Most would agree that when it comes to baking the perfect pie, it’s the homemade pie crust recipe that either makes it—or breaks it. Failure can take many forms: It can be tough, greasy, cracked, sodden, shrunken, contain too much water, or too little butter. This recipe for buttery, never-crumbly crust proves it doesn’t have to be this way.
The infallibility of this recipe rests on a few key components: A good bit of cold butter makes it flaky, the addition of a little cream cheese (our not-so secret ingredient) keeps the pie dough tender, and a touch of baking powder provides insurance and extra lift. Plus, if you use a baking scale (you are using one, aren’t you?!), use it to measure your cold water, and never, ever guesstimate the right amount again.
A few words on technique: Folding your pie dough a few times after mixing is the key to a super-flaky pie crust. This simple method—a kind of lamination—smooshes chunks of butter into thin sheets trapped between layers of flour (much like croissant dough or puff pastry), which creates airy pockets as the dough bakes. And while you could certainly roll your dough out on a work surface dusted with all-purpose flour, we like using gluten-free rice flour, which you can use liberally without fear of toughening your dough.
This perfect pie crust recipe (if we do say so) makes a generous amount of dough for a single-crust pie (feel free to double or triple it if you’re making more). This means you won’t have any problems when it’s time to roll it out and line your pie plate. Speaking of which, forget glass or ceramic—metal pie pans are a must because they are excellent conductors of heat, ensuring a properly browned crust.
That’s it! No food processor, pastry cutter, or other contraptions needed. The only hard part is picking your pie filling. Whether you’re in the mood for a savory pie (quiche anyone?) or something sweet (might we recommend pecan or pumpkin, Dutch Apple Pie or banana cream pie, this recipe has you covered.
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What you’ll need
Scale
$26 At Amazon
9" Metal Pie Pan
$19 $16 At Amazon
Bench Scraper
$8 At Amazon
Silicone Pastry Brush
$11 At Amazon
French Rolling Pin
$21 At Amazon
Recipe information
Yield
Makes enough for one 9" single crust pie
Ingredients
1⅔
1
¼
2
10
Preparation
Step 1
Whisk 1⅔ cups (208 g) all-purpose flour, 1 tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt, and ¼ tsp. baking powder in a large bowl. Add 2 oz. (56 g) chilled cream cheese, cut into 1" pieces, and rub into dry ingredients with your fingers until fully incorporated (mixture will look very shaggy). Add 10 Tbsp. (140 g) chilled unsalted butter, sliced ½" thick, and toss to coat in flour, then smash into smaller, flatter pieces (about chickpea-size).
Step 2
Make a well in the center and pour in ¼ cup (60 g) ice water. Toss mixture with a fork or your hands to distribute, then knead in bowl a couple times to bring dough together (some dry bits may remain).
Step 3
Turn out dough onto a surface lightly dusted with rice flour or all-purpose flour; dust top of dough with flour. Roll out to a ½"-thick rectangle. Fold dough in half, rotate 90°, and fold in half again. Roll out again to a ½"-thick rectangle and repeat folding process, dusting with more flour as needed to prevent sticking. Pat into a ½"-thick disk and wrap tightly in plastic. Chill in refrigerator at least 2 hours and, preferably, up to 12 hours.
Step 4
Remove dough from refrigerator and let sit at room temperature 5 minutes. Unwrap and roll out on a lightly floured surface to about a 12" round about ⅛" thick. Brush excess flour off dough and transfer to a 9"-diameter pie pan. Lift edges and allow dough to slump down into pan, then press dough firmly into bottom and sides. Trim, leaving about 1" overhang. Fold overhang onto itself, pressing firmly to seal; crimp edges if desired. Chill 15 minutes.
Step 5
To blind bake: Place a rack in lower third of oven; preheat to 375°. Place crust on a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet. Line crust with 2 sheets of parchment paper (crumple parchment, then unfold so it molds to pan better) and fill to edges with pie weights or dried beans. Bake until edges are golden brown and bottom is opaque (carefully lift parchment to check), 30–35 minutes. Remove from oven; reduce oven temperature to 325°. Lift out parchment and weights. Return to oven and bake crust until bottom and sides are evenly golden brown all over, 12–18 minutes.
Do Ahead: Dough can be made 1 month ahead. Double wrap disk in plastic and freeze instead of chilling. Thaw overnight in refrigerator before using.
Editor’s note: This recipe has been updated to include additional ingredient weights.
Leave a Review
Reviews (25)
Back to TopI still prefer using a pastry cutter. It occurs to me, that you could get a similar effect by rolling out once, folding in thirds, rotating 90°, folding in thirds again and then rolling out a second time. Then the dough is only worked over two times instead of three. I use a similar technique with baking biscuits with a layer of butter brushed on top at each step. I can't help but adding that the best pie crust is made with pastry flour which can be hard to find. Red Mill might be an option but is rather expensive. Substitute Pastry Flour with All-Purpose and Cake Flour To create the most reliable substitute for pastry flour, combine 1/2 cup of all-purpose flour with 1/2 cup of cake flour for every 1 cup of pastry flour needed. I.E. Pillsbury "SoftaSilk" or "Swans Down" in the cake section. What is Cake Flour? Cake flour is a low protein flour that’s milled into a fine consistency. It contains about 7-9% protein, while all-purpose flour, a harder flour, has anywhere between 10-12%. What does this mean for baking? You see, protein content is directly related to gluten formation. Cake flour’s lower protein means less gluten is formed as you mix the batter together. Less gluten formation equates to a softer, fluffier texture.
J Bryant
Lincoln City, Oregon
4/30/2024
whenever I make a pie I use my italian Nonnas recipe which is a european type pie crust more like a cookie and it goes well with most of the pies especially pecan. It calls for 1 1/2 cup flour, 4 tbs soft butter, pinch of salt, 1 tbs sugar and 1 egg yolk vanilla and a splash of milk.
Anonymous
1/7/2024
I followed the recipe exactly except that I used a 1/3 less fat cream cheese by mistake. The dough needed a splash more water; using the rice flour made the rolling a bit easier. However, I can't understand why the dough would bake initially for a half hour and then another 25-30 minutes- seemed like that was too long. The first crust (I made two, for insurance) was very hard, definitely not flaky. I baked the second crust for less time (baked with pie beans per instruction, then another 5 minutes without) and it came out a bit softer, but not much. I agree with other readers about incorporating the butter and inconsistent measurements.
Arlene C.
Chicago, IL
12/2/2023
Is the first baking time of 30 - 35 minutes correct?
J. Anderson
Asheville, NC
11/22/2023
I used this recipe for mini pecan pies. Everyone loved it at first bite. The layers are perfection as well as the buttery crunchy flaky tastes and texture. It was a kind of powdery dough when I made it, but after chilling and folding more it came together as a crust and rolled out easily. I live in a humid climate so I did not add anymore or less of anything and even though I was not sure it would work, I am happy to report with a rest, this dough recipe is a winner as is.
Sequin MV
Coral Gables, GL
11/28/2022
I can finally make a flaky pie crust consistently - this recipe with demonstrations on how to fold the dough - is just what I needed! Thank you Bon Appetite!!
Nuria M.
South Bend, IN
11/24/2022
I weighed out all the ingredients and came out with a very wet dough contrary to what the recipe indicated would be a very dry dough. Anyone else have this experience? I'm a little concerned how this will turn out. Dough is resting overnight..
Rick C.
Portland OR
11/24/2022