Is there anything better than a flaky homemade pie crust? This is the basic unsweetened all-purpose Pâte brisée recipe you are going to need for your pies and quiches. It's buttery, flaky, and tender. Today, I share my no-fail method using a food processor but you can also do this crust by hand.
Table of Content
Pie crust sounds intimidating, and yet it is really not difficult to make. We always have flour, butter, salt, and water at home. Don't we? Yet, most people will take the trouble to go out and buy store-bought pie crust instead of just making it themselves. And, it's often just because we perceive it as being difficult to make.
A small word of advice, try making it at least once and you will be pleasantly surprised how easy and do-able this is. Furthermore, pie crust is the one recipe where you get rewarded for being imperfect. While in most recipes, we aim for perfection, in a pie crust, less is better. Since, if you do less with that dough it will reward you with the flakiest pastry. Does that sound difficult?
About this recipe
This is my favorite recipe that I have been using in all my pies and quiches. It is made with all butter because I do love that nice rich buttery flavor.
Make sure the butter is chilled so you get a nice flaky crust. If your butter melts you will lose that flakiness. The pieces of fat in the dough melt in the oven during baking, this fat creates steam. This steam creates the separation in the dough which results in that flakiness.
My secret to making a good pie dough is to chill everything I use in the fridge for an hour. I measure my ingredients and leave it in the fridge. Flour, butter, water. That way when I am ready to make the crust it takes me just about 5 minutes using a food processor or 10 minutes by hand.
Below you will find my tips and tricks as well as frequently asked questions and troubleshooting that will help you master a single or double crust every single time.
Ingredients and substitutes
- Butter - I like using all butter for that superior butter flavor but you can also use half vegetable shortening. My mom used half high-fat vegetable shortening. Make sure to chill the shortening for at least an hour before you use it.
- Flour - Use a good unbleached all-purpose flour. Do not use self-rising or bread flour. We want a flaky pie crust that does not rise or become chewy.
- Salt- Don't forget to add salt to your pie crust it does bring out the flavor. My mom would add a teaspoon of sugar in her pie crust too. We loved her pies and quiches.
- Water - you want chilled water from the fridge. You can add ice to your water to chill it. Do not add ice directly to the dough it will eventually make the dough soggy. Also do not use milk as it will the milk solids will burn and give a very dark crust.
Step by step instructions
- Cut butter into cubes and place in the freezer for 10 minutes.
- Measure out the chilled water (I like to use ice in my water).
- Add flour and salt in the food processor.
- Followed by the butter cubes.
- Pulse for 30 seconds or more until fine bread crumb consistency.
- Add the chilled water thru the feeding tube while the processor is on.
- The mixture will still be crumbly, but when squished with your hands you should be able to form a ball.
- Remove onto a clean worktop.
- Bring it all together but do not knead. It will be a rough dough and that's a good thing.
- For a double crust, divide into two (more for the top and less for the bottom).
- Wrap in parchment paper (in the video I've used cling wrap but these days I have switched to parchment paper).
- Place in the fridge to chill for an hour at least.
Roll the crust
- Dust the work board with flour.
- Open the dough and roll carefully so it does not crack too much.
- Use your pie pan as a guide to know how big you need it.
- When you reach the desired size, transfer the dough without cracking.
- Fold the pastry in half then quarter. Place it on the pie pan and open the folds (shown in images below for double pie crust).
- Alternatively, place the pastry over the rolling pin to transfer (see video).
- Gently fit it to the pie pan especially in the bottom edges.
- Cut the excess from the edges leaving a ½ inch for crimping.
- Fold the excess under so you have a pretty round edge.
- Crimp the edge by forming a V shape with your thumb and index finger.
- Let cool in the fridge for 15 minutes.
- Preheat the oven at 200 C / 400 F.
- Line the pie with parchment paper, then fill the center with pie weights or baking beans.
- Bake for 15 minutes - then remove the pie weights and parchment paper.
- Add the filling and bake it further for as long and necessary - until the filling is cooked.
- If the pie edges get too dark just tent the edges with foil or pie shield to prevent it from becoming too dark.
The secret to making the perfect crimp for your pie crust?
- Use the edge of your pan to help support the crimp. Cut the excess pastry such that when you fold it sits on top of that edge.
- So once you crimp it stays on that edge all through baking.
- As a result, when baked you get a perfect crimp.
Frequently asked questions
The basic crust ingredients are butter, flour, water, and a pinch of salt. Often a tiny amount of vinegar (½ tsp) is added in the belief that it tenderizes the pie dough. Vinegar inhibits the development of gluten resulting in a flaky crust.
You can use coconut oil for the pie dough instead of butter or shortening. Coconut oil will need to be solidified in the fridge before you cut it into the flour just like butter. I prefer the combination of half coconut oil or half butter.
A pre-baked pie crust needs to bake for 20 minutes with pie weight (baking beans), then without any weight for another 10 minutes.
Sometimes, when the pie filling is too liquidy it can soak into the bottom crust making it soggy. One way to avoid it is to brush the bottom pre-baked pie crust with egg whites. This essentially creates a seal between the crust and the filling.
A good guide to use is a 3:2:1 part ratio which means 3 parts of flour to 2 parts of fat to 1 part of water. With that basic formula, you can make a couple of pies at the same time. It has helped me many times because I do sometimes bake 6 pies all at once.
