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Perfect Pie Crust

4.0 (4) 4 REVIEWS

This classic pie crust recipe uses just a few simple ingredients, and is
perfect for pies and tarts year-round.

By Martha Stewart Test Kitchen | Updated on September 20, 2023

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Yield:
2 - 10-inch crusts

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Whether you’re perfecting your holiday pies or throwing together a rustic

summer fruit tart, every home baker should have a reliable recipe for
tender and flaky pie crust. This pie crust recipe is as dependable as they
come. A few simple ingredients are mixed by hand—no need to dirty the
food processor—to make perfect pie dough with minimal cleanup.

Perfect Pie Crust

PHOTO: RACHEL MAREK

Tips for Making Perfect Pie Crust

Work with cold ingredients. Chilled butter and ice-cold water will help
keep the dough flaky. When the crust is baked, pockets of butter
release steam, creating flaky layers.
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Don’t overwork the dough. The butter should be the size of peas, and
you can stop mixing as soon as most of the flour is incorporated into
the dough.

If the dough starts to feel warm or sticky at any point when you’re
rolling it out, pop it back in the refrigerator for a few minutes until it is
cool to the touch.

RELATED: 8 of Martha's All-Time Best Baking Tips, According to Our Readers

Why Our Recipe Works

If anyone knows how to make a perfect pie crust, it's Martha. She's been
baking pies and tarts for decades and follows a few rules to ensure
success each time.

1. All-butter crusts reign supreme. Some recipes use vegetable

shortening or lard in combination with butter, but an all-butter crust
really does create the most flavorful pies with light, flaky layers. We
prefer unsalted butter in this recipe—that we way can control the
amount of salt that goes into the crust. You can always add more salt
to a dish, but if you use salted butter, you can't remove it if the dough
is too salty.

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2. Minimal ingredients. You might notice recipes add things like vinegar
or vodka to pie crust. These ingredients are meant to prevent gluten
from developing as quickly. We prefer to use classic French
ingredients and proper techniques to make perfect crusts.

3. Mix by hand. Work quickly and use the best tools in your kitchen—
your hands. This way, you can get a feel for the size of the butter and
sense when the dough is properly moistened.

Overall, high-quality ingredients made with love by hand will always make
for the most delicious pie crust.

RELATED: Should You Be Using Salted or Unsalted Butter for Baking?

How to Roll Dough

Dust your work surface lightly with flour to start. If the dough is
absorbing a lot of the flour, add a little more as needed. The goal is to
use as little flour as possible, because the more flour you use, the
tougher the dough will become.

Roll from the center of the dough to the edges, applying even and firm
pressure.

Keep the dough moving as you roll. Rotating the dough slightly each
time you roll with the rolling pin will ensure the crust is as perfect of a
circle as possible.

Handle the dough gently. If you need to work more slowly and notice
that the dough is getting warm, simply let it rest in the refrigerator for a
few minutes until it's easier to work with.

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How to Blind Bake

Blind baking is what separates a good pie from a great one. Blind baking
means pre-cooking the pie crust before adding the filling. Crust often takes
more time to properly bake than pie filling, so giving the crust a head-start
will prevent any soggy layers from forming on the bottom crust.

Once your crust is fitted into the pie tin, line the pastry shell with a layer of
parchment paper or aluminum foil, then fill to the brim with pie weights or
dried beans. Bake just until the dough begins to brown and feels dry to the
touch. At this point, you can remove the parchment and pie weights and
continue baking just until lightly browned all over. Once cooled, the crust is
ready for filling.

RELATED: Blind Baking a Pie Crust Is the Best Way to Avoid a Soggy Bottom—

Here's How to Do It Right

Ingredients
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1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled, plus more for pie plate

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling out dough

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water

Directions

Perfect Pie Crust Ingredients

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 PHOTO: RACHEL MAREK Ad

Step 1

Cube butter:
Cut each stick of butter into 8 pieces, and refrigerate until needed.

Step 1 Perfect Pie Crust

PHOTO: RACHEL MAREK

Step 2
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Mix dry ingredients:
Place the flour, salt, and sugar in a large mixing bowl, and mix to combine.

Step 2 Perfect Pie Crust

PHOTO: RACHEL MAREK

Step 3

Incorporate butter into dry ingredients:

Add the chilled butter. Using a pastry blender, incorporate the butter into
the flour mixture; the mixture should resemble coarse meal with small
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Step 3 Perfect Pie Crust

PHOTO: RACHEL MAREK

Step 4

Finish mixing dough:

Drizzle 2 tablespoons ice water over the flour-butter mixture, and blend.
Repeat with an additional 2 tablespoons water. At this point, you may
have to add more water: When a handful of dough squeezed together just
holds its shape, you've added enough; if the dough crumbles, continue
incorporating water, 1 tablespoon at a time, checking the consistency after
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Step 4 Perfect Pie Crust

PHOTO: RACHEL MAREK

Step 5

Divide dough:
Turn the dough out onto a clean work surface. Divide into two equal
pieces, and place on two separate sheets of plastic wrap.

