Joy the Baker

Five Tips For The Best All-Butter Pie Crust From Scratch

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Chocolate Pecan Derby Pie

You know what breaks my heart?  Store-bough pie crust.  It’s a tragedy.  It’s a crime against good pie.  It’s illegal in at least eight states.  It’s not cool and I just can’t let you do it to yourself.  See, store-bought pie crust is usually made up of unpronounceable fats that can’t possibly taste good.  What does taste good?  Butter in pie crust.  Two syllables.  Approachable and delicious.

Let’s talk about how to make the best pie crust from scratch.  All it takes is a bit of confidence, a good amount of cold butter, tenacity, and a love of pie.

A pastry teacher once told me that ingredients can smell your fear.  It’s true.  Butter can sense your hesitation.  With these tips, I hope you’re inspired to get in the kitchen this holiday season and make a pie.  You can totally do it.  I’m a believer… and also, I’ll know if you buy a store-bought crust.   I have a sense about these things.

Here’s the lowdown on pie crust.

•  Flour, sugar, and salt are whisked together.

•  Cold, cubed butter is added and broken down into the dry ingredients.

•  Buttermilk is stirred in creating a shaggy but moist-ish dough.

•  With a wink and a prayer, dough is kneaded together, left to rest in the refrigerator, then rolled out into a buttery, sturdy, soon-to-be-flakey dough.

You can do it, here’s some extra know-how:

1.  The first rule of successful pie crust:  Keep your butter cold!

See, there’s a reason that our fat starts cold and needs to stay cold before the pie crust hits the oven.  Butter is made up of milk solids and water.  When cold butter hits a hot oven, the water in the butter evaporates quickly, helping to create a flavorful and flakey crust.  When warm, soft butter goes into a hot oven, the butter weeps in the crust before it evaporates.  No one wants a weepy butter crust.

5 Tips To The Best Pie Crust / joythebaker

2.  Dough will be shaggy and that’s just right!  

Pea size cold butter chunks dotting the flour mixture will create a shaggy and marbled dough.  Keep in mind that your dough will be on the shaggy side of cohesive once you add the buttermilk.  It’s not perfect and that’s exactly right.

3.  An hour of rest in the refrigerator is essential!

After the dough comes together into a shaggy disk, wrap in plastic wrap or wax paper and refrigerate for 1 hour.  This time is everything!  It will allow the butter to rechill and allow the moisture to distribute through the dough.

4.  Rolling out is a relationship.  

Rolling out pie crust requires patience and intention.  Once you get the hang of things, it takes about 4 minutes from start to finish ensuring that the dough doesn’t warm and ooze before it’s completely rolled out.  Flour a large work surface well.  Start in the center of the dough by rolling your pin back and forth with firm even pressure.  Pick the dough up and rotate it around the floured surface to make sure the dough isn’t sticking as you roll it out.  Don’t worry about making a perfect circle / Don’t worry if you have cracks around the edges / Don’t be scared.  You can totally do this.

5.  Chill out again!

My favorite pie tins are the small, thin metal pie tins.  They house a humble pie and the thin metal heats up quickly in the oven allowing that magical butter/water/evaporation science to create the flakiest pie crust.  Allow the pie crust to chill in the refrigerator while the pie baking oven preheats.  Butter = Cold.

to rise again the leftovers mr & mrs glasses

Let these pies into your heart this holiday season.  I want you to want this.

•  Bourbon Pecan Pie with Dark Chocolate // Rich and nutty with melted chocolate and bourbon, too!  Maybe this pie instead of Thanksgiving turkey?  Why not?

•  Dad’s Perfect Sweet Potato Pie // No exaggeration when I say this is perfect.  Creamy, earthy, not just pumpkin pie, super extra delicious just do it.

•  Salty Honey Pie // Sweet, salty, and creamy.

•  Creamy Pumpkin Pie Bars // A press-in crust with butter and oats if you’re still intimidated about the whole pie crust situation.  I’m looking out for you.

