A warm, flaky pie is the star of every holiday meal.
While you could easily get a store-bought pie, there’s something so magically delicious about a homemade one. Besides, making a pie crust from scratch isn’t so hard or intimidating if you keep just a few of these easy tips in mind. And if you’re feeling inspired, head down to the bottom of the post for the perfect pie crust recipe.
1. Use a hard fat instead of a liquid fat
Olive oil, coconut oil, and the like are runny and harder to work with. Stick with cold butter (or margarine, if you’re vegan) which will not only give you a flakier crust (extra cold butter will help with that), but is also cheaper and has an unbeatable flavor.
2. Opt for butter instead of shortening or a combination of the two
Shortening might give you a slightly flakier crust, but it won’t taste as good as butter. And while a combination of shortening and butter is also a solid option, the change in flavor or texture is only incremental and honestly not worth the trouble. Just stick with butter — plain and simple — for great flavor AND texture.
3. For added richness, use egg yolk in the dough.
It’ll give your pie that extra oomph and unforgettable richness everyone likens with holiday cooking.
4. Rub butter into your flour mixture, instead of blending it in.
Using your thumbs, rub butter into your dough until it’s lumpy. At this point of the dough-making process (before you’ve added the egg yolk mix), your dough should be pretty ugly and crumbly, instead of smooth and pliable. And that’s ideal!
5. Use freezing cold water in your dough to make sure the fats stay cold.
When making your pie crust dough, make sure to use ice cold water in your egg yolk mix. This will help ensure the fats in the mixture stay cold, and your crust comes out flaky.
6. Wrap your pie crust dough around a rolling pin to safely move it from your kitchen counter and into your pan.
And be gentle when you place it in the pan so as not to rip it.
7. Use your knuckles to crimp the crust and give it its iconic shape.
8. Use an egg wash to moisture-proof your pie crust.
This will make your pie crust get flaky, but also will lend a nice shiny glaze to the appearance.
9. Tap pie filling on a hard surface to pop bubbles.
Bubbles aren’t a deal-breaker when it comes to delicious pie, but a smooth surface always looks better.
10. For a perfect bake, pop your pie into an extra hot oven, then lower the temperature.
The instant blast of high heat will set the crimped pie shape and make sure the pie doesn’t lose its figure in the baking process.
11. If you’re using apple slices, put them in a lemon water bath to keep them from browning between steps.
A slice of lemon in a water bath will keep your apple slices fresh until the moment you incorporate them into the pie.
12. And let your apples macerate if you don’t want a watery apple pie.
Let apples macerate — or release moisture — by placing them in a sugar and salt bath. This will make sure your pie doesn’t get juicy or that the apple slices don’t shrink in the baking process and collapse the top of your pie.
13. Sprinkle the top crust of your pies with sanding sugar for extra texture.
It’ll give every slice an extra crunch AND shine. Any top crust needs the extra little touch.
14. Don’t forget to cut holes in your fruit pie’s top crust.
It looks beautiful, and it prevents you from the result of your hard labor turning into an exploded pie.
15. And for the perfect, clean slice of any pie, slice yourself a messy, thin one slice first.
You’ll have cleared room to set your knife down, as well as space for the pie filling to settle into place.
And if you want to try your hand at your own homemade pie crust, here’s the recipe:
PERFECT PIE CRUST
INGREDIENTS
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
Pinch of kosher salt
10 tablespoons (1¼ sticks) unsalted butter, diced and chilled
2 large egg yolks
4 tablespoons ice water
PREPARATION
Sift the flour and salt together into a large bowl.
Using only your fingertips, pinch the cubes of butter into the flour, breaking up the butter as you go, until no large lumps remain. Shake the bowl to force the large chunks of butter to the surface. If you have warm hands or this is taking too long, you can chill the bowl into the refrigerator for 20 minutes to cool back down–you don’t want this to be greasy at all!
Mix the egg yolks and ice water together in a small bowl with a fork until evenly combined. Add the liquid to the flour mixture, reserving ¼ or so in case you don’t need all of it–you don’t want the pastry to be too wet. Quickly mix everything together with a dinner fork until the dough just starts to come together. Add more liquid to the driest parts of the dough if needed. The dough is ready when it holds together in a ball when squeezed in your palm.
Transfer the dough to a clean work surface and bring the dough together. You don’t want to overwork the dough, but you need to work it enough that it is a cohesive disc with no real cracks or very dry bits.
Wrap the dough disc in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes. The dough can sit in the fridge for up to 4 days, otherwise double wrap in plastic or in a zip top bag and store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Lightly flour your work surface and unwrap a disc of chilled dough. Flour the top of the dough. Using a rolling pin, push down on the dough, giving it a quarter turn every few smushes, to spread the dough evenly and ensure it doesn’t stick to the surface. Start to roll out the dough, continuing to turn. If any cracks form, smush them back together. Roll out the dough to a circle about ⅛-inch thick.
