Title: How to Make a Pie Crust
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Pie is an iconic American dessert, and there are few kitchen projects as rewarding as baking one. The best pies start with a flaky homemade crust, which is a lot easier to make than some people fear. We'll teach you how to make it here. Then go off and explore our pie recipes — any filling can be paired with this crust, which is yet another reason to master it.

Before You Start

You’ll need a 9-inch pie pan, a rolling pin and pie weights (or use dried beans).
Your butter must be cold; even frozen butter works as long as you cut it into cubes before freezing.
Be sure to factor in at least one hour to let your dough chill before rolling it out.

All-Butter Pie Crust

YIELDOne 9-inch single pie crust

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Some bakers use lard in their pie crust, while others turn to shortening. But in general, butter is your best bet: it's easy to find, it has fantastic flavor, and it yields a tender, flaky crust. This is an all-butter crust recipe that will empower even the most nervous pie makers, a simple dough of butter and all-purpose flour that is easy to make and dependable as can be. If you plan to make a pie with a top crust, double the recipe; when it's time to chill the dough, divide it in half and shape into two disks to put in the fridge. The dough will also keep for 3 months in the freezer, if you want to stash a few disks there. Defrost in the fridge overnight.

INGREDIENTS

1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour (150 grams)
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes
2 to 4 tablespoons ice water, as needed

PREPARATION

In a food processor, pulse together the flour and salt. Add butter and pulse until the mixture forms lima bean-size pieces. Slowly add ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, and pulse until the dough just comes together. It should be moist, but not wet.
Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and gather into a ball. Flatten into a disk with the heel of your hand. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 2 days.

Tip

For the best results, use a high-fat, European-style unsalted butter like Plugra.

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Rolling Out Dough

Lightly dust flour onto a clean counter and onto a rolling pin. (Alternatively, you can roll the dough out between two sheets of parchment paper or plastic wrap; no flour required.)
Put the dough on the floured surface and, using the pin, roll away from you, applying pressure evenly.
Rotate the dough clockwise as you work so it's uniformly thin and isn't rolled irretrievably into the counter. Lightly dust the counter with flour as you work. But don’t overdo it with the flour. Too much flour all at once makes a tough crust.
Continue to roll the dough in all directions until you have a 12-inch circle. (If your rolled dough doesn’t end up in a neat circle, you can trim it, and use the trimmings to patch up any rips, holes or bald spots.)
Transfer crust to a 9-inch pie pan by gently rolling it up onto the pin, then carefully unfurling it into the pan. Fold over any excess dough. If you're not making a top crust, then the crimp edges now.
Prick crust all over with a fork, then chill crust for 30 minutes. Your crust is now ready to fill or blind bake.

Blind Baking

Blind baking is partially baking a pie crust before you add the filling, which helps keep the crust crunchy. After filling it, you return the pie to the oven to finish baking. It's a particularly good method for custard pies, like pumpkin and pecan, that are prone to sogginess. Blind baking can be done up to 24 hours before filling; cover the crust loosely with a dish towel and store it at room temperature.

Begin with the chilled, rolled-out dough in the pan. Line the dough with parchment paper or foil. Fill the parchment or foil with pie weights, uncooked rice or dried beans. Transfer to a 425-degree oven.
Bake the crust until it firms up, about 15 minutes. It will still be very pale at this point. Remove the parchment or foil and weights, then return crust to the oven to brown slightly.
Bake the crust 5 to 7 minutes more, until pale golden brown. Let it cool on a rack before filling.

Top Crust

Custard pies don’t usually have tops, but fruit pies just about always do, and it’s something you can play around with. Start with any fruit filling you like, pile it into your pan, and then choose one of the top crusts, or the crumble, below.

To make a lattice top, you’ll need to double your pie dough if it’s not already a recipe for a double crust. Roll out the chilled dough and cut it into 1-inch thick strips.
Place half the dough strips parallel to each other across the top of the filled pie. (Reserve some of the longer strips for when you weave the lattice.) The longest strip should be in the center of the pie.
Flip up every other strip on the pie. Place another long strip perpendicular to the others across the center of the pie.
Flip those strips back down, then flip up the other strips. Weave in a second strip of dough. Repeat process on one side, and then the other, until you have fully covered the pie with woven strips.
Gently press lattice strip edges into the bottom crust, then crimp the edges to seal the top and bottom crusts together. Or, if you’ve blind baked the bottom crust, simply tuck in the edges of the lattice so the strips don’t hang over the side of the pan. Brush lattice all over with milk, cream or an egg wash (a mix of egg and water or milk) to encourage browning. You can sprinkle the top with sugar or cinnamon sugar if you like.

Baking Tips

Always bake a pie on a rimmed baking sheet to contain any overflow. A baking sheet also makes removing the pie from the oven easier.
You can freeze a whole, unbaked fruit pie. Then bake it while still frozen, adding about 15 minutes onto the baking time. Do not thaw it first or you could lose flakiness in the crust.
For the best-looking crimped crust, or to avoid having your crust shrink in the oven, freeze the unbaked pie dough before filling and baking (or blind baking). The colder your dough when you get it into the oven, the better it holds its shape.
You can store your baked pie at room temperature, covered, for up to one day. After that, the crust will become irretrievably soggy.