All Butter Pie Crust Pastry Recipes

BUTTER FLAKY PIE CRUST

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine flour and salt. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in water, a tablespoon at a time, until mixture forms a ball. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.
• Roll dough out to fit a 9 inch pie plate. Place crust in pie plate. Press the dough evenly into the bottom and sides of the pie plate.

ALL BUTTER PIE CRUST

Steps:

• Mix the flour, sugar, and salt together in a large bowl. Add the cubed butter on top.
• Using a pastry cutter, food processor, or two forks (pastry cutter is ideal, see post above), cut the butter into the dry ingredients until all flour is coated. You're looking for pea-sized bits of flour coated butter. A few larger bits of butter is OK.
• Measure 1/2 cup (120ml) of water in a cup. Add ice. Stir it around. From that, measure 1/2 cup (120ml) of water since the ice has melted a bit. Drizzle the cold water in, 2 Tablespoons (30ml) at a time, and stir after each addition. Stop adding water when the dough comes together easily and begins to form large clumps. The dough will feel moist and a little sticky, but not feel overly wet. Do not add any more water than you need to. I always use about 1/2 cup (120ml) of ice water.
• Place pie dough on a lightly floured work surface. Using floured hands, fold the dough into itself until the flour is fully incorporated into the fats. Form it into a ball. Divide dough in half. Using your hands, flatten each half into a 1-inch thick disc.
• Wrap each disc tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 5 days before using in a pie recipe.
• When rolling out the chilled pie dough discs, use gentle force with your rolling pin. Start from the center of the disc and work your way out in all directions, turning the dough with your hands between rolls. Smooth out the edges if you notice cracks. (See video above.) Keeping your work surface, rolling pin, and hands lightly floured makes rolling out easier.
• Proceed with the pie per your recipe's instructions.

BASIC SHORTCRUST PASTRY

Steps:

• Sift 225g plain flour into a large bowl, add 100g diced butter and rub in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
• Stir in a pinch of salt, then add 2-3 tbsp water and mix to a firm dough.
• Knead the dough briefly and gently on a floured surface.
• Wrap in cling film and chill while preparing the filling.

BUTTERCRUST PASTRY DOUGH

Steps:

• Place blade insert into bowl of food processor. Add 1 cup flour. Sprinkle frozen butter cubes over flour. Add remaining 1 cup flour, sugar, and salt. Cover. Pulse in short bursts on and off until butter is broken into small pieces and looks crumbly, about 1 minute. Drizzle in ice water. Pulse with longer pulses, on and off, until mixture turns pale yellow and looks like crumbs, about 10 to 12 seconds. Scrape down sides with spatula. Pulse once or twice more.
• Transfer mixture onto a work surface. Bring pieces together to form a tight round ball of dough. Flatten slightly and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight before rolling out.

THE BEST PASTRY CRUST

Steps:

• Mix flour and salt together in a large bowl. Cut in butter using a pastry blender until the mixture resembles fine cornmeal. Pour in water slowly; knead dough into a firm ball.
• Pour in additional water as needed if dough is too dry or additional flour if too moist. Divide batter into equal halves. Roll out dough halves into rounds on a lightly floured work surface using a lightly floured rolling pin to desired thickness.
• Press one round into the bottom of a 9-inch pie pan. Use the other round as a top crust or for a separate bottom crust. Bake according to desired filling instructions.

FRENCH PASTRY PIE CRUST

Steps:

• In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, salt, and sugar. Mix well, then cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse meal.
• In a small bowl, combine egg, vinegar, and 4 tablespoons of water. Whisk together, then add gradually to flour mixture, stirring with a fork. Mix until dough forms a ball. Add one more tablespoon of water if necessary.
• Allow dough to rest in refrigerator 10 minutes before rolling out.

