How to Make a Pie Crust from Scratch (for the First Time)

How to Make a Pie Crust from Scratch (for the First Time) 

There's no taste like a homemade pie in a flaky, buttery crust made from scratch. It’s worth the extra effort and your family will be happy you decided to give it a try.

This recipe for how to make a pie crust (for the first time) will help you make pie dough, roll out the dough and bake your homemade pie.

Ingredients 

4 to 8 tablespoons ice water 

How to Make Pie Dough 

Add 1 1/2 cups of the flour to a medium bowl, saving the rest for later. Add the salt and sugar. Stir a few times until combined. 

Scatter the cold butter cubes over the flour and mix briefly with a fork or spatula to coat the butter with flour. 

Work the butter into the flour with a fork or pastry blender for a minute or two. (The dough should then have a coarse texture like fresh breadcrumbs.) 

Add the remaining 1 cup of flour. Work the butter and flour again with the fork or pastry blender, until the flour is evenly distributed. (When you’re done, the dough should look crumbly with pea-sized pieces.)  

Sprinkle ice water over the mixture, starting with 4 tablespoons. Use a spatula to press the dough into itself until the dough will hold together when you pinch it. Be patient, but you may have to sprinkle on some more ice water to get it to stick. 

Place the dough on a clean surface. Work the dough with your hands to form a ball, but don’t overwork it. 

Cut the ball in half and form two disks. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and refrigerate them for at least 1 hour to make sure they're nice and cold. 

How to Roll Out Pie Dough 

Let one of your dough disks sit at room temperature for 5 minutes. 

Flour your work surface, the top half of the dough and rolling pin. Use your rolling pin to roll the dough out into a 12-inch circle about 1/8-inch thick. Add some more flour if you need to prevent sticking. 

 Turn your pie dish over on top of the circle to check for the right size. You’ll need about a 1-inch edge around the pie dish to make sure it will fit properly. 

Starting at one end, roll the dough around rolling pin, then unroll it to get it into the dish without ripping.

Carefully press your dough down into the dish and trim it with a kitchen scissors to be about 1/2-inch over the edge of the dish. Then fold the edge into itself so it creates a 1/4-inch border around the dish. 

Fold the edge of the dough underneath itself and crimp it so that it creates a thicker, 1/4-inch border that rests on the lip of the dish. 

If making a double crust pie, do not crimp the edges yet. Roll out second dough disk, fill the pie then top it with the second dough round. Trim the edges then crimp. 

Refrigerate the dough for a half hour before baking. 

How to Bake Your Pie 

Fill your pie crust with your favorite filling. (Our favorite pie filling is apple.) 

Put on your pie crust top if you’re making a double crust pie and crimp it around the edge. 

Cook your pie at 425 degrees for about 45 minutes or until the bottom of the crust is cooked and the top is golden brown.   

Some Tips for How to Make a Pie Crust 

Don’t be intimidated! It’s not as hard as you think to make an amazing pie crust from scratch. 

Keep the ingredients and pie dough cold to make sure your crust cooks properly and comes out flaky and delicious. 

Put a ring of aluminum foil around the edge of the crust so it doesn’t burn. 

Use a glass pie plate so you can see through it and make sure the bottom of the crust is fully cooked. 

If you wrap your pie dough in plastic wrap, you can keep it in your refrigerator for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.