Classic Pie Dough

Name: Classic Pie Dough
Prep time: 15 min
Ingredients: 315 grams all purpose flour (approximately 2 1/2 cups); 1 teaspoon salt; 6 tablespoons butter, cubed, cold; 3/4 cup vegetable shortening, cubed, cold; 1/2 cup water, very cold

June 2, 2021

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

Having a simple, consistent pie dough recipe in your repertoire opens up so many options and this one is my favorite. If you weigh your flour, you will get consistent results every time and that is something that I really love about this recipe.

Baking is a science and the more unknowns you can avoid during the process, the more confident you will be about the results.

Let’s get this pie dough started…

Like I mentioned earlier, the best way to start this recipe is to weigh out 315 grams of all purpose flour. The reason that this is so important is that the amount of flour you gather in a 1 cup measuring cup can vary by a surprising amount depending on how you scoop it out and how tightly is gets packed into your cup before you level it out. The balance of flour to fat and liquid is everything when it comes to making pie dough, so weigh that flour!

In addition to 315 grams (or 2 1/2 cups) of all purpose flour, you will need 1 teaspoon of salt, 6 tablespoons of butter, 3/4 cup of vegetable shortening and 1/2 cup of very cold water.

Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl.

Add the cold, cubed butter and vegetable shortening into the flour and salt. Using a pastry cutter or two stiff forks, cut the butter and shortening into the flour until everything is worked down to pea sized pieces.

This is what we are working towards (photo above). Little lumps of butter and shortening evenly distributed throughout the flour mixture.

The final ingredient to add will be the very cold water. Start with just a few tablespoons, mix it in with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula and then continue adding more water, a little at a time, until the dough just starts to come together. You only want to add the water you need to bring the dough together. There is a chance that you won’t need the entire 1/2 cup of water, so add it slowly.

Gather the dough into a ball and transfer it onto a lightly floured surface. Quickly knead to bring it together. This should take less than 30 seconds… less than 20 seconds ideally. The less your warm hands are working with the dough, the better. You want that butter and shortening to stay cold and in pieces dotted throughout your pie dough.

Divide the dough in two equal portions, flatten them into round little disks and cover them tightly with plastic wrap. Place them into the refrigerator until you are ready to use them.

When you are ready to use your pie dough, unwrap one portion and place it onto a lightly floured surface. Flour your rolling pin and begin gently working the dough out into a large round sheet. The easiest way to roll dough out in a circle is to roll it a few times in one position, twist it a quarter of a turn to the right, roll it a few times in that position, twist it another quarter turn to the right and continue doing this until you are rolling it out equally in all directions.

Once the dough is rolled out into a large enough piece to cover your pie dish, carefully transfer it over your pie dish.

Gently work the dough into the base of your pie dish and trim away excess dough using a sharp knife.

At this point, you can use your pie dough in any way! You can get creative with your hands and shape a decorative boarder around the edges or use a sharp knife to trim away the excess dough and use it to create some strips of decorative crust to add over top.

*Note: Once the pie dough is shaped, chill it in the refrigerator until your filling is prepared. Optimally, the dough will chill for 30 minutes before you bake it (filled or unfilled). This will prevent the dough from shrinking up during the baking process.

If you need to “blind bake” or partially bake your pie dough for certain recipes, simply cover your freshly formed and chilled pie dough with non-stick foil or parchment paper and fill the interior cavity with pie weights or uncooked dried beans or rice. Be sure to take a peak around the edges to make sure that your weights are evenly distributed and fill the entire base of the pie. They will prevent the pie from puffing up during the initial baking process.

Bake at 375 degrees for about 15 minutes and then carefully remove the foil or parchment paper and weights. Gently prick tiny holes all over the base of the pie crust with a fork and bake the pie for another 5-7 minutes. The pie crust should be just starting to lightly brown. Remove it from the oven, add your filling and continue baking.

If you need to fully bake your pie crust for a no-bake pie recipe, once you remove the weights and poke your tiny holes over the base, bake for an additional 15 minutes or until the entire pie crust is golden brown. Allow the pie crust to fully cool before adding filling.

Making your own pie dough is nothing to be afraid of! This wonderfully consistent recipe developed by Sally’s Baking Addiction is my favorite and I am quite confident that it will become yours too.

Happy pie season everyone!

Print Recipe