Print
Buttermilk Pie Crust

makes 2 pie crusts

Buttermilk Pie Crust

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cold, cut into cubes
  • 1/2 cup cold buttermilk plus 2 to 3 tablespoons more if your dough is dry

Instructions

  1. To make the crust, in a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, and salt. Add cold, cubed butter and, using your fingers, work the butter into the flour mixture. Quickly break the butter down into the flour mixture, some butter pieces will be the size of oat flakes, some will be the size of peas.
  2. Create a well in the butter and flour mixture and pour in the cold buttermilk. Use a fork to bring to dough together. Try to moisten all of the flour bits. On a lightly floured work surface, dump out the dough mixture. It will be moist and shaggy. That’s perfect. Divide the dough in two and gently knead into two disks. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
  3. To assemble the pie, remove one of the pie dough disks from the fridge. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough out into about a 13-inch round. Roll the dough a few strokes, then use your fingers to move the emerging circle around the floured surface. This ensures that the dough isn’t sticking to the work surface. The circle won’t be perfect, that’s ok.
  4. Try not to get any tears in the rolled out dough, but if you do, they can be patched together with extra dough. When you roll the dough and you can see it start springing back, that means that the butter is warming and the crust shouldn’t be rolled out anymore. Gently lift the 13-inch round from the floured surface and center in a deep 9-inch round pie dish. Place in the fridge while you roll out the top crust.
  5. Roll out the top crust just as you did the bottom crust, moving the dough across the floured surface every once in a while, and creating a roughly 13-inch circle.
  6. Bake pie according to your particular recipe. Share. Enjoy!
https://joythebaker.com/2014/11/five-tips-best-butter-pie-crust-scratch/

 

Filed Under: Pie

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Vaughan G.

    I seem to always have plain or Greek yogurt in the fridge. To make a substitute for buttermilk I just add a little milk or water to it. Works great. I use it for biscuits, pie crusts and about anything that calls for buttermilk.

    Reply

  2. Sarah Drain

    Lol ohhhh man…. I just made this and was SO CONFUSED as to what I did wrong when the crust turned out to be a soggy catastrophic mess… I cut the recipe in half but somehow only saw 1 1/2 cups flour so I only put in 3/4 cups flour!! Gaaaaa. Well I guess I’ll just have to make more pie, darn :)

    Reply

  3. Kim K.

    My new favorite pie crust recipe! The dough was so easy to handle and rolled out like a dream, and the baked crust is incredibly flaky. I didn’t have buttermilk, so I subbed in whey (left over from making yogurt this week). Also, I took a shortcut and used my Cuisinart, first to pulse the butter/flour mixture and then to pulse in the liquid. The results were divine. This will be my go-to crust from now on. Thank you!

    Reply

  4. emily

    Joy- I love making homemade pie crust. I’m planning to make a couple of apple pies for Thanksgiving. I don’t do a top on mine, I do like a brown sugar oat crumble on top- the biggest problem I have is that the dough really shrinks up along the edges. It’s like the edges sink into the pie pan and shrivel up. What am I doing wrong? I don’t even think about doing a decorative edge as it usually shrinks up to much!

    Reply

  5. Shannon M

    Ok, so, I thought I sucked at making pie dough… it never turned out, it always slumped, and I didn’t like the flavor enough to go to all the work. I used Pillsbury.
    THIS PIE DOUGH IS AMAZING, JOY!! I am now a pie-baking fool. It has worked perfectly and been intensely flaky and delicious every time I have used it.
    You. Are. My. Pie. Hero. :) :) :)

    Reply

  6. Kristyn

    Thanks! I failed at a pie crust about 10 years ago, and vowed to never try it again. I’m glad I did. This was very good.

    Reply

  7. Naomi

    I made your crust for the Bourbon Pecan Pie with Dark Chocolate on your site for Thanksgiving. I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it is to make pie crust from scratch. I’m glad that I did, because it was completely delicious! Everyone raved about this pie. I will definitely be making it again for Christmas, because I can’t wait until next year to have it again. :-)

    Reply

  9. Michelle

    I used your recipe for my Thanksgiving pie (maple bourbon pecan). It is now my absolute favorite pie crust recipe ever. Thanks for sharing it!

