Foolproof All-Butter Dough for Single-Crust Pie
By Andrea GearyPublished on October 15, 2017
Time
1½ hours, plus 2½ hours chilling and 30 minutes cooling
Yield
Makes one 9-inch single crust
Ingredients
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled, divided1 ¼ cups (6 ¼ ounces/177 grams) all-purpose flour, divided1 tablespoon sugar ½ teaspoon salt ¼ cup ice water
Before You Begin
In the mixing stage, this dough will be more moist than most pie doughs, but as it chills it will absorb a lot of excess moisture, becoming supple and workable.
Instructions
- Grate 2 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter on large holes of box grater and place in freezer. Cut remaining 8 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter into ½-inch cubes.
- Pulse 3¾ ounces all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoon sugar, and ½ teaspoon table salt in food processor until combined, 2 pulses. Add cubed butter and process until homogeneous paste forms, about 30 seconds.
- Using your hands, carefully break paste into 2-inch chunks and redistribute evenly around processor blade. Add remaining 2½ ounces all-purpose flour and pulse until mixture is broken into pieces no larger than 1 inch (most pieces will be much smaller), 4 to 5 pulses.
- Transfer mixture to medium bowl. Add grated butter and toss until butter pieces are separated and coated with flour.
- Sprinkle 2 tablespoons ice water over mixture. Toss with rubber spatula until mixture is evenly moistened. Sprinkle remaining 2 tablespoons ice water over mixture and toss to combine. Press dough with spatula until dough sticks together.
- Transfer dough to sheet of plastic wrap. Draw edges of plastic over dough and press firmly on sides and top to form compact, fissure-free mass. Wrap in plastic and flatten to form 5-inch disk. Refrigerate dough for at least 2 hours or up to 2 days.
- Let chilled dough sit on counter to soften slightly, about 10 minutes, before rolling. (Wrapped dough can be frozen for up to 1 month. If frozen, let dough thaw completely on counter before rolling.)
- Roll dough into 12-inch circle on well-floured counter.
- Roll dough loosely around rolling pin and unroll it onto 9-inch pie plate, leaving at least 1-inch overhang around edge. Ease dough into plate by gently lifting edge of dough with your hand while pressing into plate bottom with your other hand.
- Trim overhang to ½ inch beyond lip of plate. Tuck overhang under itself; folded edge should be flush with edge of plate. Crimp dough evenly around edge of plate using your fingers.
- Refrigerate dough‑lined plate until firm, about 30 minutes. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees.
- Line chilled pie shell with aluminum foil, covering edges to prevent burning, and fill with pie weights. Bake until edges are set and just beginning to turn golden, 25 to 30 minutes.
- Remove foil and weights, rotate plate, and continue to bake until golden brown and crisp, 10 to 15 minutes longer. If crust begins to puff, pierce gently with tip of paring knife.
- Let crust cool completely in plate on wire rack, about 30 minutes.
Time
1½ hours, plus 2½ hours chilling and 30 minutes coolingYield
Makes one 9-inch single crustIngredients
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled, divided
1 ¼ cups (6 ¼ ounces/177 grams) all-purpose flour, divided
1 tablespoon sugar
½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup ice water
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled, divided
1 ¼ cups (6 ¼ ounces/177 grams) all-purpose flour, divided
1 tablespoon sugar
½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup ice water
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled, divided
1 ¼ cups (6 ¼ ounces/177 grams) all-purpose flour, divided
1 tablespoon sugar
½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup ice water
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
Our goal was to create a supple, moist all-butter pie dough that rolled out easily and baked up tender and flaky. We first used the food processor to coat two-thirds of the flour with butter, creating a pliable mixture that was water-resistant. Then we broke that dough into pieces, coated the pieces with the remaining flour, and tossed in some grated butter. When we folded in the water, it was absorbed only by the dry flour that coated the butter-flour chunks. Since gluten can develop only when flour is hydrated, this resulted in a supertender crust. Holding back some of the butter, grating it, and adding it to the dough left a little more flour available to form gluten, so the crust had enough structure to support a flaky texture. After a 2-hour chill, the dough had hydrated completely and was easy to roll out.
Want more? Read the whole storyBefore You Begin
In the mixing stage, this dough will be more moist than most pie doughs, but as it chills it will absorb a lot of excess moisture, becoming supple and workable.
Instructions
- Grate 2 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter on large holes of box grater and place in freezer. Cut remaining 8 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter into ½-inch cubes.
- Pulse 3¾ ounces all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoon sugar, and ½ teaspoon table salt in food processor until combined, 2 pulses. Add cubed butter and process until homogeneous paste forms, about 30 seconds.
- Using your hands, carefully break paste into 2-inch chunks and redistribute evenly around processor blade. Add remaining 2½ ounces all-purpose flour and pulse until mixture is broken into pieces no larger than 1 inch (most pieces will be much smaller), 4 to 5 pulses.
- Transfer mixture to medium bowl. Add grated butter and toss until butter pieces are separated and coated with flour.
- Sprinkle 2 tablespoons ice water over mixture. Toss with rubber spatula until mixture is evenly moistened. Sprinkle remaining 2 tablespoons ice water over mixture and toss to combine. Press dough with spatula until dough sticks together.
- Transfer dough to sheet of plastic wrap. Draw edges of plastic over dough and press firmly on sides and top to form compact, fissure-free mass. Wrap in plastic and flatten to form 5-inch disk. Refrigerate dough for at least 2 hours or up to 2 days.
- Let chilled dough sit on counter to soften slightly, about 10 minutes, before rolling. (Wrapped dough can be frozen for up to 1 month. If frozen, let dough thaw completely on counter before rolling.)
- Roll dough into 12-inch circle on well-floured counter.
- Roll dough loosely around rolling pin and unroll it onto 9-inch pie plate, leaving at least 1-inch overhang around edge. Ease dough into plate by gently lifting edge of dough with your hand while pressing into plate bottom with your other hand.
- Trim overhang to ½ inch beyond lip of plate. Tuck overhang under itself; folded edge should be flush with edge of plate. Crimp dough evenly around edge of plate using your fingers.
- Refrigerate dough‑lined plate until firm, about 30 minutes. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees.
- Line chilled pie shell with aluminum foil, covering edges to prevent burning, and fill with pie weights. Bake until edges are set and just beginning to turn golden, 25 to 30 minutes.
- Remove foil and weights, rotate plate, and continue to bake until golden brown and crisp, 10 to 15 minutes longer. If crust begins to puff, pierce gently with tip of paring knife.
- Let crust cool completely in plate on wire rack, about 30 minutes.
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