Pie Crust Recipe

The secret to baking the perfect pie lies in the crust. Here's one reliable pie crust recipe from the baking experts at King Arthur Flour.

For the perfect pie crust, we like a combination of vegetable shortening for flakiness and the shape-holding characteristics it gives to the dough, and butter for flavor. Leaving the butter in larger pieces and folding the dough over on itself a few times creates a flakier crust. You can add 2 tablespoons of sugar if you like a slightly sweeter crust.

Our guarantee: This pie crust will fill a deep-dish 9-or 10-inch pan, hold its shape, and be flaky and tender.

Pie Crust Recipe

Hands-on time:	15 mins.
Baking time:	15 mins. to 20 mins.*
Total time:	40 mins.
Yield:	2 9-inch crusts

*actual pie bake time and oven temperature may vary depending on selected filling recipe

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached Pastry Flour or King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup vegetable shortening
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup plus 1 to 2 tablespoons ice water

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, and salt.
2. Cut in the shortening until it's in lumps the size of small peas.
3. Dice the butter into 1/2-inch pieces, and cut into the mixture until you have flakes of butter the size of your fingernail.
4. Add the water, two tablespoons at a time, mixing with a fork as you sprinkle the water into the dough
5. When the dough is moist enough to hold together when you squeeze it, transfer it to a piece of wax or parchment paper. It's ok if there are some dry spots in the pile. Use a spray bottle of water to lightly spritz these places; that way you'll add just enough water to bring the dough together without creating a wet spot.
6. Fold the dough over on itself three or four times to bring it together, then divide it in half and pat it into two disks 3/4-inch thick.
7. Roll the disk on its edge, like a wheel, to smooth out the edges. This step will ensure your dough will roll out evenly, without a lot of cracks and splits at the edges later. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes before rolling.

Tips From KAF's Bakers

• People get nervous about piecrust, and in their anxiety they tend to work the dough too much. Cutting the butter in too far makes a mealy crust. Kneading it too much and/or adding too much water toughens the dough, making it more difficult to roll out.
• Resting the dough in the refrigerator both after mixing and rolling out, will dramatically increase the quality of your results. This "time out" allows the gluten in the dough to relax (making the crust more tender), and firms up the fats in the dough (helping it stay flakier).