Flaky All-Butter Pie Crust

Name: Flaky All-Butter Pie Crust
Prep time: 39 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 1 h 9 min
Yield: 8 servings
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 2½ cups (300 g) all-purpose flour, spooned into the cup and leveled, plus extra for dusting; 1 tablespoon (12 g) granulated sugar; 1 teaspoon (6 g) fine salt; 1 cup (2 sticks) (226 g) unsalted butter, very cold, cut into ½-inch (1.25 cm) cubes, then frozen 15 minutes; ½ cup (120 ml) ice water, ice cold, ice cubes removed; you may need 1–2 extra tablespoons

From the MyKitchenBank Kitchen

A reliable all-butter double-crust dough with visible streaks of butter that bake into crisp, shatteringly flaky layers. Made by hand or food processor, with a simple fold technique for extra flakiness.

Prep: 39 min
Cook: 30 min
Wait: 2 hr 45 min
Total: 3 hr 54 min
Makes: Dough for 1 double-crust 9-inch (23 cm) pie, or two single crusts (8 slices)

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Steps

Before you start

Cut the butter into cubes and freeze for 15 minutes before starting; cold butter is the secret to flakiness.
Fill a measuring cup with water and ice, and let it sit for 5 minutes so the water is truly ice cold.
Plan for at least 2 hours of chilling; the dough can be made up to 2 days ahead.
Times above include the optional blind-baking of one crust (steps 9–10). For a filled pie, baking time and temperature depend on your pie recipe, so skip steps 9–10 and follow it.

1
Mix dry ingredients
- In a large bowl, whisk the flour, sugar and salt until evenly combined.
- Place the bowl in the fridge while you cube the butter, or use it right away if the kitchen is cool.
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Ready when: No streaks of salt or sugar remain.
2
Cut in butter
- Add the frozen butter cubes and toss to coat in flour.
- Using a pastry cutter (or pulsing 8–10 times in a food processor), cut the butter in until the largest pieces are the size of peas and walnut halves, with the rest like coarse crumbs.
- Flatten any large pieces between your fingertips.
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Ready when: Mixture looks shaggy and crumbly with visible pea- to walnut-sized butter pieces; it is not sandy or paste-like.
Tip: Don't over-mix. Visible butter pieces create the flaky layers. If the butter feels soft or greasy, chill the bowl for 10 minutes.
3
Add ice water
- Drizzle about ½ cup (120 ml) ice water over the mixture, 2 tablespoons at a time, tossing with a fork or spatula after each addition.
- Stop when the dough looks shaggy and clumps when a handful is squeezed.
- Add 1–2 extra tablespoons only if dry flour remains.
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Ready when: A pinch of dough holds together when squeezed, without feeling wet or sticky.
Tip: Dough should look a bit rough; it will hydrate fully while it rests.
4
Fold and divide
- Tip the crumbly dough onto a lightly floured counter.
- Using a bench scraper, gather it into a rough rectangle, then fold it over itself and press down 3 or 4 times to bring it together (this smears butter into sheets).
- Divide into 2 equal pieces (about 380 g each) and pat each into a 1-inch (2.5 cm) thick disc.
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Ready when: Discs hold together with no cracked, crumbling edges and show streaks of butter.
Tip: If edges crack badly, sprinkle with a teaspoon of water and press again.
5
Chill the dough
- Wrap each disc tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or up to 2 days.
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Ready when: Dough is firm but gives slightly when pressed.
Tip: If chilled longer than 2 hours, let it sit at room temperature 10 minutes before rolling.
6
Roll out first crust
- Lightly flour the counter and rolling pin.
- Roll one disc from the center outward, giving it a quarter turn after each pass, into a 12-inch (30 cm) circle about ⅛ inch (3 mm) thick.
- Dust with flour under the dough as needed so it never sticks.
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Ready when: Circle is about 2 inches (5 cm) wider than the pie plate and slides freely on the counter.
Tip: If the dough becomes soft or sticky, slide it onto a baking sheet and chill 15 minutes.
7
Line the pie plate
- Loosely roll the dough around the rolling pin and unroll it over a 9-inch (23 cm) pie plate.
- Gently lift the edges and ease the dough into the corners without stretching.
- Trim the overhang to ¾ inch (2 cm) all round.
- Refrigerate the lined plate while you roll the top crust.
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Ready when: Dough sits snugly against the plate with no air gaps.
Tip: Stretched dough shrinks in the oven, so ease it in instead of pulling.
8
Finish the pie
- For a double-crust pie, roll the second disc to a 12-inch (30 cm) circle.
- Fill the chilled shell, cover with the top crust, trim, tuck the edge under and crimp.
- Cut 4–5 steam vents.
- If the dough feels soft, chill the assembled pie 15 minutes, then bake as directed by your pie recipe.
- For a blind-baked single crust, skip the filling and continue to step 9.
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Ready when: Crimped edge is firm and cold to the touch before baking.
Tip: Bake the filled pie on a preheated baking sheet on the lowest oven rack to crisp the bottom crust.
9
Freeze the shell (optional)Oven 400°F / 205°C
- For a blind-baked crust, crimp the edge of the lined shell and freeze it for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, place a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 400°F (200°C).
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Ready when: Shell is rock-hard and cold to the touch.
Tip: Don't skip freezing; a cold shell shrinks far less.
10
Blind-bake (optional)Oven 400°F / 205°C
- Press a sheet of parchment into the frozen shell and fill to the rim with pie weights or dried beans.
- Bake at 400°F (200°C) for 20 minutes, then lift out the parchment and weights and bake 10 minutes more.
- Cool before filling.
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Ready when: Crust is deep golden brown and the bottom looks dry and set, with no pale or glossy patches.
Tip: If the edge browns too fast, cover it with strips of foil.

Good to know

Tips

Weigh the flour: too much flour makes a dry, tough crust and too little makes a sticky dough.
Keep everything cold. If butter softens at any point, return the dough to the fridge for 15 minutes.
Don't skip the rest time; unrested dough shrinks and toughens when baked.
Place a filled pie on a preheated baking sheet on the lowest oven rack to crisp the bottom crust and catch drips.

Make ahead

Dough discs keep wrapped in the fridge for up to 2 days, or frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw frozen dough overnight in the fridge. A fully lined, unbaked pie shell can be frozen for up to 1 month.

Storage & reheating

Unfilled dough: refrigerate up to 2 days or freeze up to 3 months, tightly wrapped. Baked pie: store at room temperature up to 1 day (for fruit pies), then refrigerate up to 4 days. Reheat slices at 350°F (175°C) for 10–15 minutes to re-crisp the crust.

Substitutions

unsalted butter → Half butter, half vegetable shortening. Easier to handle and slightly more tender, but with less buttery flavor.
all-purpose flour → Replace 50 g with whole wheat pastry flour. Adds nutty flavor; add 1 extra tablespoon of water if the dough seems dry.
ice water → Ice-cold vodka for half of the water. Vodka does not develop gluten, giving a more tender crust; the alcohol bakes off.
fine salt → Salted butter and ½ teaspoon fine salt. Reduce added salt to avoid an overly salty crust.