All-Butter Pie Crust

Before you start

An all-butter crust has the best flavor of any pie dough: rich, toasty and clearly buttery. Its flakiness comes from flattened pieces of cold butter scattered through the dough; in the oven, the water in the butter turns to steam and pushes the thin layers of dough apart. Shortening is easier to handle, but butter browns better and tastes much better.

The main decisions are butter size, water and rest. Leave the butter in pieces from pea size up to small flattened coins, since a dough with no visible butter bakes up mealy rather than flaky. Add only enough ice water for the dough to hold together when squeezed; too much makes it tough and prone to shrinking. Then rest it cold for at least 2 hours, which lets the flour hydrate evenly, relaxes the gluten and firms the butter. Rested dough rolls out with fewer cracks and holds its shape in the pan.

Ingredients

• 315 g (2½ cups, spooned and leveled) all-purpose flour — plus more for rolling
• 1 tsp fine salt
• 1 tbsp granulated sugar — optional; omit for savory pies
• 225 g (1 cup) unsalted butter — very cold, cut into 1.5 cm (½ in) cubes
• 120–150 ml (½ cup to ⅔ cup) ice water — strained of ice

Method

1. Whisk the flour, salt and sugar in a large bowl. Add the cold butter cubes and toss to coat them in flour.
2. Cut or press the butter into the flour until the largest pieces are the size of peas or small flattened coins. Some flour should still look dry; you want distinct pieces of butter, not a uniform crumb.
3. Drizzle 120 ml of ice water over the mixture while tossing with a fork. Squeeze a handful: if it holds together and feels slightly tacky, stop. If it crumbles, add more water 1 tbsp at a time, up to 150 ml in total.
4. Turn the shaggy dough onto the counter and press it together. Divide it in half, shape each half into a disk about 2.5 cm (1 in) thick, and wrap them tightly.
5. Refrigerate the disks for at least 2 hours, or up to 2 days. When ready, let a disk soften for 5 to 10 minutes so it can be rolled without cracking.
6. On a lightly floured counter, roll from the center outward, rotating the dough a quarter turn every few strokes and dusting with flour underneath as needed. Aim for a 30 cm (12 in) round about 3 mm (⅛ in) thick.
7. Roll the dough loosely around the pin and unroll it over the pie plate. Ease it into the corners without stretching, trim to 2.5 cm (1 in) of overhang and refrigerate for 30 minutes before filling or baking.

Tips for success

• On a warm day, put the flour and cubed butter in the freezer for 15 minutes first, and work on a cool surface.
• If the dough cracks at the edges as you roll, pinch the cracks closed and keep going. Frequent large cracks mean the dough is too cold or too dry.
• To blind bake a single shell, line the chilled crust with parchment, fill with pie weights or dried beans and bake at 200°C (400°F) for 20 minutes. Remove the weights and bake 10 to 15 minutes more until golden.

Substitutions

Part of the butter

Replace 55 g of the butter with cold vegetable shortening or lard. The crust is easier to handle and more tender, but less buttery.

Ice water

Replace 2 tbsp of the water with cold vodka. The alcohol adds moisture without developing as much gluten, making a more forgiving dough. It bakes off.

All-purpose flour

Replace up to 75 g with whole wheat pastry flour for a nuttier crust. It absorbs more water and tears more easily.

Variations

Savory herb crust

Omit the sugar and add 1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme and ½ tsp ground black pepper to the flour.

Cheddar crust for apple pie

Toss 60 g finely grated sharp cheddar into the flour after cutting in the butter.

Troubleshooting

Crust shrank in the pan

The dough was stretched into the plate or not rested enough. Ease the dough in loosely and chill the lined pan for 30 minutes before baking.

Crust is tough rather than flaky

Too much water, too much handling, or butter that was worked in too fine. Stop adding water once the dough holds when squeezed and keep visible butter pieces.

Butter leaked out and the crust is greasy

The butter was warm when it went into the oven. Chill the assembled pie for 30 minutes and bake in a fully heated oven.

Storage

Refrigerate the wrapped dough for up to 2 days or freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw frozen disks overnight in the refrigerator before rolling. Unbaked lined pie plates can also be frozen, tightly wrapped, for up to 1 month and baked from frozen with a few minutes added.

Safety notes

Do not taste the raw dough; raw flour can carry harmful bacteria until it is baked. Contains wheat and milk.