BAKE: Perfect All-Butter Flaky Pastry Crust
- Ingredients for All-Butter Flaky Pie Crust
- Equipment & Method for Pastry Dough
- Make-Ahead Tips for Perfect Flaky Pastry Crust
- Related Links:
Every baker and home cook should have at least one pie crust recipe in their repertoire. This basic flaky butter pastry crust is one of my absolute favorites, with a tender crumb and lots of flaky layers in the dough. Best of all, one batch of this pie crust recipe makes four crusts- enough for two covered fruit pies or four open topped pies or quiches.
This is THE recipe you’ll find yourself reaching for again and again for holiday pies or for other festive occasions, or to freeze and have on hand for quick and easy pies, pastries, and quiches on a whim (without covering your kitchen in flour).
You can use this all-butter crust recipe to make any classic sweet or savory pie that wants a top or bottom crust. You can make plain rolled top crusts or woven crusts and other fancy lattice tops. Try making your own homemade pop-tarts (filled with your favorite jam or a cinnamon and brown sugar filling). It’s also great for individual hand pies and turnovers filled with fruit or savory fillings, deep-dish or regular quiches, flaky tarts and tartlets, pie-crust cookies, pot pies, and more.
Ingredients for All-Butter Flaky Pie Crust
Flour:
You can use all-purpose flour, pastry flour, or a 50/50 blend of whole wheat and all-purpose flour to make your pie crusts. All-purpose flour will make the most versatile pastry crust that is tender and flaky, but with a good structure and sturdy enough to use for hand pies and woven lattice toppings. For a less flaky but delicate and fork-tender crumb, substitute pastry flour for all or part of the mix. You can also use whole wheat pastry flour or up to 50% whole wheat flour for a heartier and healthy crust option.
Butter:
Butter:Sweet or cultured unsalted butter. If you substitute salted butter, reduce or eliminate the salt in the recipe. Butter should be as cold as possible without being frozen. Cut the butter into cubes, about an inch to inch and a half in size. You will add the butter in two additions.
Salt:
Measurements are for flaky kosher salt. You can substitute regular fine table salt, sea salt, or Himalayan pink salt, but reduce the quantity slightly (2-2.5 tsp).
Water:
Ice cold water will keep the butter from melting into the dough and keep the dough light and flaky.
Vodka or Distilled Vinegar:
Either of these will not affect the flavor of the dough. Both work to help prevent the development of gluten strands in the dough as it is worked, which will help keep the dough and your pie crusts from being tough.
Equipment & Method for Pastry Dough
You can make this crust by hand or with a stand mixer with a paddle attachment. You can use a food processor too, but most home-sized food processors are on the small size for a full batch.
Making the Dough with a Stand Mixer:
This is the easiest method, if you have a large 5-6 quart stand mixer and paddle attachment.
Add the flour and salt to the bowl of the mixer, and stir on low to combine.
Next, add the first addition of 12 oz of cubed butter (three sticks). Mix on low speed, stopping to scrape the bowl and pulse the mixer, until the butter is well cut-in. The flour and butter mixture should begin to look crumbly, with a texture ranging from coarse meal to small peas. This butter is the “shortening” for the dough, coating the flour and preventing long gluten strands from forming when you add the liquid, which will give the dough a tender crumb.
Add the remaining 9 oz of cubed butter (one stick plus two tablespoons) and mix just enough to break it into small irregular pea-sized pieces. Do not overmix. These larger pieces will give your dough the lovely flaky layers when baked.
Combine the ice water and vinegar or vodka and drizzle this over the surface of the mixture. Pulse the mixer on the lowest setting just until the dough starts to combine. It will look dry and crumbly- this is ok. The dough will become more cohesive as it rests, but should just hold together when pressed. If it’s still too dry, add additional ice water by the teaspoon.
Divide into four balls (roughly 12 oz each). This is easiest if you turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface or a silicone baking mat and press the dough together.
Wrap each portion of pastry with a square of plastic wrap or reusable food wrap, pressing them together into a cohesive circle about 6″ in diameter and 1″-2″ thick.
