Our Favorite Pie Crust
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Everyday Food, May 2007
- Prep Time 40 minutes
- Total Time 3 hours 30 minutes
- Yield Makes 1 crust
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Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for rolling dough
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
- 2 tablespoons ice water, plus 2 more, if needed
Directions
- In a food processor, pulse flour, salt, and sugar several times to combine. Add butter. Pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal, with just a few pea-size pieces remaining.
- Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons ice water. Pulse until dough is crumbly but holds together when squeezed with fingers (if needed, add up to 2 tablespoons more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time). Do not overprocess.
- Turn dough out onto a work surface; form dough into a 3/4-inch-thick disk. Wrap tightly in plastic, and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour.
- Before baking, unwrap dough; place on a large piece of floured waxed paper. Roll dough to a 14-inch round. Using paper, lift and wrap dough around rolling pin (discarding paper); carefully unroll over a 9-inch pie plate. Gently fit into bottom and up sides of plate.
- Trim overhang to 1 inch; fold overhang under itself. Pinch between thumb and forefinger to make a uniform edge around the rim. Crimp edge; refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hour.
Cook's Note
Always start with chilled dough and a well-floured work surface. Chilled dough does not soften as quickly as warmer dough; flour absorbs any moisture and prevents sticking.
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i made an apple pie today, best pie i ever made in my life. It was her apple pie recipe too (the one she did on the Today show with meredith viera/bake off show), I used this crust and that apple pie recipe. Martha Stewart is a goddess.
All I can say is...where have you been all these years pie crust?!
I doubled the recipe and made a pumpkin pie and a chocolate meringue pie, I made the dough in my 14-cup food processor and it couldn't have been easier. This is the best tasting crust I have ever had, it has lots of buttery flavor. This is my new go-to crust recipe.
Thanks for this recipe! I used to for our pumpkin pies and it turned out perfectly. The crust came out flaky and with a touch of sweetness, and the dough was very easy to work with.
Just a heads up, I doubled the recipe and only needed 7 T of cold water, so just make sure to mix throughly before adding more water because depending on your house temp and humidity you may need more or less.
It would've been nice if you suggested what temperature to bake it at and for how long. The recipe seems incomplete.
nice if you added a metric conversion button
This sounds really great but I just wish it had whole wheat flour. Do you have a good recipe for this? We use Kamut Wheat because it bakes up so well and has awesome nutrients in it...would love to find a healthy pie crust!! Thanks :)
Just a little typo: 1 stick of butter is actually 8 tablespoons, not teaspoons.
Just a little typo: 1 stick of butter is actually 8 tablespoons, not teaspoons.
Just a little typo: 1 stick of butter is actually 8 tablespoons, not teaspoons.
sorry - left out "water" after 3 tablespoons
This recipe is very similar to Craig Claiborne's recipe which uses egg yolks, lemon jucie, 3 tablespoons of cold and more sugar besides the butter and flou. The crust can be used immediately or refrigerated and brought to room temp if used later
The best pie crust I have ever had no more frozen pie crust for me.