    Reply

  10. Amy

    I’ve always been disappointed with pie crust recipes (even Smitten’s is too finicky and inconsistent) but I made yours for Thanksgiving and WOW! I’m sold. Tender, flaky, and didn’t get gummy underneath! THANK YOU!!!

    Reply

  11. Cindy Bohli

    Hi Joy! I just made this dough & am waiting on it to finish chilling. It tastes so good raw, I can’t wait ’til it’s all baked up, filled with delish apples & spices!! Hope you have a lovely Thanksgiving!!

    Reply

  12. Jenn

    Joy! Made this dough last week in prep for this week, followed your tips & recipe. Took it out of the freezer yesterday. Baked 3 pies today and WOWSA! Haven’t eaten the pie yet, but had raw scraps I couldn’t stop eating… well did stop enough to save some and make little cinnamon sugar rolls with the dough that was left. AMAZING! So flaky! So tasty! Thank you!

    Reply

  14. stephanova

    Thank you, Joy. I made this today (in Denver — high altitude — no less) and it turned out beautifully for a two crust apple pie. This is officially my go-to pie crust!

    Reply

  21. Keena

    I’ve used this crust for chicken pot pie twice now, and can vouch that this is the best pie crust I’ve ever made/eaten!

    Reply

  22. Lauren

    Hi Joy!! I have a pie baking contest coming up at work, and am looking for a pie that will really knock the socks off my 40+ coworkers. I’ve made a few of your pies before, but am wondering if you would recommend one to be an especially delicious crowd-pleaser? Thanks so much!

    Reply

  23. cpauldin

    I make crusts, but in a pinch I will use store-bought. If that’s what it takes to get people to bake- use store-bought! We don’t all churn our butter or grind our own flour- we use store-bought. No haters among cooks! :)

    Reply

  25. thenightbakery

    I recently discovered keeping your flour in the freezer is immensely helpful when making pie crust. One incident with flour bugs led me to keeping it there and it made my pie crust even mor flaky and delicious!

    Reply

  28. HappyBaker

    Going to try your pie pastry recipe with our Thanksgiving pumpkin pie next week! Thanks! Can i double the Creamy Pumpkin Pie Bars recipe and bake in a 13 x 9 dish? Hoping the pie to crust ratio remains fine. Thanks for your advice!

    Reply

  29. Abby Barstow

    Before I had my son I worked at a local bakery and making pie shells was one of my jobs. I’m actually going back this weekend to help them make pie shells for Thanksgiving. I had to make so many pie shells last year I could cry thinking about it….I am only making one or two pie crusts for my family’s Thanksgiving and I am dreading the rolling out process…the bakery has a sheeter and it’s amazing and so so helpful!

    Reply

  30. Kenneth

    I don’t know if you’ve tried this trick…. but I freeze my butter and then grate it. It requires a lot less manhandling and gets those pea shapes without issue.

    Reply

  36. Kalin

    Thanks to one of your older posts I had the confidence to make a pie crust from scratch for the very first time this weekend! I was a bit scared that it wouldn’t turn out okay, but I kept thinking of your “hell yes you can make your own pie crust, don’t buy that stuff from the store” attitude when it comes to pie crust. The crust turned out perfectly and I’m a make your own pie crust convert from now on.

    Reply

  37. Amy

    Thanks for the help, Joy! I have a couple of questions. 1) My crusts ALWAYS shrink. Even if I roll it out, put in the pie plate, make it look as pretty as I can, and then allow it to chill in the freezer…shrinkage happens. It’s inevitable. Any thoughts on what I might be doing wrong? 2) In the above buttermilk pie crust recipe, can you freeze it before rolling it out; if so, how long will it keep for in the freezer? Thanks so much for your help!

    Reply

  38. tracy

    Yum! I came to your demo and book signing in Tulsa and you inspired me to make a pie at Thanksgiving. I think I’m actually making your apple crisp and one of your pies. Thank you for inspiring me and for all your baking knowledge!!