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Step 5 Perfect Pie Crust

PHOTO: RACHEL MAREK

Step 6

Form into disks and chill

Flatten, and form two disks of dough. Wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1
hour.

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Step 6 Perfect Pie Crust

PHOTO: RACHEL MAREK

Step 7

Prepare to roll out pie crust:

Lightly dust a clean, dry work surface with flour. Place the chilled dough in
the center of the work surface, and dust the dough as well as the rolling
pin with flour.

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Step 7 Perfect Pie Crust

PHOTO: RACHEL MAREK

Step 8

Roll to 1/8-inch thick:

Position the rolling pin on the center of the disk, and begin rolling the
dough away from you. Give the disk a quarter turn, and roll again.
Continue turning and rolling until you have an even 1/8-inch thickness.
Turning the dough as you roll will prevent it from sticking to the work
surface. A dry pastry brush is handy to remove any excess flour during and
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Step 8 Perfect Pie Crust

PHOTO: RACHEL MAREK

Step 9

Arrange crust in pie tin:

Lightly butter the pie plate. To minimize stretching when moving the
dough, roll it around the pin, lift up, and unroll over the buttered pie plate.

Step 9 Perfect Pie Crust

SKIP PHOTO: RACHEL MAREK

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Step 10

Trim and fold overhang:

Using your fingers, gently pat the dough into place. Trim any excess dough
with a paring knife or kitchen shears, leaving a 1-inch overhang; then fold
dough under to reinforce the edge.

Step 10 Perfect Pie Crust

PHOTO: RACHEL MAREK

RELATED: From Double-Crust to Tarts to Galettes: Demystifying Seven Common

Types of Pie

Cook's Notes
This recipe is mixed by hand, but you can use a food processor if you
prefer: Pulse in the butter 8 to 10 seconds. Add 1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water
through feed tube with machine running.

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Perfect Pie Crust

PHOTO: RACHEL MAREK

Frequently Asked Questions

Is butter or shortening best for pie crust?

Butter undoubtedly has the best flavor and creates the flakiest layers in the
crust. Shortening, while it doesn't have much flavor, is a little easier to
work with. Crusts made with shortening will hold their shape better when
baked, especially if you're creating a decorative edge.

Why do you grease the pie plate?

Greasing the pie plate is essentially a preventative measure. While a

buttery pie crust is not likely to stick to the tin, sometimes gooey fillings
can seep into the crevices and cause the crust to stick. Brushing the pie
plate with butter creates an added barrier so you can lift out slices of pie
with ease.

What is pâte brisée?

Pâte brisée is a French term that translates to "broken pastry." It is the

most traditional form of pie dough, where butter is incorporated into flour,

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sugar, and salt, then moistened with cold water. This recipe is a classic
pâte brisée.

RELATED: How to Make 18 of Our Most Showstopping Pie Crust Designs

Pie Recipes to Use This Crust For

Martha's Lemon Meringue Pie

Chocolate Chess Pie

Rhubarb Pie

Peach Pie

Old-Fashioned Apple Pie

Virginia Peanut Pie

Chess Pie

Originally appeared: Martha Stewart Living, November 1998

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Updated by Riley Wofford

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Reviews (4)

What do you think of this recipe?

Share your experience to help others.

ADD RATING & REVIEW

Marge

10/24/2023

Love this recipe. Reminded me of my mom's pie. She used lard thogh,lol.

tinehartman

08/13/2023

Flaky and delicious, especially when I take the water super slowly (coming nowhere
close to the 1/2 cup maximum). I LOVE the large amount of butter. I used this to
make tomato pie and it was incredible; can't wait to think of how to use the second
crust. Read More

Martha Stewart Member

07/01/2023

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 I’ve made this recipe from Martha since I bought her Pies & Tarts book nearly 30 Ad

years ago. This pate brisee is the best, most closely approximating those yummy
Parisian pastries. It takes technique, use cold butter, and get a feel for the amount of
mixing and water required, as fresh ingredients and humidity play a roll in its
success. Enjoy! Read More

Martha Stewart Member

07/01/2023

The worst pie crust I have ever used. It discenagrated into nothing. I followed the
recipe perfectly. To much butter not enough flour. I will never use it again. Lost all
my good butter.

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