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Fluted pie dough in a pie plate.
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5 from 1 vote

Easy Pie Crust Recipe by Hand

You can learn how to make an easy pie crust recipe by hand with simple ingredients! This all-butter pie crust has flaky layers that will make your pastries so delicious.
Prep Time10 minutes
Refrigerate Time1 hour
Total Time1 hour 10 minutes
Course: Pastry
Servings: 8 people
Calories: 355kcal
Author: Meymi

Ingredients

  • 325 grams (2 and ⅓ cups) all-purpose flour, dip and sweep
  • 225 grams (1 cup) unsalted butter, cold and cut into small cubes
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ tablespoon granulated sugar*
  • 6 to 8 tablespoons ice cold water**
  • 1 tablespoon vinegar,*** cold, optional

Instructions

Pie Dough

  • Place flour, salt and sugar in a large bowl and stir.
  • Add the cubed butter pieces and cover the pieces with the flour mixture. This way you can cut the butter into the flour mixture easily. If you are working in a hot environment, I suggest you keep the bowl with the flour mixture and butter in the freezer for 15 minutes before cutting the butter into the flour mixture. If you have a pastry cutter, cut the butter into the flour using it as it makes the process easier. If you don't have one, you can use a fork or two forks for this process. When there are pea-size pieces you can stop.  If there are some large pieces of butter, that's fine.
  • Add 3 tablespoons of water and all the vinegar into the mixture and stir with a spatula. Continue to add water gradually as needed, using 1 tablespoon of water at a time. You should stop adding water when the dough is moist with lumps. It shouldn't be wet. The dough should come together easily. I usually use almost 7 and ½ tablespoons of liquid(a mixture of water+vinegar).**** Sometimes it can be 7 tablespoons, sometimes 9 tablespoons. So you should check the consistency-look for a moist but not wet dough.
  • Make a ball out of the dough without overworking it. Place it on a lightly floured surface, divide the dough in half, make discs and cover them with plastic wrap.
  • Keep them in the fridge for almost 1 hour before rolling them out.

Rolling out the dough for pies

  • Flour the work surface, rolling pin and the dough so the dough doesn’t stick to either. As you roll the dough, give a quarter turn to the dough so it doesn’t stick to the surface.
  • Roll the dough into 12 inch(30cm) circle
  • Lightly flour the rolling pin and loosely roll the dough around it and gently unroll it into the 9 inch (23cm) pie plate.
  • Without stretching the dough, press it down into the pan so the dough lines the sides and the bottom.
  • If you are making a pie with a single crust, fold the edges underneath the dough. From the edges, push the dough using your index finger and push it from the other side with your thumb and index finger to flute the edges. If you are making a double crust pie and use a lattice design, don't flute the edges from the beginning. Roll out the dough into an almost 12-inch circle. Cut equal 10 wide strips that are almost 1.2 inch(3 cm)wide. After you add the filling, lattice top and fold the edges, you can flute.
  • Whether you partially bake or fully bake***** the crust, keep the dough on the pie plate in the fridge for 30-45 minutes.

Notes

*If you prefer a sweeter crust you can go up to 1 tablespoon of sugar but I don't recommend exceeding this amount.
**If you are not using vinegar, the water amount you need will be around 7 to 9 tablespoons. If the water is not cold enough, add 9 tablespoons of water in a measuring cup, add ice cubes on top.  When ready to use the water, leave out the ice cubes.   There should be 9 tablespoons of water in the cup before you use it.  This way you can know how much exact water you use to make the dough.    
***Before I start the recipe, I keep 1 tablespoon of vinegar in the fridge until ready to use.
****If you find the dough a little wet, add a little flour. You should avoid adding an unnecessary amount of flour and water as this will make the dough tough.
How to store: You can keep the dough with plastic wrap in the fridge for up to 3 days.  The dough will be hard to roll out if it stays in the fridge for more than 1-2 hours.  You should keep it at room temperature for a couple of minutes until it comes to a rolling consistency.  You can keep the dough in the freezer for up to 3 months.  Let it thaw overnight in the fridge.
*****Fully Baked Crust vs Partially Baked Crust: A recipe can ask you to fully bake the crust if the filling will be no-bake.  Or a recipe can ask you partially bake the crust if a filling bakes in a short time or the filling is too liquid so you can avoid a soggy crust.
In each case, first, you should dock the crust with a fork and then cover the crust with parchment paper and fill it with pie weights or dry beans. These weights will weigh down the crust, as a result, the crust won’t puff and shrink too much while baking.
For a partially baked crust bake at 375°F (190°C) for 18 minutes until the edges start to get brown.  I remove the dish from the oven, remove the filling, dock the crust again and continue to bake for a couple of minutes until the crust is start to get brown and doesn't look wet.
For a fully baked crust remove the fillings, dock the crust again and continue to bake for additional 18 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.
 

Nutrition

Calories: 355kcal | Carbohydrates: 32g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 61mg | Sodium: 4mg | Potassium: 52mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 711IU | Calcium: 13mg | Iron: 2mg