Pie Crust

Flaky Butter Crust

1/3 cup Water, very cold (I float ice in mine)
1/2 lb. of Butter (2 sticks, very cold, cut into 1/2 pieces)
2 cups All Purpose Flour
(I use salted butter so I leave salt out of the recipe. If you use unsalted butter be sure to add 1/2 tea. of salt to this recipe)

1. Chill the mixing bowl and beaters in the refrigerator (at least 30 minutes).

2. Dissolve the salt, if using, in the water.

3. Place the butter and the flour in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until it looks like chunks of oatmeal. Be very careful to not overwork it as it will warm up too much. Place this in the bowl of your mixer, cover and chill for at least 20 minutes.

4. Run the mixer and add in the water in little bits at a time. Start with 3 TBL. and add more as needed. Take it out when it looks cohesive. Form into two discs that are about 1" thick. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes.

5. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees or the temperature for the pie filling.

6. Roll out the dough (see my instructions below), being careful to be fast and not make it too thin.

7. Place in the pie pan. Trim the edges and prick the flour and side of the dough with a fork. This will prevent air bubbles from forming. If you are pre-baking the pie shell place about 2 1/2 cups of uncooked rice or beans or pie weights on top of a piece of parchment paper in the pie pan. This helps it keep a nice shape and reduce the effects of shrinkage. (It can be frozen at this point.)

8. Bake until lightly browned, about 20 minutes. Remove the rice, beans or weights and paper liner.


* If you are in a rush you could skip some of the chilling.

Now, here's one of my tricks: I wipe down the counter top. The moisture causes a piece of waxed paper to stay in place. I top this will a little bit of flour that I spread around with the palm of my hand. This prevents the dough from sticking. I press the dough with my hand to begin the basic shape. Then I roll it out a bit and flip it over. Once it is the right thickness I pick up the wax paper and place it, dough side down, into the pie pan. It works like a charm!


Ready to go.