small peas.

Food processor: Dump the fat and flour into the bowl of a food processor and pulse till the desired result. Just be sure not to overwork the fat into the flour.

The Best Fat For A Flaky Pie Crust

Each type of fat will give a different texture to a pie crust. Depending on personal taste and the type of pie you are baking, will determine on what fat to use.

Shortening: This is an all purpose fat made from vegetable oils that will give you a sturdy pie crust. The downside is that a shortening crust gives no flavor to the pie crust. To me, that is negligible since the pie crust is only part of the whole pie. This will depend upon your pie filling if you want additional flavor.

Lard: An old fashioned ingredient. To be honest, I didn’t know lard was still being produced. It is still available. Lard is made from animal fat. It has the same properties as shortening so can be used interchangeably. However, lard will give your pie crust noticeably more flavor than shortening.

Unsalted butter: This is not 100% a fat. Butter is a mixture of water, milk and fat solids. Use butter to get a flaky and delicious pie crust. However, it will not be as sturdy as a pie crust made with shortening or lard. Only use unsalted butter. You are adding salt to the pie dough so you don’t need any extra salt.

Combination of butter and shortening: Using one part shortening and one part butter is my favorite pie dough. You get the sturdiness of shortening with the flavor and flakiness of butter. This combination will make a buttery flaky pie crust that will melt in your mouth.

Oil: I have never had any success using oil as a fat for pie crust. It was difficult to roll out and had a greasy taste. I wouldn’t recommend oil at all.

Types Of Rolling Pins

Traditional wooden rolling pin made from maple: A traditional rolling pin with handles made from maple is my favorite type. Maple is a durable wood. They are relatively inexpensive and will last for years, if taken care of properly. Modern rolling pins have ball bearings in the handles to ensure smooth rolling. You need at least one of these in your baking tools collection.

French rolling pin: Using a French rolling pin will give you more control when rolling a pie dough. It can be either tapered on each end or completely straight. There are no handles so you are using more muscle to guide the pin where you want it.

Silicone rolling pin: This is a fairly recent introduction into baking. You can get one either with traditional handles or a French style. The biggest draw is the non-stick you get with the silicone. It’s not supposed to stick to the pie dough but I find myself still flouring it.

The Best Pie Pan

Is it better to use a metal or glass pie pan?

This is an area of debate. There are many opinions on which type of pie pan is better. I think it is a matter of personal preference.

Metal pans conduct heat the best but they heat very quickly. This could result in cooking the pie crust faster than the filling.

I actually prefer a glass pie pan. Glass is slower to heat and will retain heat longer than metal. That will ensure even cooking. With glass, I am able to look at the bottom of the pie crust to make sure it is browned.

Both types of pans are inexpensive. You may want to experiment to see which type suits your cooking.

Chilling The Pie Dough

It is important to chill pie dough for the best results. Chilling makes for the best flaky pie dough. This gives the flour time to completely hydrate.

The pie dough will be easier to roll and transfer to the pie plate if it is properly chilled. This also helps to prevent the pie crust from shrinking when baked.

Once the pie dough has been mixed, pour the dough crumbs onto a sheet of plastic wrap. Pull all the side of the plastic wrap over the dough crumbs and shape into a flat round disk. Place the disk into the refrigerator for thirty minutes. After chilling, the dough can be easily rolled.

If you chill the dough for longer than thirty minutes, it will need to sit out for a few minutes to become soft enough to roll out.

The Easiest Way To Roll Out Pie Dough

My favorite way to roll pie dough is to use wax paper. This makes rolling and transferring the dough easy.

1. After the dough has chilled, place the dough on a piece of wax paper that has been floured on your work surface. Flatten it a bit. Sprinkle a small amount of flour on top of the dough. Then place a second sheet of waxed paper on top of that.
2. Take your rolling pin and begin to roll in one direction. Turn the wax paper a quarter turn and roll again. Continue to do this till you have the pie dough to the desired size.
3. To determine the size needed for a pie crust, I like to place my pie dish right side down on top of the rolled dough. I like to leave plenty of dough beyond the pie dish to make sure it is big enough for the inside and the overhang.

To transfer the pie dough into the pie dish: remove the top layer of wax paper. Then flip over the pie dough into the pie dish, centering it. Carefully remove the bottom sheet of wax paper. Gently ease the dough into the pie dish then flute the edges.

To flute the pie edge, turn under the edge into the pie plate. Then using both hands, I press one finger into the dough and use the other hand’s finger press into the opposite direction. Continue all the way around the pie till you are back at the beginning.

5 Pro Tips For This Recipe

1. When adding ice water to the pie dough, only add one tablespoon at a time. You need enough water to moisten the dough, not make it form a ball. The pie dough should be like crumbs after adding the water. There should be just enough moisture for the dough to come together when squeezed between your fingers.
2. Butter should be cold. Do not let it get warm. Chop into small cubes prior to adding it the flour before cutting it in.
3. Use only ice cold water. The dough needs to stay chilled for the best results.
4. Properly cut the fat into the flour. The fat should resemble small peas. The bits of fat will make pockets of steam when baked which results in a flaky crust.
5. Do not overwork the pie dough. This happens when it is rolled over and over. The last thing you want to do is develop the gluten in the flour. This would make the pastry tough.