    Reply

  43. Kelsey

    Can this pie crust be made in advance (Saturday or Sunday before Thanksgiving) and then baked with the filling the day-of? Should it be frozen for the few days in-between, or can it stay in the fridge? Pie crust making novice here but would like to try it!

    Reply

  44. Marine

    Thanks Joy! Pie crust is the easiest thing in the world to make. I don’t even use sugar, and I use water instead of buttermilk…learned it at my grandma’s side :)

    Reply

  46. Melissa

    Joy, if you haven’t tried a butter & duck fat pie crust, then you should get on that right away. I made one a few weeks ago. It was super flaky with an added depth of flavor you just don’t get from 100% butter or butter & shortening pie crusts. Where I am they sell little containers of ready to use duck fat in all the grocery stores, and using it in cooking and baking has quite possibly changed my life (for the better)!

    Reply

  47. Carolyn

    I would love a future tutorial on pre-baking a pie crust. Every time I try I end up with a sagging butter-blob. I use kidney beans as my pie weights, is it time to invest in the real deal?

    Reply

    • Arianne

      I have the same problem with pre-baking! I’ve used beans and ceramic pie weights, with no difference. I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong? Is it the pie container? I usually use an Emile Henry one. Could that be it?

      Reply

    • Lydia Boone

      Try using a fork to prick holes in the bottom (venting) – nothing fancy, just rough stab about an inch and a half apart all around and maybe three spaced kind of evenly in the middle. No bubbles because air isn’t trapped under the dough. This works so well, I threw away my beans.

      Reply

  49. Jess Melgey

    I initially read the sixth word in 4. as “tears” pronounced “teers,” as in the stuff that comes out of your eyes when you are really upset about your lopsided, crumbly pie dough situation. I will try not to get any tears or tears in the rolled out dough. Thanks, Joy.

    Reply

    • annette

      Loll that’s exactly how I read that too! Not sure why pie crust is such an enigma to be…I can bake bread in my sleep, and creme brûlée with my eyes closed…but the elusive pie crust humbles me every time.

      Reply

  50. The Kitchen Snob

    Well calling myself The Kitchen Snob I have to admit – it should be a crime to use store bought crust. But what about those (like me) whose countertops are circa 1990 ceramic tile? The thought of rolling dough into the grout grooves really freaks me out. :-) This is why I hope Santa brings me a giant butcher block board from Williams Sonoma!

    Reply

    • Liz Price

      Buy yourself a Roul’pat to roll out your pastry on. Best invention ever! I love mine. No more rolling on the counter.

      Reply

  51. Girl Named Allyn

    I made salty honey pie last night (DROOL SWOON), and… I used store bought. DON’T HATE ME. I just didn’t have the butter or time! But I swear on my bottle of bourbon, next time I will make the crust!

    Reply

  53. marisa2014

    You are so right about fear– bread is the same way. There you have a craggy mass of dough on your board it can sense if you approach it with hesitation. You have to take control and not be afraid of getting your hands full of wet dough. Yep!! I am definitely going to try the crust. Have you ever made it with vodka? I read about that too but haven’t tried it.

    Reply

  55. Amy U

    I totally agree Joy that store bought pie crusts are a CRIME! I have made it my mission to teach my friends how to make homemade pie dough. That being said I still hope to attend one of your pie making workshops at King Arthur flours someday! Can’t wait to try a few of these pies for Thanksgiving. Happy Holidays to you!

    Reply

  58. Jennifer Crowder

    Hi Joy:
    Is there something I could substitute for buttermilk? I live in Thailand and you can not purchase buttermilk here?
    Thanks

    Reply

    • K

      You can substitute buttermilk by adding a tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice and topping up with milk to make 1 cup. Easy as pie! You could also make real buttermilk if you have heavy cream. The Internet has many options!!

      Reply

    • Princess

      you can do this: Stir 1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice into 1 cup of whole milk, then let it stand for 3 minutes. Or google buttermilk substitute ;)

      Reply

    • Etienne Steyn

      Good substitute for buttermilk is 1 cup of milk, 1 1/2 teaspoons of cream of tartar and 1 tablespoon of white vinegar. Just stir until thick and use

      Reply

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