How to Make Pie Crust By Hand

Published: Sep 10, 2024 by Kelli Avila · This post may contain affiliate links · This blog generates income via ads · 27 Comments

Jump to Recipe· 5 from 3 reviews

You don’t need fancy equipment to make great pie dough at home—just five minutes, two hands, and a big bowl! This tutorial will teach you everything you need to know for How to Make Pie Crust by Hand to create beautiful and delicious handmade pie crust!

Two hands holding a ball of pie dough over a bowl with more flour and butter in it

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After many years of baking pies in professional kitchens in very large batches with machines, I forgot how quick and simple it can be to make pie crust by hand. It wasn’t until I started this website that I truly fell in love with the simplicity of the process. There is a connection to feeling the flour, butter, and water with your hands and using all of your senses to know when you've made the perfect pie crust. I know many people feel intimidated by the "rules" and myths surrounding the process, but I’m on a mission to change that. Making great pastry from scratch is completely achievable—and learning by hand is the best way to start.

Beyond how satisfying it is to make pie crust by hand, it also results in lovely flaky pastry. Compared to making it in a food processor, the butter naturally stays in larger pieces in the dough, which can result in a flakier crust. The cleanup is simple, and I promise the results will always be worth the effort.

So, let's get to making it, shall we? The article below is jam-packed full of useful information. You can jump around using the menu below, or skip to the end of the article for the full recipe.

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Ingredients Needed
How to Make Pie Crust by Hand
Avoiding Under-Hydration (A Common Mistake)
Kelli's Best Tips
Storing Handmade Pie Crust
More Resources
Full Recipe

Ingredients Needed

At its heart, good pie dough is a balance of three key ingredients: flour, butter, and water. The water interacts with the flour to form the gluten that creates the structure of the dough. You want to develop just enough gluten so the pastry has some strength to hold its shape but not so much that it's tough. The butter coats the flour, helping to inhibit excess gluten formation, and it also creates pockets of steam as it melts in the oven, creating that flakiness we all love.

This is an overview of the ingredients needed for this recipe, as well as an explanation behind them. For the full recipe, scroll down to the end of the article.

Pie crust ingredients in small bowls on a baking sheet.

all purpose flour: Generally speaking, pastry flour is the best flour for making pastry because it has a lower protein content. But most people don't keep it in their kitchen, so this recipe it calls for all-purpose flour. If you do have pastry flour, feel free to use that instead.
cornstarch: This helps to keep the pie crust more tender by inhibiting excess gluten from forming.
unsalted butter: This recipe is designed for regular American butter. If you use higher-fat European butter, you may need less liquid and a bit more flour, so it's not recommended.
salt: This recipe was tested using Diamond Crystal coarse kosher salt. If you use Morton's kosher salt or fine salt, decrease by half for volume or use the same amount by weight. Want to learn more about this? Check out this Guide to Baking with Salt.
apple cider vinegar: This is added to keep the crust tender and to improve the flavor.
cold water: It doesn't need to be ice water, but it should be very cold.

How to Make Pie Crust by Hand

My motto is always practice makes progress (not perfection). Making pastry requires various skills that will improve over time with practice, especially when making pie crust by hand. Don't be discouraged if your initial attempt doesn't yield a picture-perfect pie. Any homemade pie dough you make is worlds better than anything you can buy at the store, so don't be worried if you are a beginner: you're going to do great!

Here is a visual overview of the steps to make pie crust by hand. The full recipe is listed below in the recipe card.

A glass bowl with flour, cornstarch, and salt in it.

Step 1: Mix the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.

A hand holding cubes of butter covered in flour over a bowl with more flour and butter in it

Step 2: Add in the cold butter and toss it around so the flour coats it all over.

Two hands rubbing flour and butter together over a bowl with more flour and butter in it

Step 3: Using your fingers, squeeze and work the butter into the flour. Continue until most of the butter looks shaggy. Some larger pieces can remain, up to the size of a marble.

A hand holding a liquid measuring cup over a bowl of flour and butter, pouring the liquid into it

Step 4: Add the vinegar to the water, then drip in ¾ of it throughout the dough. Toss the mixture together with your fingers or a spatula.

One hand squishing together a mixture of flour and butter over a large bowl

Step 5: If there is enough water, the dough should squeeze together easily with your hands. Drip in more water as needed, adding only enough to bring the dough together.

A small amount of butter and flour mixed together in a large glass bowl, with a large mound of more butter-flour mixture off to the side on the counter

Step 6: Transfer the hydrated dough to a work surface, leaving any dry mixture behind. Add a few drops of water to the remaining powdery bits in the bowl, just enough to bring them together, then add it the rest of the dough.

A hand using a bench scraper to cut a mound of pie dough in half on a counter surface

Step 7: Bring the dough together into one large mass. Use a bench scraper to divide the dough in half.

Two hands pressing together a mound of pie dough on a counter surface, with a second mound of dough above

Step 8: Form each piece into a disk, place each in a piece of plastic wrap, and wrap tightly.