ALL BUTTER PIE CRUST (PASTRY)

Steps:

• Cut butter into 1/2-inch cubes and freeze for 10 minutes (not more).
• You can mix with your hands or with a hand-held pastry blender, but I prefer a food processor for ease.
• Process flour, salt and sugar together in food processor until combined, about 3 seconds. Add butter and pulse until butter is size of large peas, about ten one-second pulses.
• Using fork, mix sour cream and 1/3 cup ice water in small bowl until combined. Add half of sour cream mixture to flour mixture; pulse for three 1-second pulses. Repeat with remaining sour cream mixture.
• Pinch dough with fingers; if dough is floury, dry and does not hold together, add 1 to 2 tablespoons ice water (start with less), and process until dough forms large clumps and no dry flour remains, three to five 1-second pulses.
• Divide dough into two balls and flatten each into 4-inch disk; wrap each disk in plastic and refrigerate until firm but not too hard, 1 to 2 hours, before rolling.
• (Dough can be refrigerated for up to 24 hours. Let thoroughly chilled dough stand at room temperature for 15 minutes before rolling. Dough can also be frozen. I usually make at least one extra recipe's worth, form the dough into pie pans, then freeze for later use. Just thaw before using!).

CLASSIC BUTTER PIE PASTRY

Steps:

• Combine flour and salt; cut in butter until crumbly. Gradually add ice water, tossing with a fork until dough holds together when pressed., Shape dough into a disk for a single-crust pie; for a double-crust pie, divide dough in 2 with 1 piece slightly larger than the other. Shape into 2 disks. Wrap and refrigerate 1 hour or overnight., On a lightly floured surface, roll 1 disk of dough to a 1/8-in.-thick circle; transfer to a 9-in. pie plate. , For a single-crust pie: Trim crust to 1/2 in. beyond rim of plate; flute edge. Fill or bake according to recipe directions., For a double-crust pie: Add filling to pie. Roll remaining dough to a 1/8-in.-thick circle. Place over filling. Trim, seal and flute edge. Cut slits in top. Bake according to recipe directions.

ALL-BUTTER DOUBLE PIE CRUST

Steps:

• Use a bench scraper to cut butter into ½-inch cubes. (If butter begins to "sweat," dust with flour.) In a large, flat-bottomed bowl, combine flour, sugar, and salt. Add the butter cubes and toss to coat with the flour mixture. Use a pastry blender to cut the butter into the flour; do not smash or smear the butter. Scrape butter off the pastry blender during the mixing process and continue mixing. (If butter is softening too fast, put the bowl in the refrigerator until butter firms up, 2-5 minutes.) Continue cutting, working quickly, until butter is broken down and looks like a coarse crumble with only a few larger pieces.
• Combine vinegar with water and ice; you'll use 10-12 tablespoons of this liquid in the pie dough. Begin by sprinkling 4 tablespoons of liquid over the flour mixture; use a bench scraper or your hands to incorporate until the mixture begins to come together. Sprinkle in 4 more tablespoons of liquid and continue the mixing process. Squeeze a fistful of dough: if it holds, like wet sand, it's ready. If it falls apart, add 1-2 more tablespoons of liquid at a time, squeezing the dough to check if it holds. Bring all the dough together, sprinkling dry bits with more small drops of liquid as necessary; dough will look shaggy. Knead in the bowl just until incorporated.
• Turn dough onto a work surface and use a bench scraper to divide dough into two equal pieces. (Note: If you're making the Blueberry Slab Pie, do not divide the dough; shape it into one large, flat disk.) Shape into flat disks and wrap in plastic; refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, preferably overnight. Dough can be refrigerated for up to 3 days and frozen up to 1 month, tightly wrapped. (Note: If you're making the Peach Skillet Pie, stop here; you'll begin that lesson with two chilled disks of dough.)
• Generously grease pie dish with softened butter. Dust a work surface and a rolling pin with flour. Place one chilled pie disk on the work surface and lightly dust it with flour. (Reserve the other disk to use as a top crust for the Salted Caramel Apple Pie or Peach Skillet Pie, or to line a tart pan for the Farmer Cheese and Thyme Pie.)Roll dough by starting at the center and lightly pressing down with the rolling pin to flatten slightly. Rotate the dough and repeat, pressing down so it's evenly flattened all around, about ⅛-inch thick. Then roll outward to make a circle, rotating the dough a quarter-turn at a time to keep it even. (If dough is softening too fast, chill in the refrigerator until firm, 2-5 minutes.) Roll the dough until it's about 2-3 inches larger than the pie dish, all the way around. Use a pizza wheel to trim away the rough edges. (Save the scraps to make crust cookies!)
• Overturn pie dish onto the center of the dough circle, then remove and place it right side up on your work surface. Use the light indentation created by the rim as a guide for gently positioning dough into the center of the dish. (If dough is softening too fast, put it back into the refrigerator until it firms up, 2-5 minutes.) Fit dough gently into dish, being careful not to stretch it. Begin crimping the edge by using your fingers to roll the dough firmly so it rests on top of the rim. Crimp by using your index finger and thumb on one hand to squeeze a letter "C" into the dough rim. (Lightly flour your fingers if the dough is sticking.) Repeat, crimping the entire pie and making sure the final fluted crust sits directly on top of the pan's rim. Chill until it is ready to be filled and baked.