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Printable Recipe
Flaky Homemade Pie Crust Recipe (Pâte Brisée)
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Video
Ingredients
All Butter Pie Crust
- 1 ½ cup (190 g) All-purpose flour
- 4 oz (113 g) Unsalted butter (1 stick, ½ cup) chilled, cubed
- ½ tsp Salt
- 4 tbsp (60 ml) Chilled water
Combination Butter and Shortening Pie Crust
- 1 ½ cup (190 g) All-purpose flour
- 2 oz (60 g) Unsalted Butter (4 tbsp, ½ stick) chilled, cubed
- 2 oz (60 g) Vegetable shortening (¼ cup), chilled
- ½ tsp Salt
- 4 tbsp (60 ml) Water
Instructions
Food processor method
- Cut butter into cubes and place in the freezer for 10 minutes
- Measure out the chilled water (I like to use ice in my water)
- Add flour and salt in the food processor
- Followed by the frozen butter cubes (add vegetable shortening one tablespoon at a time)
- Pulse for 30 seconds or more until fine bread crumb consistency
- Add the chilled water through the feeding tube while the processor is on
- The mixture will still be crumbly but when squished with your hands you should be able to form a ball.
- Remove onto a clean work surface.
- Bring it all together but do not knead. It will be a rough dough and that’s a good thing.
- Wrap in cling or plastic wrap
- Place in the fridge to chill for an hour at least.
Roll the crust
- Dust the work board with flour.
- Open the dough and roll carefully so it does not crack too much.
- Use your pie pan as a guide to know how big you need it.
- When you reach the desired size, transfer the dough without cracking.
- Fold the pastry in half then quarter. Place it on the pie pan and open the folds.(shown in image for double pie crust or see video)
- Alternatively, place the pastry over the rolling pin to transfer (show in images for single pie crust or see video)
- Gently fit it to the pie pan especially in the bottom edges
- Cut the excess from the edges leaving a ½ inch for crimping.
- Fold the excess under so you have a pretty round edge.
- Crimp the edge by forming a V shape with your thumb and index finger.
- Let cool in the fridge for 15 minutes.
Bake the crust
- Preheat the oven at 200 C / 400 F.
- Line the pie with parchment paper, then fill the center with pie weights or baking beans.
- Bake for 15 minutes – then remove the pie weights and parchment paper.
- Add the filling and bake it further for as long and necessary – until the filling is cooked.
- If the pie edges get too dark just tent the edges with foil or pie shield to prevent it from becoming too dark.
Recipe Notes
6 Tips for making the perfect flaky crust every single time
The secret to making a perfect crust is not only in the recipe but in the method of making it.- Fat - you will see a big difference in the quality of your crust based on the fat you use. If you ask my mom, it can't be all butter. It had to be mostly full-fat GHEE (Shortening) and some butter for flavor. The higher the ratio your fat is, the better the crust.
My grandmother would use 100% lard (animal fat). For her, making a crust with butter is a No-No! And yet, she lived healthily until 89.
I, on the other hand, never use lard for making my pie crust. I use butter or sometimes half butter and half veg shortening. I'd be lucky if I live to her age..! - The amount of water in your pie dough plays a very important role in the final texture. Too much water will make your crust very tough. And too little will make it very crumbly. Crumbly is good, and yet you still want to be able to hold a slice of pie.
- Avoid the fat/butter from melting into your flour. I usually place my bowl with the flour and chilled butter into the fridge for at least half an hour before I start to work it into the dough. Those of you living in a hot and humid climate can avoid touching the dough too much with your hands by rolling the pastry between two parchment papers.
- Also, use chilled iced water to maintain the temperature of the dough.
- Cool the pie crust for at least half-hour before you bake. This will prevent the sides from shrinking.
- Let the pre-baked crust cool for 15 minutes before you add in the filling. This will prevent the liquid from being absorbed into the crust. And if your filling is very liquidy, brush the pastry with egg white, before adding the filling. This creates a seal between the filling and crust.
- If you added too much water - just add a tablespoon or two of flour and bring it all together. And if the dough is soft and sticky, which usually appears wet, it means the dough is probably too warmed up. Shape it into a ball and wrap it in cling wrap. Chill it until it firm enough to roll.
- If the dough is too hard to roll, it means it is too chilled. Give it a few minutes on the counter to thaw so it's pliable enough to roll. Because, if you try to roll when it's hard it will crack too much. You want your dough chilled, and yet, still easy enough to roll.
- It's best to chill the pastry before you bake it. That makes sure the butter stays cold. When baked, the butter melts into the dough and makes a beautiful flaky crust. And if the pie crust is not cold the dough tends to shrink.
- If you live in a hot and humid climate - place the flour and salt in a bowl and keep the bowl in the fridge for about an hour. This will keep the ingredients cold. Avoid touching the dough too much with your warm hands. Also, flip the dough over the rolling pin when possible. Work on the back of a chilled baking tray rather than a counter-top. And chill the tray in the fridge when you let it rest. That way the dough and tray will stay cold at all times.
Nutrition Information
The nutrition information and metric conversion are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee its accuracy. If this data is important to you please verify with your trusted nutrition calculator. Thank you
Cindy Alger
Pastry Day 7 Done