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Flaky Pie Crust

Flaky Pie Crust on a blackberry pie.
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4.8 from 13 reviews

Using a few simple ingredients and an easy folding technique, you can make super flaky pie crust at home. This recipe yields a flavorful puff pastry-like flaky pie crust that will leave everyone impressed. Be sure to check out the full text above for a more in-depth analysis and instruction of this recipe, or watch the video for a visual overview.

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the flour, sugar, and salt on low speed.
  2. Dice the cold butter into large chunks (one stick should be cut into 8 pieces). Add in the butter, and turn the mixer on low (cover the bowl with a towel if flour starts to spill out). Let the paddle cut the butter into the flour for about 30 seconds. Do not overwork the butter here. There should still be large chunks of butter, with most of them being the size of a walnut, in the flour.
  3. Pour the vinegar into the water.
  4. With the mixer running, slowly stream half the water into the dough. Add remaining as needed. Please see the photos and videos for more reference. Mix until most of the dough comes together around the paddle and then immediately shut off the mixer to not overwork the dough. Scrape together the dough and transfer it to a work surface. The dough should hold together easily when it is picked up. Quickly shape the dough in a 1” thick rectangle and wrap in plastic.
  5. Transfer to the refrigerator and let it rest for at least 2 hours. If your kitchen is hotter, you may want to let it rest longer.
  6. On a lightly floured work surface, roll the dough, dusting with flour if necessary, until 16 inches long, and 10 inches wide. Brush off any flour with a dry pastry brush from the surface of the dough.
  7. Fold the dough in half vertically. Then, grab the bottom side of the long thin dough and fold it up ⅓ of the way. Repeat with the top side. You should now have a thick semi square layered piece of dough. Please see the step-by-step photos above, or the video for a visual tutorial, if needed.
  8. Roll out the dough until it is about 8 inches in length. Cut the dough in half to make two pieces of pie dough. If desired, the dough can be folded to be shaped into a circle, or left as a square. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and let it chill for at least 30 minutes or up to two days. It is easiest to roll out if it has chilled/rested overnight.
  9. When ready to use, roll out each piece of pie dough to a thickness of about ¼”, and use as desired or directed in a recipe. See notes in the post for more information about how to store it, freeze it, use it and bake it!

Notes

You can store this flaky pie crust in the refrigerator for about 2 days or the freezer for up to 3 months. If you plan to store it for an extended period of time, than wrap it up twice!

Have a question or looking for tips? The text written above the recipe is always a great first place to start! This Flaky Pie Crust was developed with lots of love, and I always include loads of explanations, tips, step-by-step photos and technical advice shared before the recipe.

Weighing your flour is the most accurate way to measure. If you aren't going to weigh it, spoon it into the cup, and then level it off. If you scoop the flour out with the measuring cup and then level, it could change the outcome of the final product.

Some readers have needed less water than 3/4 cup. This is likely due to how much the butter is worked into the flour. If too much butter is worked into the flour, it impacts the flours ability to absorb the water. Do your best to just barely work the butter in (as the recipe instructs) so that the flour can absorb the prescribed amount of water. However, start with half the amount at first, and see where your dough is. If It's still dry, add in the full amount of water. When I make this recipe, I usually add in more than the 3/4 cup, because my butter is barely worked into the flour, and that makes for a flakier pie crust.

Looking for baking instructions for this pie? See section titled: How to Bake a Flaky Pie Crust, or check out this How to Bake a Double Crust Pie.

Find it online: https://everydaypie.com/flaky-pie-crust/