Back to Basics: Pie Crust

So, you want to make a pie - I promise, it’s not as hard as it seems! While buying pie crust is definitely the easier option, making your own crust takes no time at all and can make your final product even more fulfilling.

This recipe will work for both sweet and savory dishes. It’s based on my grandmother’s recipe, which was all about keeping the dough as cool as possible. If you make that your goal, you can’t go wrong!

Pie Crust

Ingredients:

2.5 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons granulated sugar (use 1.5 teaspoons for savory dishes)
1 cup (2 sticks) very cold unsalted butter, chopped into small pieces
4 to 8 tablespoons ice-cold water

Stir together the flour, salt, and sugar. Add in the butter using two knives or a spoon, but try not to use your hands too much because you want the mixture to stay as cool as possible. You can also combine the dry ingredients with the butter in a food processor, using the pulse setting. The objective is to get the butter incorporated with the flour, creating pea-size pieces.

Slowly add in the water and mix until it just comes together as a dough. The amount varies depending on the type of flour and butter you use; it may take more or less liquid to bring together. Dump the dough out onto a sheet of plastic wrap, press together in a round, wrap well, and chill for at least an hour.

To roll out, flour a work surface well and divide the dough in half. Using a rolling pin (or an empty wine bottle if you don’t have one), roll out each half into a 1/8-inch-thick round, creating two crusts. The crusts are now ready to be used.