ALL-BUTTER PASTRY DOUGH

Steps:

• Whisk together flour, sugar, and salt in a bowl, then blend in butter with your fingertips or a pastry blender (or pulse in a food processor) just until most of mixture resembles coarse meal with small (roughly pea-size) butter lumps. Drizzle evenly with 9 tablespoons ice water and gently stir with a fork (or pulse in food processor) until incorporated.
• Squeeze a small handful: If it doesn't hold together, add more ice water 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring (or pulsing) until just incorporated, then test again. (Do not overwork mixture, or pastry will be tough.)
• Turn out mixture onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 8 portions. With heel of your hand, smear each portion once or twice in a forward motion to help distribute fat. Gather dough together with scraper and press into a ball, then flatten into a 6-inch disk. Chill dough, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, at least 1 hour.

NO-STRESS ALL-BUTTER PASTRY CRUST

Steps:

• Making the dough:
• Sift flour into a medium bowl (if using cup measures, spoon into the cups and level with a knife before sifting). Whisk in sugar and salt. Cut butter into 1/2-inch cubes, no smaller, and toss with flour to break up the pieces. Roughly smash each cube flat-nothing more! Stir in cold water and knead until the dough comes together in a ball. With a dough temperature at or below 70°F, it will feel dry to the touch.
• Transfer to a generously floured work space, sprinkle with more flour, and roll into a 10-by-15-inch sheet. Fold each 10-inch side toward the middle, and close the packet like a book. Fold top to bottom to make a thick block, then cut in half. Using as much flour as needed, roll one portion into a 14-inch round. Brush off excess flour, drape over a 9-inch tempered glass pie plate, making sure it's flush against the pan.
• Trim excess dough into a 1 1/4-inch overhang all around, then fold over to create a 3/4-inch border that sits on the rim of the plate; if positioned inside the rim, the crust will be too shallow to accommodate the filling. Pinch or press the border into a zigzag pattern, and repeat with remaining dough. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least 2 hours, or overnight. Alternately, formed crusts can be frozen up to 3 months and thawed in a refrigerator before use.
• Baking the crust:
• Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat to 350°F. Line the chilled crust with a large strip of foil (not parchment or wax paper), letting the excess loosely cover the rim. Fill with plain white sugar, a delicious alternative to options like rice or beans.
• Bake on an aluminum baking sheet until fully set and golden brown, about 1 hour. Remove from the oven and carefully lift out the foil, setting it aside until the sugar has cooled. If the sides of the crust seem puffy or pale, continue baking 10 minutes more. Cool to room temperature. Use immediately, or wrap in plastic and store at room temperature for up to 24 hours.
• Key Point
• If the temperature climbs above 73°F in your kitchen, be aware that everything from your countertop to your rolling pin and the flour itself will act as a heat source to the butter. Combat these conditions by refrigerating your pie plate, rolling pin, and dry ingredients until cool-not cold or frozen. If needed, chill the countertops of a sweltering hot kitchen with bags of ice water.
• Mix It Up:
• Gluten-Free: Replace the all-purpose flour with 4 ounces (3/4 cup) white rice flour, 2 1/2 ounces (1/2 cup) cornstarch, 1 1/2 ounces (1/3 cup) tapioca flour, 1 ounce (1/4 cup) coconut flour, and 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum. Prepare the dough as directed, using a generous amount of cornstarch for dusting. The dough will crack along the creases as it's folded, but that's all right. After portioning the dough, roll to just 12 inches. Cut into quarters and transfer to the pie plate one at a time, pressing the pieces together and then sculpting the border like clay. Chill and bake as directed.