All Butter Pie Crust

5 from 10 votes

Learn how to make a flaky all butter pie crust in this step by step tutorial! Just a few simple ingredients is all you need plus a few techniques to make the best pie crust made from 100% butter.

Prep Time20

Cook Time0

Total Time20

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: crusts (1 9-inch pie)

Calories: 1406kcal

Author: Heather Perine

Ingredients

2 ½ cups (300 g) all-purpose flour *spooned and leveled
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks, 226 g) unsalted butter cold and cut into ½” cubes
6-8 tablespoons ice water

Instructions

Combine dry ingredients. In a food processor pulse, or mixing bowl with a whisk combine the flour, sugar, and salt.
Add butter. Scatter butter over top and cut in the butter until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. If using a food processor, pulse a few times to cut the butter in. If making by hand use a pastry cutter to cut the butter in. You can also use just your fingertips and squish the butter pieces until they are smaller.
Add water. Sprinkle 4 tablespoons of the ice water over the mixture. Stir the dough together using a spatula, until the dough sticks together if making by hand or pulse with the food processor. Test the dough by squeezing some together with your fingertips. If it sticks together, then do not add more water. If it does not, then add the remaining tablespoon water one tablespoon at a time.
Chill the dough. I like to use a clean dish towel and turn the dough onto it. Bring the edges of the towel and twist it. This will bring the dough together into a cohesive mass. Turn the dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap and flatten into a 4-inch disk. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour (up to 3 days ahead of time. Use as directed in your pie recipe.

Notes

Make Ahead: You can make it up to 3 days ahead of time. You may need to let it soften at room temperature for 5-10 minutes before attempting to roll it out.
Freezing: Freeze it for up to 3 months. Let it thaw overnight in the refrigerator and then proceed with rolling it out.
Flour - Make sure you are using all-purpose flour here. It has the mid-range protein content for forming just enough gluten to hold the pie dough together and still be tender. You want to make sure you are measuring your flour correctly! Do not scoop directly into your measuring cup, but spoon in the flour and level it off. Do not pack it down in the cup. For best accuracy, measure with a kitchen scale by weight.
Sugar - You are only adding a tablespoon of sugar. This doesn't sweeten the crust but helps with browning and tenderizing the crust. You can always leave it out and the pie crust is still fantastic.
Salt- This adds a bit of flavor as well. Use a finer table salt, like fine sea salt or table salt so it dissolves into the dough.
Butter - Use unsalted butter vs. salted butter. It's fresher and you control the amount of salt in the recipe. And it has to be COLD! I cube up my cold butter, and then pop it into the freezer for about 15 minutes before I start. This helps to create a tender, flaky pie crust. You don't want warm, or room temperature butter that would get absorbed into the dough.
Water - You want ICE COLD WATER. I fill up a measuring cup and place a few ice cubes in it and keep in the fridge until I'm ready to use it. And then I'll spoon out a tablespoon at a time and add to my pie crust mixture. Cold water will ensure the butter also stays cold in the mixture.

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