All Butter Pie Crust

This all butter pie crust recipe is made from scratch for the most tender and flaky pie crust ever! Just follow these easy, step-by-step instructions for the perfect pie crust, every single time!

 

There's nothing like a big slice of homemade apple pie or creamy peanut butter pie to share with your friends and family.

I promise it's not hard at all to make a delicious, flaky pie crust from scratch. Just like our sourdough pie crust, it's one hundred times better than anything that you can buy pre-made at the store!

This all butter pie crust is versatile too. Use it to make sweet desserts like our blueberry pie or for a savory dish such as chicken pot pie.

You'll love how quick and effortless it is to make your pie crust from scratch!

Ingredients

• All-Purpose Flour: The best flour to use for pie crust is unbleached, all-purpose flour because of it's high protein content. Pastry flour is too delicate and whole wheat flour can be too grainy.
• Cold Unsalted Butter: I recommend using unsalted butter whenever you are baking so that you can control the salt levels in a recipe. 
• Ice Water/Vinegar Mixture: Adding an acid to the dough creates a more tender crust. I use white vinegar for this recipe but you can substitute it with apple cider vinegar, lemon juice or vodka.
• Salt and Sugar: Fine sea salt and granulated sugar work best.

Instructions

Prepare the water & vinegar mixture. In a one cup liquid measuring cup, place one ice cube and fill with cold water until it reaches the ½ cup mark line. Add 2 teaspoons of white vinegar and set aside.

• Combine the  flour, salt and sugar in a large mixing bowl and stir. Cut the cold butter into ¼" cubes. Use a fork to gently toss and coat them in the bowl with the flour mixture. (photo 1)
• Cut the butter into the flour using a pastry cutter (affiliate link) until the mixture forms large, coarse crumbs. (photo 2)

• Drizzle the ice water into the dry ingredients and toss with a fork until the dough is evenly moist. Use your hands to bring the ingredients together in the bottom of the bowl. (photo 3)
• Divide the dough in half and quickly form each into a disk shape. Wrap each disc tightly in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 1 hour before rolling out. (photo 4)

Tip: Add the ice water a few tablespoons at a time. Use just enough water for the dough to come together without being crumbly.

This pie crust recipe can be used for both double crust pies and single crust pies.

How to cut butter into flour with a rolling pin

What if you don't have a pastry cutter? No problem! You can easily use a rolling pin to get the job done!

Combine Dry Ingredients and Butter in a bowl. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar and salt. Toss the cold cubed butter in the flour mixture and then dump it all onto a clean work-surface.

• Roll butter into flour. Use a rolling pin to roll the butter into the flour mixture. (photo a)
• Cut butter into smaller pieces. Use a bench scraper to cut the butter into smaller pieces. Gather the mixture back into a tight circle and repeat 3 or 4 more times. (photo b)
• This will create thin ribbons of butter within the flour that will help to create a super flaky crust when baked. (photo c)
• Place mixture back into the bowl. Use the bench scraper to scoop the mixture up and back into the mixing bowl. Proceed with step 3 from instructions above.(photo d)

Tip: We've discovered an even EASIER way to incorporate butter into a pie crust. Check out how we use a cheese grater to get fine ribbons of butter in our sourdough pie crust recipe!

Tips for success

• Cold Ingredients. Always use cold butter and ice cold water when making pie crust. After you bring the dough together you'll see little spots of butter scattered throughout the dough. That's a good thing! These little chunks are what make the dough flaky during the baking process.
• Rolling out the Dough. Lightly flour your work surface and the rolling pin as needed to prevent sticking. Roll the dough out to a ⅛" thickness for the perfect pie crust!
• Use a pie shield to protect the edge of crust from over browning. Use it during the first 25 minutes of baking. 
• You can create a DIY pie shield from a strip of aluminum foil that is about 38" long. Fold the foil in half lengthwise, and fold it in half lengthwise again to create a 38" x 3" strip.

Storage

• Fridge. Keep the dough tightly wrapped in plastic, in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
• Freeze. You can freeze the dough for up to 3 months. Wrap each dough disk with a few layers of plastic wrap to avoid freezer burn.