A homemade butter pie crust elevates any pie with its rich flavor and flaky texture.If you are in a pinch for time, there is nothing wrong with a store bought pie crust. When our kids were young, we grabbed our share of pre-made crusts. We have found, though that just making this butter pie crust the night before can be just as easy as getting in the car and running to the store.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe:
• Simplicity: With just six basic ingredients, it’s straightforward and accessible.
• Flavor: The all-butter composition offers a rich, authentic taste.
• Texture: Achieves a perfectly flaky and tender crust.
• Make-Ahead Convenience: Prepare the dough in advance, refrigerate for several days, or freeze for up to three months.
Ingredients for Butter Pie Crust:
• Flour: Provides the structure for the crust.
• Sugar: Adds a hint of sweetness and promotes browning.
• Sea Salt (1 teaspoon): Enhances flavor.
• Butter: The key fat that creates flakiness and imparts a rich, buttery taste.
• Water: Binds the dry ingredients together to form the dough.
• Apple Cider Vinegar: Helps tenderize the dough and inhibits gluten formation, resulting in a more tender crust.
Instructions:
Prepare Ice Water Mixture:
• Combine ¾ cup water with 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar.
• Add 8 ice cubes; set aside.
Mix Dry Ingredients:
• In a bowl, whisk together 2½ cups flour, 1 teaspoon sugar, and 1 teaspoon sea salt.
Incorporate Butter:
• Using a pastry cutter, cut in the cubed butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs with pea-sized pieces.
Add Liquid:
• Pour in ½ cup of the ice water mixture.
• Mix with a stiff spatula until the dough comes together, ensuring no dry flour remains.
Form Dough Disks:
• Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface.
• Divide in half and shape each portion into a smooth, flat disk.
• Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
What’s the Deal with Blind Baking?
Blind baking a pie crust means pre-baking the crust without any filling. It’s done to ensure the crust is fully cooked and doesn’t turn out soggy—especially important when you’re using a filling that doesn’t need to be baked long (or at all), like pudding, cream, or custard pies.
Why blind bake?
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Prevent a soggy bottom: Helps the crust firm up and hold its shape, creating a barrier before you add moist fillings.
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Ensure full cooking: Some fillings (like quiches or no-bake pies) don’t need as much oven time as the crust would.
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Crisp texture: Gives you that golden, flaky bottom instead of something chewy or underdone.
How to do it:
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Roll out and shape your crust in the pan.
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Chill it (cold dough = less shrinkage).
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Line it with parchment paper or foil.
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Fill with pie weights, dried beans, or rice to keep it from puffing up.
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Bake at around 375°F (190°C) for 15–20 minutes.
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Remove weights and parchment, then bake another 5–10 minutes until golden, if needed.
Want a tip for a super crisp crust? Brush the crust with a little egg wash after the first bake—then pop it back in for a few minutes. It creates a nice seal.
Tips for Using and Baking Pie Crust:
• Keep Ingredients Cold: Ensure butter and water are chilled to maintain flakiness.
• Avoid Overmixing: Mix just until ingredients come together to prevent a tough crust.
• Proper Rolling: Roll dough evenly to avoid thin spots that may burn.
• Prevent Shrinkage: Chilling the crust before baking helps maintain its shape.
• Use Pie Weights: During blind baking, weights prevent the crust from puffing up.
• Experiment with Flours: While all-purpose flour is standard, using pastry flour can yield a more tender crust due to its lower protein content.
• Alternative Liquids: Incorporating liquids like buttermilk or vodka can reduce gluten development, enhancing flakiness.
By following these guidelines, you’ll craft a butter pie crust that’s both delicious and versatile, suitable for a variety of sweet and savory pies.
Equipment
- mixing bowl
- measuring cups
- Measuring spoons
- pastry cutter
- Pie pan
Ingredients
Instructions
- Pour water into a bowl with apple cider vinegar. Add 8 ice cubes and set aside.¾ cup water, 2 tbls apple cider vinegar
- Whisk flour, sugar and salt in a bowl. Cut in butter using a pastry cutter. Continue to cut in the butter until it is the size of peas or smaller.2 ½ cups flour, 1 teaspoon sugar, 1 teaspoon sea salt, 16 tablespoons butter
- Pour in ½ cup of the ice water mixture, into the flour. Using a plastic bench scraper or a stiff spatula, mix the water and flour together until there is no loose flour.
- Dump the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Using a bench scraper, cut the dough in half and roll each into a roll into a smooth flat disk. Wrap each disk in double cling wrap and refrigerate overnight.
Instructions for blind baking crust for a filling:
- Allow crust to sit out for about 10 minutes. Using 2 sheets of parchment paper, dusted with a little flour, roll out one of the pie dough discs.
- Carefully peel back the parchment as you ease the crust into the pie pan. Press into pan and trim edges allowing about 1 inch to hang off. Using your fingers, crimp edges of pie crust. Create a higher than usual edge as it will shrink when you bake. Place crust in freezer for at least 30 minutes.
- Pre-heat oven to 350 F. Remove pie crust from freezer, and working quickly, place a sheet of foil into crust, and add pie weights. you can also use dry beans if you don’t have pie weights.
- Bake crust at 350 F Convection or 325 standard for 20 minutes.
- Remove pie crust from oven, and lift out the pie weights by lifting up the foil. Allow crust to completely cool before filling.
Notes
Nutrition
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