Avoiding Under-Hydration (A Common Mistake)

Under-hydrated dough is difficult to work with—it will be stiff, hard to roll out, and prone to cracking. It also results in a tough texture when baked. Many bakers fear adding too much water so they hold back and end up with under-hydrated dough instead. Personally, I prefer slightly over-hydrated dough because it’s easier to roll out. To avoid under-hydration, ensure there are no dry, powdery spots in the flour mixture, as they won’t disappear with resting. The dough should hold together easily when squeezed. If any areas seem dry, moisten them with a few drops of water or use my favorite tool: a kitchen-safe water spray bottle.

Kelli's Best Tips

In baking, the amount of flour that a recipe uses will determine the quantities of the other ingredients needed. So it's important to measure your flour accurately, and I recommend weighing it. An electronic kitchen scale is not a huge investment. You can get one for around $25.
The bigger the butter chunks, the flakier your pie will be. If you love the look of super flaky dough that almost looks like puff pastry, leave some of your butter chunks about the size of a marble. Additionally, you can give it a "lamination" after it has chilled and before you bake with it, as in this recipe for Ultra-Flaky Pie Dough.
Make sure the pie dough is well hydrated. Make sure there are no dry, powdery spots; they won't disappear even during resting. The dough should hold together easily when squeezed. Add more water as needed.
The whole process should take no more than 10 minutes; if it takes longer, your butter may get too warm. If your kitchen is warmer than 70°F, work quickly and use the refrigerator or freezer to chill the butter if needed.
Let the dough rest overnight. I never advise making dough the same day you plan to bake it. It's essential for the dough to hydrate properly and for the gluten to relax before you roll it. If need be, the dough can technically be rolled out about an hour after it is made, but letting it rest overnight will give you the best results.

One hand holding a stack of two plastic-wrapped rounds of pie dough

Storing Handmade Pie Crust

Pie dough keeps well either in the refrigerator or the freezer. But first, you need to wrap it well! Wrap the pie dough as tightly as you can in plastic wrap, then use a rolling pin to roll out the wrapped disk and flatten it so it fills any gaps and essentially makes an airtight seal with the plastic wrap. This helps prevent it from oxidizing (or turning a muddled gray color).

Pie dough made by hand will keep for about 2 days in the refrigerator. It will keep well in the freezer for up to 3 months. If you plan to store it for an extended period of time, wrap it in a double layer of plastic wrap.

More Resources

For more reading and resources, check out these recipes and tutorials:

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Full Recipe

How to Make Pie Crust By Hand

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5 from 3 reviews

This tutorial will teach you everything you need to know for How to Make Pie Crust by Hand to create beautiful and delicious handmade pie crust!

Author: Kelli Avila
Prep Time: 00:10
Total Time: 00:10
Yield: 2-9" Pie Crusts
Category: Pie Crust

Ingredients

2–¾ cups (330 grams) all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons (14 grams) cornstarch
½ teaspoon coarse kosher salt
18 tablespoons (250 grams) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 tablespoon (15 grams) apple cider vinegar
½ cup (120 grams) ice water, more as needed

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Instructions

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, and salt.
Add the butter and toss to coat with the flour. Using your fingers, squeeze and work the butter into the flour. Use both hands and make the motion as if you were dealing out cards. Continue squeezing and tossing until most of the butter looks shaggy. Some larger pieces can remain, up to the size of a marble.
Add the vinegar to the ice water. Drip in ¾ of it throughout the dough, then toss the mixture together with your fingers. When there is enough water added, the dough should easily squeeze together with your hands. Transfer any fully hydrated dough to a work surface. Drip in more water as needed to any remaining dry spots. Add just enough water to bring the dough together.
Using your hands, gently bring the dough together into one large ball. Divide it into two equal pieces, about 12 ounces each. Shape each piece into a rough disk.
Place each disk in a piece of plastic wrap and wrap tightly.
Using a rolling pin, roll the wrapped dough out until it stretches to the edges of the plastic wrap to ensure a tight seal.
Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, but preferably overnight.

Notes

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

This recipe was tested using Diamond Crystal coarse kosher salt. If you use Morton's kosher salt or fine salt, decrease the volume by half.

You can store this pie dough in the refrigerator for 2 days or the freezer for up to 3 months. If you plan to store it for an extended period of time, wrap it in a double layer of plastic wrap.

How you bake a butter pie crust is just as important as how you prepare it. The key rule: very cold dough should go into a very hot oven, ideally at 425ºF. However, it's best to refer to the filling recipe for any specific key details about baking the crust. See this Guide to Baking Double Crust pies for more baking tips.

This tutorial was originally published in 2020. Since then, I've updated the accompanying article and step-by-step tutorials to offer the best possible guidance on how to make it.

This recipe makes enough pastry to make one double-crust pie or two single-crust pies. You can halve the recipe if you only want to make one single-crust pie.

Some of the links on this page may be affiliate links. Everyday Pie is a participant in the Amazon Associates Program. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you.

« All Butter Pie Crust

Gluten Free Pie Crust »

Ingredients Needed

How to Make Pie Crust by Hand

Avoiding Under-Hydration (A Common Mistake)

Kelli's Best Tips

Storing Handmade Pie Crust

More Resources

Full Recipe

How to Make Pie Crust By Hand

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