Place these in the fridge or a cold place for at least 30 minutes to rest before rolling out or freezing the dough for later use. This will allow the gluten in the dough to relax and the flour to fully absorb the liquid and hydrate the starch so the dough will be easier to work without tearing or shrinking.
Making the Dough By Hand:
Large mixing bowl, pastry blender, whisk, or butter knives, bowl scraper or spatula
To mix the pie crusts by hand, follow the same steps listed above for using a mixer, but instead of using the paddle attachment to cut in the butter, you’ll use a pastry blender, a sturdy whisk, two crossed butter knives, or even your clean fingertips (using a pinching motion, keeping the butter from melting with the heat of your hands as much as possible) to incorporate the butter into the dry ingredients, in two additions as described above.
Follow the rest of the steps listed above, but using a spatula, bowl scraper, or wooden spoon to incorporate the ice water mixture into the dough, folding it in with a gentle motion.
This method works just as well, it just takes a little longer (and a little more elbow grease) than using a mixer. But, if you don’t have a stand mixer, or yours isn’t big enough, this is the way, and it’s not hard! It’s how I did it for years before I had a mixer. It’s a great way to learn how to make this dough, and you’re less likely to overmix your dough when you’re learning with this method.
Make-Ahead Tips for Perfect Flaky Pastry Crust
You want to make your dough at least half an hour before you need to use it, but you can also make it ahead of time. You can keep the dough chilled and well-wrapped for several days in the refrigerator, or for several months in the freezer. I like to make mine well in advance of the holidays and pull them out of the freezer a day or two before I’m planning to bake. Thaw your pastry dough in the fridge, and keep it cold until you are ready to work with it. Don’t let the dough dry out- wrap each portion well with air-tight plastic wrap or reusable beewax-coated wraps, and then store these in either a zip lock bag or air-tight plastic or glass container, especially when freezing dough. This will protect your dough from drying out or freezer burn, but also from picking up any off flavors or odors from other items in your fridge or freezer.
Perfect All-Butter Flaky Pastry Crust
Equipment
- 5-6 quart mixer fitted with paddle attachment.
- or, large mixing bowl to make by hand
- pastry blender, sturdy whisk, or butter knives to make by hand
- liquid measuring cup
- measuring spoons
- bowl scraper or spatula (optional)
Ingredients
- 5¼ cups all-purpose flour (sub pastry flour or 50/50 blend for an extra tender crust, or up to 50% whole wheat flour for a heartier crust)
- 17 oz cold unsalted butter, divided
- 1 tbsp kosher salt (sub 2 tsp fine sea or regular salt)
- 1 cup ice water
- 1 tbsp distilled vinegar or vodka
Instructions
- Add the flour and salt to the bowl of the mixer, and stir on low to combine with the paddle attachment.
- Next, add the first addition of 12 oz of cubed butter (three sticks). Mix on low speed, stopping to scrape the bowl and pulse the mixer, until the butter is well cut-in. The flour and butter mixture should begin to look crumbly, with a texture ranging from coarse meal to small peas. This butter is the "shortening" for the dough, coating the flour and preventing long gluten strands from forming when you add the liquid, which will give the dough a tender crumb.
- Next, add the remaining 9 oz of cubed butter (one stick plus two tablespoons) and mix just enough to break it into small irregular pea-sized pieces. Do not overmix. These larger pieces will give your dough the lovely flaky layers when baked.
- Combine the ice water and vinegar or vodka and drizzle this over the surface of the mixture. Pulse the mixer on the lowest setting just until the dough starts to combine. It will look rough, shaggy, and almost dry and crumbly- this is ok.
- The dough will become more cohesive as it rests, but at this point it should be only just damp enough hold together when pressed. If it's still too dry, add additional ice water by the teaspoon.
- Divide into four balls (roughly 12 oz each) and wrap each with a square of plastic wrap or reusable food wrap, pressing them together into a cohesive circle about 6" in diameter and 1"-2" thick. Place these in the fridge or a cold place for at least 30 minutes to rest and come together before rolling out or freezing the dough for later use.
Notes
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