Perfect Pie Crust Recipe - NYT Cooking 2/28/21, 10:18 AM

Perfect Pie Crust

By Erin Jeanne McDowell

Y I E L D 1 single crust for a 9-inch pie

TIME 30 minutes, plus at least 1 ½ hours’ chilling

This classic dough contains no special ingredients, just flour, salt, butter and water, but it works like a dream. The
recipe makes a single crust for a 9-inch pie; simply double it to make a double-crust pie. (If you make it by hand, you
can even triple or quadruple the recipe.) If you’d prefer to use a food processor, you can, and it’s a good idea if you
have warm hands. To do so, pulse the butter into the flour mixture a few times, until the butter is the size of walnut
halves or peas, then transfer the mixture to a medium bowl and proceed with adding the water. (Adding the water in
the food processor often leads to hydration problems and overmixing, which is why you should do that part by hand
no matter what.) The dough keeps in the refrigerator for up to 2 days and in the freezer for up to 3 months (thaw it
overnight in the refrigerator before rolling it out).

INGREDIENTS PREPARATION

1 ¼ cup/160 grams all-purpose flour Step 1

¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
½ cup/115 grams cold unsalted
butter, cut into ½-inch cubes
3 to 4 tablespoons ice water, plus
more as needed
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and salt to combine. Add the
butter, tossing the cubes through the flour until the pieces are
separated from one another and each piece is coated.
Step 2
Cut the butter into the flour by pressing the pieces between your
palms or fingertips, flattening the cubes into big shards and
continuing to toss them in the flour to recoat the shards. The size of
the butter will vary depending on the kind of pie you’re making: For
fruit pies, stop when the butter pieces are about the size of walnut
halves. For custard pies, stop when the butter pieces are smaller,
about the size of peas.

Step 3
Make a well in the center of the mixture. Add 3 tablespoons ice water
and mix it in by tossing the flour in the bowl. (This tossing movement
lets the moisture incorporate without allowing too much gluten
formation.)

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Perfect Pie Crust Recipe - NYT Cooking 2/28/21, 10:18 AM

Step 4
Continue to add ice water 1 to 2 tablespoons at a time until the dough
begins to come together. As it comes together, fold it over itself a few
times to make sure it’s homogenous. The dough should hold together
without noticeable cracks (a sign of underhydration), but it should not
be wet or tacky to the touch (a sign of overhydration).

Step 5
Form the dough into a disk about 1-inch thick. Wrap tightly in plastic
wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before using, and up to 2 days.
(It can also be frozen for up to 3 months, then thawed overnight
before using.)

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