Description

This easy homemade pie crust recipe yields a flaky, buttery double crust perfect for any pie. Using a blend of cold butter, apple cider vinegar, and ice-cold water, this crust comes together quickly without overworking, ensuring a tender texture. Ideal for sweet or savory pies, the dough is chilled before rolling to make handling effortless and results in the perfect homemade pie base.

Ingredients

Scale

Dry Ingredients

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt

Wet Ingredients

3/4 cup cold unsalted butter, cubed
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup ice-cold water

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Instructions

Blend dry ingredients and butter: In a large mixing bowl, combine the all-purpose flour and salt. Add the cold cubed unsalted butter and use a pastry blender or your fingers to mix until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Make pastry dough: In a measuring jug, mix the apple cider vinegar with ice-cold water. Slowly pour this liquid over the flour and butter mixture, gently stirring just until the dough starts to come together. Form the dough into a ball, taking care not to knead or overwork it.
Divide and chill: Split the dough ball into two equal disks. Wrap each disk tightly in foil or plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour to firm up the butter and relax the gluten.
Roll out crust: Remove one dough disk from the fridge and place it between two sheets of baking parchment. Roll it out into a circle that is slightly larger than a 9-inch pie dish. Transfer the rolled dough to a lightly greased pie dish and place it back in the fridge to chill until ready to use.
Prepare top crust: Roll out the second dough disk the same way as the first, keeping it chilled between parchment sheets until you are ready to cover your pie filling with it. This double crust can be used for any favorite pie filling to complete your homemade pie.

Notes

Use very cold butter and water to ensure a flaky crust.
Do not overmix or knead the dough as this can create a tough crust.
Chilling the dough before rolling helps prevent shrinking during baking.
Apple cider vinegar tenderizes the dough by inhibiting gluten formation.
For best results, handle the dough using parchment paper to reduce sticking and facilitate rolling.
This crust can be baked blind before filling if your recipe requires a pre-baked shell.