Flaky Pie Crust (3 Ingredients)
To make this easy, flaky pie crust you just need flour, some butter, and water. Whether you make the pie dough by hand or use a food processor, you’ll end up with a perfectly flaky crust once baked – no shortening needed. This traditional all butter shortcrust pastry is a great staple for many sweet and savory dishes including quiches and fruit pies.
Homemade shortcrust pastry is one of those recipes that can be intimidating at first. But once you’ve made it, you won’t be going back to store-bought one, I promise. It not only tastes so much better using butter only, you’ll also save money by making it yourself and avoid fillers and preservatives.
The dough stores well in the fridge and freezer, making it an excellent staple to add to your weekly meal prep routine to make recipes such as my shrimp quiche quickly from-scratch.
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Flaky Pie Crust
Equipment
- 1 Rolling Pin
- 1 Food processor optional
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup cold salted butter
- 3 tbsp ice water
Instructions
- Sift the flour into a medium size bowl and make a well in the middle with the back of your hand.1 cup all-purpose flour
- Grate the cold butter by hand and add it to the flour. Roughly combine the flour with grated butter by hand, retaining the butter flakes.1/2 cup cold salted butter
- Add 1 tbsp of ice water at a time until a rough dough just comes together. You may not need all 3 tbsp of water.3 tbsp ice water
- Shape it into a disc and wrap the dough tightly with clingfilm or a damp tea towel. Place it in the fridge for 30 minutes to cool.
- Remove the dough from the fridge, unwrap it and start rolling it into a 30cm diameter circle on a lightly floured surface with a rolling pin. If it's too hard to roll out, leave it on the counter for 5-10 minutes.
- Once the dough is 1/4 inch thick, add it to your pie or quiche dish. Avoid stretching the dough when placing it into the dish. Remove any excess dough.
- Cool the dough in the pie dish for another 15 minutes to prevent it from shrinking while baking.
- Remove it from the fridge and pierce the bottom of the dough with a fork to prevent air bubbles from forming when baking it.
- Bake it blind for 15 minutes in a preheated oven at 350F (180C) until golden brown. You can use dried beans, uncooked rice, or pie weights to blind-bake the crust. Add your chosen sweet or savory filling!
Notes
Nutrition
Ingredients and substitutions
- Flour – All-purpose flour works well for this recipe. Make sure you sift it.
- Butter – Cold, salted, grass-fed butter makes delicious, flaky pastry. Alternatively, you can use other fats such as lard, shortening, or suet.
- Water – Ice cold water prevents the butter from melting. Use filtered water from the fridge with a couple of ice cubes or place some water in the freezer for a few minutes.
Food processor method
To make the pie crust in a food processor, simply add the flour and cubed butter to the bowl. Pulse it a couple of times until you have a crumbly mixture. Add cold water 1 tablespoon at a time, pulsing it briefly between each addition until the pie dough just comes together. Avoid over-mixing it. Remove the dough from the food processor, shape it into a disc, and wrap it in clingfilm. Pop it into the fridge for 30 minutes to cool. Follow the instructions in the recipe from step 5.
Make the perfect pie crust every time
- Cold butter is the key to making a flaky pie crust. Pop it into the freezer for 10 minutes on a hot day.
- By grating the butter you’ll ensure it’s evenly distributed in the pie crust and holds its shape. You don’t want to work the butter into the flour.
- Gently toss the butter flakes in the flour by hand until they’re coated and you end up with a crumbly texture.
- Add as little ice water as possible, 1 tbsp at a time. Too much water increases the gluten in the dough making it tough and less flaky. You want the dough to come just together, avoid over-mixing it.
- The cooling period is essential for the crust’s flaky texture. Don’t skip it!
- Once you lined a pie dish with the dough, cool it again for 15 minutes in the fridge for it to retain its shape. Otherwise, it will shrink while baking.
